The Susitna River

The Susitna offers up everything from Kings to rainbows, pike to whitefish. As with the Little Su, early season angling is fantastic for rainbows and grayling. Having survived the long winter, these fish are ready to feed.

The Upper Susitna is prime fly fishing territory after break up and again in the fall. Anglers may enjoy beautiful weather but murky water conditions on any given day, so make sure you bring along an assortment of tackle to entice your Susitna River rainbow. You can find all your gear needs and advice to make your trip successful at 3 Rivers Fly & Tackle.

The salmon begin their yearly run with the kings in late May and continue through late June, the peak of the run occurring during the month of June. Chinook can be taken on plugs, spinners, spoons, jigs, flies and bait. Following on the heels of the Chinook are the sockeye and chum salmon. Both of these typically begin their run up the Susitna in July and have peaked by mid August. The feisty and delicious sockeye can be fished with spinners and flies. The same holds true for the chum. The explosive silver salmon arrive in the Susitna around mid July and have peaked their run usually by early September. Anglers can take their aggressive Susitna coho with spinners, spoons, bait, and flies with egg patterns and leech patterns being the most popular.

Bank accessibility is almost non existent for the Susitna River, so you will need a good guide service or charter.

The Susitna is usually accessed via the public use landings and will take a decent boat ride on the river to find the perfect angling spots and the fish of choice for the day.