The 1st Coho of the Season!

The first fly caught coho of the year has been landed and for the second year in a row Jack Brennell was the angler who got it done! Congratulations Jack. He took home a sweet Simms Roll Top Dry Duffel Bag as first place finisher in our coho contest. We also have a second prize in our coho contest that has yet to be claimed. Whoever lands the next coho and sends us a photo will win a Simms Insulated Mug. So keep after it Juneau anglers!

Jack Brennell with his winning coho.

This season will be interesting in terms of how the coho run plays out. DIPAC is expecting significantly less coho to return this year compared to the last few years. But they are still forecasting a healthy number of fish in Gastineau Channel. On top of that, the run timing so far this season has been a little odd to say the least. The pink salmon stayed out in the saltwater for significantly longer this year and have just started to hit streams and beaches around Juneau. Pinks are usually in the rivers in good numbers by mid July.... King salmon came back on time but people are still catching kings here and there off the beach which is unusually late. So will the coho be late? Or will the run be slow and steady and string out longer than usual? Time will tell and flexibility and thinking outside the normal Sheep Creek spots will be key to success this season.

Pink salmon that just arrived in mid August.

In addition to salmon fishing, the stream fishing for Dollies and cutthroat has been outstanding. Stream levels were excellent last week and the bead fishing for trout was as good as it gets. Stripping streamers for cutthroat was also very good.

Beautiful cutthroat trout on a pink streamer.

It looks like a relatively dry week coming up, which we can never take for granted this time of year, so get out there and get to it.

On a separate note, this Saturday August 20th we are partnering with Trout Unlimited Juneau and Trail Mix to do some trail work on Montana Creek. The trail we will be working on accesses the lower canyon section and is being rerouted to avoid sensitive spawning areas. The old trail has been washed out so many times it was no longer usuable. Volunteer shifts are from 9am - noon or noon - 3pm. You can RSVP and learn more here.

See you on the water! Brad, Mike, Rocky, Cory, Gage & Finley