Not surprising that Mr. Bodangles is in this king's mouth!
King fishing was a bit slow to kick off this June but things are picking up every day. Last week there were sporadic reports of kings being caught at Fish Creek, Thane Road, Auke Creek and Lena Cove. But the fishing was by no means hot and there were a lot of tides with no action at all. The last few days more kings have been rolling and jumping which is always good for keeping a positive attitude. It's nice to at least know there are fish around when you are casting into the abyss!
Super bright king on the switch rod.
We received a couple of good doses of rainfall Monday and Tuesday and a freshet is a good indicator to salmon to move out of the saltwater and resume their journey home. Since then the number of kings has increased steadily. The tides are relatively small but will be building in size every day right through next week. That will definitely get kings moving and pick up the action even more.
Nathan with a thumper of a king.
Fish Creek on the dropping tide, Sheep Creek, Auke Creek and Lena around the low, as well as Thane Road are all good bets to give it a go. We have King Salmon Grab & Go's and we also got a batch of 20lb test leaders in (finally!) so swing by when you get ready to head out.
Dime bright sockeye from Windfall Creek last week.
We had our first report of sockeye being caught in Windfall Creek this past week. There were fishable numbers in the creek but it wasn't peak abundance yet. There are two Wednesdays and two Saturdays left in June to target sockeye, so mark your calendar if you want to give it a go. Sockeye Lanterns in Green, Sockeye Lightning in Red, Mercer's Sockeye Fly and Copper Swans are all good options. A Rio Trout Leader in 9ft 1x or 0x is ideal. Add split shot as needed to get down to their level and a 3/4" indicator is helpful. Sockeye fishing swings back and forth from cold to hot throughout the day for no apparent reason. Don't be discouraged if they are in there but not biting. Keep at it and the bite will turn back on.
If you prefer to target Dollies, they are in the midst of their annual migration from saltwater to fresh water. This can be a tricky time to pinpoint their location, but one reliable spot is Cowee Creek. It consistently gets Dollies in before the pink salmon arrive in early July. Try fishing AK Clouser Minnows in attractor colors such as Pink/White #6 & Cerise/Pink #6, Honey Holes in Olive/White and Pink/Orange as well as standard fry patterns in Olive or Gray.
On a fly fishing community note, a friend of the shop lost his rod & reel set up last week. It was out North Douglas and he drove off without it. It happens more often than you would think! If you found the set up feel free to drop it by the shop. And that goes for any other lost fly fishing gear you might find. We do our best to reunite it with its owner and are usually successful. Juneau has a great community of fly anglers and it is nice when we can help each other out.
Father's Day is this Sunday so best wishes to all the fathers out there. Hope you get to spend some time chasing your favorite fish this weekend!
