Rainbows, Salmon & Smiles – Strong Start to the 2017 Season

​Our first week was nothing more than amazing as usual, that is if you like sockeye salmon so thick that limits were taken daily on the fly while king salmon were in full force pushing the scales at over 40#’s per day…YES, our guides boated an average of 1 king per day over 40#’s!  This is going to be a great run for sure.

The sockeye run has been really strong this season despite being a little late.  They really started pouring in on the 2nd of July and did not have a stop until the 7th of July when there was a slow down.  BUT, on the 8th, they kicked right back up and were really thick, creating wakes along the banks of the lower river for miles on end.

Strong Start to the 2017 Sockeye Salmon run on the Alagnak River

The kings started showing up with the huge push of sockeye salmon and have really been strong.  The average size is up from years past with not near as many jack king salmon returning.  These “jack” king salmon are males that return after only 1 year at sea.  These were being caught but not near as many than in the past few years.

The famous Alagnak River Braids fished extremely well this year with an increase in average size up there too.  There were rainbows in excess of the 20″ mark on every trip and some that pushed the over 24″ tape, but still have not broken the 30″ mark this season.   There is plenty of time for that though, and we have spotted a few that can break that mark.  The mousing has been strong throughout the sockeye run and so have the leeches.  We have kept some spots free of pressure for the entire season and just yesterday that spot produced over 20 rainbows in a small back channel.  The largest was 22″s, but the average was in the high teens.  Not bad for wild Alaska trout!

All our guests from our first week left with full coolers of salmon, smiles on their faces, and thoughts about when they can come back to this very special river we call home for the summer.

About the Author

​John Perry grew up in Michigan on an island called Grosse Ile, in the mouth of the Detroit River and Lake Erie. It was here, surrounded by great fishing and waterfowl hunting that John developed a passion for the outdoors. John moved to Colorado to chase trout in the summers and ski patrol in the winters. John had the privilege to start guiding for Angler’s Alibi with his fly fishing mentor TR Rafferty the second year it was in business. He left a head guide job in Colorado to pursue bigger and better fish.