Best Time For Alaska Fishing?
The most asked question we get is when is the best time to come?
It is just not that simple of an answer, but the best thing I can say
is that there is no bad time. Between May 1st & September 1st you
will always catch fish & go home with several 50 pound boxes of fillets.
The main difference between times of the season is what species of salmon
you will catch & weather you will catch them in the saltwater or freshwater
rivers. Below I have detailed the differences of each time period.
May
King Salmon & Halibut Saltwater Combo Trips
May is my favorite time of year since after a long winter I am eager to
get out on the water. This is also the most popular time for the locals
to go saltwater fishing for halibut & king salmon. The weather has
turned warm, the sun is up for almost 24 hours, the trees are sprouting
leaves, & the moose are dropping calves.
This time period is for saltwater anglers interested
in salmon & halibut From May 1st to June 5th is the only time you
can catch both King Salmon & halibut in the ocean. There are several
hundred thousand salmon migrating thru the area on the journey to spawn
in the many rivers. There are also thousands of what we call feeder kings
that are just feeding & are not going to spawn that year.
We troll in shallow water of 15-40 feet with herring to catch these dime
bright fish.
Halibut is excellent at this time of year with big fish in shallow water
& closer to shore than later in the year.
The fish are feeding on many schools of smelt & needle fish migrating
thru.
No matter what the wind is in May we can always find fish because they
are everywhere & the Kenai & Kasilof Rivers are back up spots
to bad weather days.
From mid May on the weather is dry & temps in the 50-70 degree range
June
Saltwater halibut, & Kenai River King Salmon
For saltwater anglers mainly interested in halibut this is the best time
for you. The bigger halibut start moving into deeper water & we spend
the whole time targeting halibut. June is probably the month with the
highest number of halibut & fish seem to be everywhere, Shallow &
deep.
For
Freshwater anglers this a great time for Kenai River King Salmon without
commercial gill nets intercepting salmon, & anglers usually split
their days equally between river fishing for salmon, & ocean fishing
for halibut.
The first run of Kenai River King salmon peaks in June. The early run
has about 15,000-30,000 fish that average 30-45 pounds with 50-60 pounders
available, Remember the world record 97 pound king came from the Kenai
in the early run on may 17th 1984.
The river conditions are much less crowded, & the water is lower &
clearer than in July.
The Kasilof River with its hatchery fish is a good back up river in the
event of poor conditions on the Kenai or blow off on the ocean.
By June 10th the red salmon are in fishable numbers on the Russian river
about a half hour drive from Soldotna. Fly out trips for red salmon &
brown bear viewing is also good in June. June offers excellent fishing
in less crowded conditions for all activities, the sun is up 24 hours
& is the driest month of the year. Average temperatures range from
50-85 degrees.
July
July is the busiest tourist month for the whole state, so expect large
crowds every where.
July is for freshwater anglers mainly interested Kenai
River King Salmon. Anglers spend the majority of their days on the Kenai
River, & chase halibut on Sunday & Monday when the river is closed
to boat fishing. The second run of Kenai Kings hit the river in late June,
& continues to build in numbers thru the last week in July. The total
return is 30,000 to 60,000 fish. 
The fish average 45-55 pounds with 60-70 pound fish caught regularly.
Even though there are more fish in the July run than June, the success
rate is about the same due to more boats & anglers on the river. Another
factor in July is the commercial gill netting on the ocean intercepting
kings as they try to go into the river. Red salmon fishing from shore
is popular on the entire river. Halibut fishing is good & many boats
are running double trips daily compared to single trips in other months.
August
August is a lot like June where anglers split there time equally between
saltwater & freshwater fishing. In August it will get dark at night
at about 11pm so you might see the northern lights. Temperatures in August
are 50-80 degrees & little wetter.
August
is silver salmon time in both the Kenai River & salt water. Silvers
are abundant & is for anglers looking for lots of action on salmon.
Silvers are very aggressive & bite almost anything. Silvers are very
acrobatic & like to jump a lot. We cast spinners in back eddies, &
side pools. This is also an excellent time for big rainbows.
In the saltwater halibut is still going strong with most of the fish out
in deep water feeding for their winter journey to the open ocean. While
halibut fishing we can also put out salmon rods to catch silver, &
pink salmon migrating to their native streams. Limits are 3 per day &
many days we come in 15-25 salmon along with a limit of halibut. In even
numbered years we have millions of pink salmon in the river, the limit
is 6 fish & you usually catch a fish on every cast. This is a great
fishery for kids.
Summary
May: Saltwater kings & halibut, majority of your
take home poundage will be halibut.
June: Saltwater halibut, & Kenai River kings, usually
equal time between both fisheries.
July: Kenai River Kings, & saltwater halibut, Majority
of time spent king fishing on river.
August: Kenai River silvers, & pinks, Saltwater halibut,
silvers, & pinks. Usually equal time between both fisheries.
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