Summary of 2024 in Juneau

Another great season is almost in the books and we have a lot of memorable days on the water to look back on. The season kicked off with the best beach fishing for Dolly Varden that we have seen in years. The Dollies were abundant, healthy and willing to smash a fly that was stripped in front of them. The action was very steady all spring and spanned the whole road system from Dupont to Echo Cove. We knew in advance that the king fishing would be slow. DIPAC lost one year class of kings in the 2020 landslide and that came home to roost this year with no 4 year olds returning. There were some very nice 5 year olds that were caught, but by and large the kings were a no show. That didn’t slow anglers down as the creek fishing for Dollies heated up early and good numbers were caught starting in early June. The beaches kept producing good catches as well. 

Pink salmon are always much less abundant in even years and this year was no different. Echo Cove had virtually no pinks and the freshwater creeks didn’t get any significant numbers until the 1st of August. There were huge numbers of chum salmon that provided plenty of action in the saltwater and once they pushed in the creeks the bead fishing was stellar. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention how good the cutthroat trout fishing was again this year. From start to finish cutts were caught off the beaches and in freshwater. After years of conservative retention regulations and catch & release practiced by local anglers the cutthroat and Dolly Varden populations are in very good shape. It is all of our jobs to help keep it that way in the future!

Finally, after a two year absence, the Gastineau Channel coho fishery came back in full force. The run wasn’t early, with fishable numbers not really happening until late August, but when they came they poured in by the thousands. Most of the action was south of town on Thane Road and Sheep Creek. Some fish came around the north end of Douglas Island but it was spotty. The big schools off Sheep Creek more than made up for it though. 

Looking forward to 2025, we are excited to see a more normal king salmon run as well as a much more robust return of pinks. The 2023 pink run was excellent, so their offspring should be numerous this next summer. DIPAC had a very successful release of coho smolt that will be returning in 2025, so as long as ocean conditions are cooperative we should have another very good silver return. 

We will be here all winter (albeit with reduced hours during the darkest times!) and we are putting together a full slate of fly tying nights, classes, presentations and joint events with local non profits. Keep your eye on the Events part of our website’s homepage, Instagram and Facebook to keep in the know about what is happening at the shop. 

Thank you to everyone who read the report this season, got out fishing, supported our shop and kept the Juneau fly fishing stoke setting on high! We couldn’t do it without your support. Cheers to a great season and more good times in 2025.