February 2026

Description

Departments

4   Fish Alaska Online

6   Alaska Traveler

10  Creel

12  Fishing for a Compliment

14  Gear Bag

16  Salmon Sense

18  Fly

20  Saltwater

22  Flyfishing

24  Conservation

26  Wind Knots

52  Ad Index

54  Recipe

58  Final Drift

Special Section 28

The Future of the Great Alaska Sportsman Show

The Great Alaska Sportsman Show is returning to the Sullivan Arena and we will be exhibiting. A return to the Sully is the first step in making this show great again. Our show preview gives you a glimpse into the past and future of this event.

On The Cover

Will and Ryan Filipowicz after an entertaining day catching sockeyes at Saltery Creek. © Brian Woobank

30 A Return to the Emerald Island by Marcus Weiner

The Rock (Kodiak Island) is a special place for anglers. Sitting on the edge of the Alaskan Gyre, it attracts a lot of marine life. Publisher Marcus Weiner visited last summer and fished saltwater to produce more content for his “Jig Life” series as well as fill some fish boxes with tasty bottomfish, and freshwater targeting sockeyes at Saltery Creek.

38 Behind the Scenes of an Alaskan Lodge by Sharon Trammell

Your first visit to an Alaskan lodge is sure to leave you with lasting memories, and probably, a burning desire to return. Sharon Trammell’s first Alaska lodge trip was to Togiak River Lodge where she experienced the wild bounty only Alaska can provide.

46 Fishing the Arctic by E. Donnall Thomas

The area north of the Arctic Circle is not what most traveling anglers think of when they ponder fishing in Alaska. But there is fishing up there. Though salmon are largely absent, resident and sea-run dollies, and grayling, are abundant in places, at times. A trip north of the Brooks Range is a uniquely Alaskan experience.

24 Conservation

Teaching the Joys of Flyfishing to the Next Generation by Dave Atcheson and Kevin Duffie

The Kenai Peninsula Chapter of Trout Unlimited (KPTU) held their third annual Youth Fly Fishing Camp this past summer. Tony Lewis, KPTU Board Member, and the catalyst behind the camp said, “The kids, first and foremost, all want to have a lot of fun and they do. But,” he’s quick to add, “it’s so much more. In addition to fishing, it’s about the principles Trout Unlimited holds dear: ethics, ecology, taking care of a dwindling resource. The biggest problem is fitting it all in a week.”