Description
Departments
4 Fish Alaska Online
6 Alaska Traveler
8 Creel
10 Gear Bag
12 Fishing for a Compliment
14 Salmon Sense
16 Fly
18 Saltwater
20 Flyfishing
22 Conservation
26 Wind Knots
54 Recipe
56 Ad Index
58 Final Drift
On The Cover
Kristin Dunn with a gigantic Kenai silver salmon. © Tony Davis
28
Great Expectations: Managing Your Kenai Trout Experience for Success
by Jeremy Anderson
The Kenai is one of Alaska’s most beloved rivers; and one of its most heavily fished. With no Chinook fishing and diminished silver salmon fishing in recent years, many guides and anglers have turned to the Kenai’s impressive trout fishing. Competition is fierce. In this environment, it’s helpful to have realistic expectations, be open minded and positive, to focus on the process, work as a team in the boat, and to treat every trout as the treasure that it is.
34
Alaska’s Easy-Access Trophy Silvers
by Robert Campbell
Not all rivers containing coho salmon will regularly produce trophies—silvers of 15 pounds or more—but there are some, and some of them are relatively easy to get to. Robert Campbell illuminates a few trophy coho options that are relatively affordable, in terms of both time and money.
40
Salmon on Topwater Flies by JD Richey
No doubt about it, seeing a trout engulf a fly on the surface is exciting. But seeing a salmon do it—a fish that is much larger and which isn’t even supposed to be feeding—shoves the stoke factor to a higher level. Timing, locations, salmon species, and condition of the fish all play a role in their willingness to take something on the surface, but success is definitely possible, more so for some species than others.
48
Unleash the Kraken by George Krumm
Bow-mounted electric trolling motors have become increasingly popular with guides as well as private anglers in the Pacific Northwest pursuing trout, salmon, steelhead, and even bottomfish. Most who have one say they never want to go without it. The Force Kraken is Garmin’s saltwater-capable force majeure and it has many features that make it a fantastic choice for the Alaska angler, as well as those Outside.
22
Conservation
Faces of Bristol Bay: Building for the Future by Tica Drury
There are many who contribute to the well-being of the Bristol Bay area in southwest Alaska, from year-round residents, to visiting anglers and tourists, to the people who serve them. Chip and Skylar Lamont are two of the latter, having built Katmai Sky Lodge from the ground up, completely off-grid in a remote part of Bristol Bay, accessible only by floatplane, and surrounded by Katmai National Park.
