The Little Susitna River

Located in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and originating in Hatchers Pass, the "Little Su" stretches 110 miles to the Cook Inlet creating the northern most boundary of the Mat-Su Valley. This moody, meandering stream is a popular, road-accessible destination that begins on the southern slopes of the Talkeetna Mountains and winds tamely through the birch and spruce lowlands of the Susitna flats.

The many holes, pools and runs of the lower river below Houston receive the most interest from boating salmon anglers, with bank anglers often preferring the middle and upper sections, where narrower confines concentrate the fishing. Its clear waters can quickly become high and muddy during the summer months. This river yields the good salmon runs within the lower portion of the river.

Even before the salmon come in, the Little Su is the place to fly fish. After breakup, sometimes as early as mid April; and in the autumn each year are the best times for trout fishing the Little Su. Working around the salmon runs, the fly fishing angler can reap the rewards of strong averages on size and number of fish when it comes to rainbows.

The king salmon or Chinook begin to show in mid May and run through the middle of July, peaking in the month of June. Little Su kings can be taken with plugs, spinners, spoons and flies.

The Little Susitna is also known for its massive silver salmon runs, which peak around mid August. The silvers of the Little Su can be fished with everything from flies to spinners to bait once legal. Bait works well throughout this river, in addition to spinners and flies.

Beginning around the beginning of June, the sockeye or red salmon start to populate the river. While the sockeye fishing isn't extraordinary in the Little Su, it is certainly good, and the average sockeye is about 6lbs.

The chum begin to show in the middle of June and peak between mid July and the first week in August. Anglers have good luck with spoons, spinners and flies.

Anglers can find chrome fish in the lower river and the fish get more darkly colored the longer they are in the river. The Parks Highway provides access to the upper and lower reaches of the river where anglers take advantage of bank availability.

There are also guides and charter services available to get you to the most remote reaches on the Little Su.

Make sure to check with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for the latest updates on regulations, bag limits and closures. You can get great advice, as well as a super selection of all the needed gear and tackle at 3 Rivers Fly & Tackle.