February 2021

Description

Departments

6 Traveler
10 Creel
12 Gear Bag
14 Fishing for a Compliment
16 Salmon Sense
18 Fly
20 Boats
26 Saltwater
28 Flyfishing
30 Conservation
60 Fish Alaska Online
62 Recipe
65 Ad Index
66 Final Drift

Features

32 The Hidden Gems of the Copper River Valley
by Joe Jackson
The Copper River Valley is a beautiful stretch of sparsely populated Alaska. In it, most travelers are just passing through on their way to someplace else. However, they are also passing by lots of water filled with wild grayling, and in some places Dolly Varden and rainbows. Joe illuminates some of these gems in this story.

40 Sitka DIY Kings and Halibut
by George Krumm
Long known as a premier destination for saltwater kings and halibut, Editor George Krumm travelled to Sitka on a do-it-yourself adventure based out of Fish Baranof to enjoy high times on the high seas and loaded his freezer with succulent kings and halibut in the process. With DIY anglers able to harvest two halibut per day of any size, a DIY trip with Fish Baranof can pay big dividends for those with sufficient boat operating skills.

46 Twitching Jigs: One Lure for All Species
by JD Richey
It’s hard to say who first discovered that twitched lead-head jigs consistently provoke strikes from kegged-up coho. The technique is all the rage for coho these days, but twitching ain’t just for silvers. JD Richey has caught a multitude of species on twitching jigs, both in freshwater and the salt chuck.

52 There Is Only One Koktuli
by Terry W. Sheely
Originating at nearly ground zero of the proposed Pebble mine deposit, the Koktuli flows roughly west to its confluence with the Mulchatna, which carries its water downstream to the Nushagak and into Bristol Bay. The gentle Koktuli is home to Chinook, coho, chum and sockeye salmon as well as Arctic grayling, Dolly Varden and rainbows. Find out why Sheely can’t wait to go back.

Cover: Austin Moser of Austin’s Northwest Adventures with a leviathan Sitka ling just prior to release on a DIY trip with Fish Baranof. © George Krumm