With the end of July nearing, the king, chum and sockeye runs coming to an end. The warm sunny weather made the last few weeks of king season a little on the tough side, but made for good trout fishing. The sockeye and chums came in early and hard, which should translate into an early egg drop.
Silvers are next on the menu for anglers look for big, bright chrome. Silvers have already starting to jaunt up the Nushagak and should not be far behind in rivers like the Kvichak, Wood, Togiak and Alagnak. Some of the larger drainages like the Nushagak will get the bulk of the run in the next few weeks. Other rivers like the Togiak will get the majority of the run later usually peaking around the first or second week of September.
While salmon are the focus for some, others prefer to chase the coveted rainbow trout. Good news, trout fishing has been off the hook! In rivers like the Moraine, the bows are patiently waiting for the sockeye to spawn. With this in mind, swinging leeches and skating mice has been the ticket. Patterns like Dolly Llamas and Egg Stealing Super Sculpins are deadly on the swing. For top water mousing, patterns like Mr. Hankey and the Wiggle Lemming are great.
Heading west to the rivers Agulawak and Agulapak in the Wood River chain, swinging leeches and sculpins has been very effective. Later in the day, a dry/dropper combo has been good, too. Try patterns like an Elk Hair Caddis or a Royal Wulff for the dry and Copper Johns, B.H. Pheasant Tails and Hotwire Princes as the dropper.
Chum and Kings are spawning on the upper reaches of rivers like the Nushagak and Togiak. Try 10mm and 8mm beads or patterns like Battle Creeks, Gorman’s B.H. Eggs and small flesh patterns like MOAL Rhoids. Swinging leeches and articulated flesh can be deadly too.