The pink salmon fishing has had a very slow start around the Juneau area, to say the least. There have been one or two fresh pinks each day beginning to mill around the Echo Cove area, but not in numbers we locals are used to. Your best bet in targeting salmon at this point may be to change your focus from pinks and begin targeting the mass amounts of chum salmon swarming the area. If you wish to focus on the chum salmon, try destinations like Peterson Creek and Amalga Harbor area, as well as Sheep Creek. The chum salmon can be picky when it comes to flies, but you can try the Striptease- white, Kilowatt- purple or pink, and Alaska Hot Bugger- Pink or Purple.
On the brighter side, the Dolly Varden have been running strong this season. The dollies this year have varied in size, from 6-25 inches, sometimes you just have to sort through the little guys to find a big one. They have now made their transition from the creek estuaries, back into fresh water and can be found in Cowee Creek, Salmon Creek, Montana Creek and Sheep Creek. The flies to use still varies from pink flies, such as the Humpy Hooker, and Karluk Shrimp, to egg patterns such as Glo- Bug- peachy king, Fish Emission Eggs- pink, and bead patterns in realistic salmon egg colors in size 8mm and 10mm.
As always, Happy Fishing!
-Brad, Mike, Kayla & Chas
