Description

December 2018
Special Anchorage Edition

Departments
Creel 6
Gear Bag 8
Online 10
Fishing for a Compliment 12
Salmon Sense 14
Fly 16
Boats 18
Saltwater 26
Stillwater 30
Fish for the Future 32
Recipe 78
Advertiser Index 81
Final Drift 82

Features
Alaska’s Biggest City
by Fish Alaska Staff 38

From fishing to food, sights to see and places to stay, Anchorage offers something for every type of visitor. Fish Alaska staff shares their knowledge of places to go when visiting Alaska’s population center.

Anchorage Fly Outs
by Melissa Norris 52

For those traveling to southcentral Alaska, Anchorage is typically the jumping-off point. Between Merrill Field and Lake Hood, Anchorage probably has more small plane traffic than any location on the continent. Fly outs from Anchorage can take you to a variety of fishing locations, many of which are in places stunning beyond description. Publisher Melissa Norris relates her experience with three different fly-out operations last summer.

Salmon in Anchorage
by Dustin Slinker 62

Despite being Alaska’s biggest city, Anchorage is no slouch when it comes to opportunities to catch tide-fresh kings and silvers. The Bait Shack owner Dustin Slinker tells all from tides to gear.

Two and a Canoe
by Kelly Pinnell 70

Generally overlooked by residents and non-residents alike, lakes in the Anchorage area provide excellent fishing for rainbow trout, Arctic char, landlocked king and silver salmon, and in a few lakes, grayling. Kelly Pinnell shares his experience on three Anchorage-area lakes that are each unique in terms of access, elevation, and species present.

Special Section
2018 Holiday Gift Guide Pt. 2 34

As the holidays are fast approaching, it’s time to make those final decisions on what gifts to give the important people in your life. We offered some suggestions in the last issue, and we’ll bet that some of those super-efficient, ultra-organized people out there have already made lists and bought presents. But for the majority of us, the holiday present-buying window is upon us and so we offer up another round of ideas to help with the process.

COVER / Dustin Slinker, owner of The Bait Shack, takes a break from Ship Creek to catch this nice silver in Anchorage. © Melissa Norris