Alaska West: Seasons

The Kanektok River is one of the very few rivers in all of Alaska that offers world-class rainbow fishing in the same water as ocean-bright salmon.

So often one has to choose a lodge located near trout water, then fly to the coast to catch fresh salmon…making this river a rare exception.

June - July
The king salmon run heats up on the Kanektok in June, and lasts well into July. The lower river is fairly wide – spey rods are recommended - and comprised of a series of long, deep beautiful runs, perfect for swing fishing to these brutes. An average king here will be 20-25 pounds, with fish over 40 an everyday possibility. As well, the river’s sockeye and chum salmon runs overlap the kings, and offer good sport for those looking for a bit smaller game – sockeyes average 6-8 pounds, and the chums 8-12 pounds. This same early season stretch will also see the river’s big leopard rainbows aggressively chasing large streamers – trout in the 2-4 pound range are common, and even larger fish are routinely hooked. Look for the annual upstream migration of sea run dollies to begin in this same time period, making this is a great mixed bag time of year.

July - August
As July segues into August, two major events occur. First, hordes of chrome silver salmon invade the river, their sheer numbers inundating every slow pool and calm backwater in the river. These aggressive-to-the-fly battlers are a flyrodder’s dream, averaging 6-12 pounds, and willing to take surface poppers as well as streamers. Secondly, as all of the earlier-run salmon are now laying eggs, or dying and decomposing, the river’s trout populations are taking up sharply defined feeding positions; anglers can either catch big numbers of good-sized rainbows (and dollies) in shallow spawning redds behind procreating salmon, or plop heavy flesh patterns against the banks behind drowned alders in search of fewer, but larger specimens. This will remain the drill into September, when the camps close down.

The Arolik River follows pretty much the same drill as the Kanektok, seasonally, but definitely has its own personality. It is a smaller, even clearer water river than the Kanektok, and tends to be comprised of more riffles and pools, as opposed to the larger runs of the Kanektok. Consequently, it is not as productive of a swing fishery for king salmon (though you can catch plenty high-sticking larger egg patterns and streamers through the short holding water), and the trout fishing, especially with mouse patterns, can only be described as memorable! This is an Alaskan river the way most people imagine them – brilliantly clear water, and stuffed with unsophisticated fish.