King Salmon Fishing on the Nushagak River
The Nushagak River is considered to be the best king salmon river in the world! The "Nush" (as it's known) routinely has a run of king salmon that is near or over 100,000 kings! With these amazing numbers, it is no wonder this river is so popular worldwide among salmon fisher people. The Nushagak River is also the largest river system in Alaska's Bristol Bay. It has runs of all species of salmon and an amazing trout fishing far up in its headwater streams, creeks, and rivers.
The Nushagak River is in a league of its own when it comes to it’s king salmon. You constantly hear about how crowded the king salmon fishing is in Alaska, but that is in the rivers along the road system in areas closer to Anchorage. The Nushagak is in Bristol Bay, far, far away from any cruise ship port, road system or major city. The only major economic impact in this part of Alaska is the commercial fishing and sport fishing industries. The state of Alaska has done well with keeping it this way and this king salmon run continues to be the best in the world! No other river even comes close.
Angler’s Alibi has had a great opportunity to re-open a camp on mile 38 of the Nushagak. Know as our Nushagak King Camp, this site sits just above the branch of the West and East channels and is literally right above one of the best king runs in the system near Portage Creek! This location is not only great with prime tidewater kings, but also affords us the opportunity to fish the West channel with a little less current and better fly water for those anglers wanting to swing up a king salmon on fly. We will use other methods as well such as trolling spinners and drifting cheater balls with scent. Scent is still legal in this region and kings cannot resist the egg scent of other kings. The king salmon have an instinctive response to hit, bite, munch, and crush other kings eggs, and drifting eggs is highly effective - if not the most effective way to catch kings. We will use whatever method is working best for the day but still specialize in catching kings on flies. The legal limit on kings on the Nushagak River is 2 per day with a maximum of 4 kings for the year. Only 1 king can be over 28” daily, and once the limit has been kept, no bait will be allowed. These regulations are what is keeping the king salmon run amazing!
The Nushagak River is in a league of its own when it comes to it’s king salmon. You constantly hear about how crowded the king salmon fishing is in Alaska, but that is in the rivers along the road system in areas closer to Anchorage. The Nushagak is in Bristol Bay, far, far away from any cruise ship port, road system or major city. The only major economic impact in this part of Alaska is the commercial fishing and sport fishing industries. The state of Alaska has done well with keeping it this way and this king salmon run continues to be the best in the world! No other river even comes close.
Angler’s Alibi has had a great opportunity to re-open a camp on mile 38 of the Nushagak. Know as our Nushagak King Camp, this site sits just above the branch of the West and East channels and is literally right above one of the best king runs in the system near Portage Creek! This location is not only great with prime tidewater kings, but also affords us the opportunity to fish the West channel with a little less current and better fly water for those anglers wanting to swing up a king salmon on fly. We will use other methods as well such as trolling spinners and drifting cheater balls with scent. Scent is still legal in this region and kings cannot resist the egg scent of other kings. The king salmon have an instinctive response to hit, bite, munch, and crush other kings eggs, and drifting eggs is highly effective - if not the most effective way to catch kings. We will use whatever method is working best for the day but still specialize in catching kings on flies. The legal limit on kings on the Nushagak River is 2 per day with a maximum of 4 kings for the year. Only 1 king can be over 28” daily, and once the limit has been kept, no bait will be allowed. These regulations are what is keeping the king salmon run amazing!
