We've all had Coho on the brain this week, and for good reason. Over the last week, both the hatchery and wild coho have lit up off of the Juneau road system. Returning from the north and south end of town, fishing has been off the hook the last 5 days or so!
The newest fishing destination this year has been Sheep Creek. The hatchery did a release of Coho's last year for time since the University did releases down there in the early 90's. Meaning, this run is great because it is so new to most of us! Tide doesn't seem to be an issue at Sheep Creek, fish are being caught at dead high, dead low, and everything in between. The color of fly differs from day to day, you should have a smattering of chartreuse/white and pink/white
in your arsenal at all times to be safe. This has turned out to be a fairly busy fishery, so to be courteous to others around... be sure to give yourself and others enough casting room, and if you are worried you may be overcrowding... just ask the folks around you! If you want to fish this area but are intimidated by crowds, search around on beaches around Thane, I bet you'll find a few around.
In other news, both 5 mile and 9 mile have also begun to heat up. This fishery is typically a low tide game; either a couple hours before low, or a couple hours after low. The fly color has also differed from day to day and tide to tide, but if you have a few chartreuse/white Clousers, Mr. Bodangles, Coho a go go, tutti fruitti Dolly Llama, and some Half n' Halfs, you should have your bases covered. If you are catching excessive sculpins, speed up your stripping, and always cast to the rising fish that you see.
As for creek fishing in town, Cowee Creek and Montana Creek have both begun to fish this week. With the rain in the forecast, once the flow levels go down, we expect them to be fishing very well. Try flies such as the tutti fruitti Dolly Llama, Mr. Bodangles, UV Starlite Leeches, and Hareball Leeches.
It is looking like it is going to be a bit soggy this weekend, it is officially time to pull out your Gore Tex jackets and warm weather hats! As always get out there and have some fun!
As always, we would love to see your fishing photos! Send photos to kayla@alaskaflyfishinggoods.com
Check out this shot taken from the Kenektok last week!
