July 2021

Description

Salmon Quad: Silvers, Pinks, Sockeye, and Chum

Departments

4 Fish Alaska Online
6 Traveler
14 Gear Bag
16 Fishing for a Compliment
18 Salmon Sense
20 Fly
22 Boats
30 Saltwater
34 Flyfishing
36 Conservation
38 Fish For the Future
78 Recipe
81 Ad Index
82 Final Drift

Features

40 The Underrated Keta
by E. Donnall Thomas Jr.
Chum salmon, sometimes called dog salmon, are the second largest salmon species in Alaska. They are widely distributed, willing biters, fight hard, and are possibly responsible for more broken fishing rods than any fish in Alaska. Yet they are not pursued with the vigor that anglers display in pursuit of silvers or kings. Maybe they should be.

48 Precision Bobber & Bait Coho
by Scott Haugen
Your humble Editor often says, “Toss a spinner and you’ll hook the most aggressive coho in the hole; toss a bobber and eggs, and you’ll hook every coho in the hole.” Scott Haugen knows this, and when the chips are down, his go-to method for stream silvers will generally be a bobber and eggs. In this feature, he shares in-depth experience fishing bobber and bait for acrobatic coho in Southeast.

60 Unreasonably Underrated: Kenai Pinks Don’t Stink
by Francis V. Estalilla, MD
Unappreciated. Often overlooked. Sometimes scorned. Unreasonably underrated. The Kenai’s pink salmon run is large, and down in tidewater, they’re usually platinum, sea lice-encrusted, easy-to-catch battlers that make even the most experienced anglers crack a grin when caught with appropriate tackle. Dr. Francis Estalilla pursues them frequently after the Chinook fishery closes down, much to the joy of his friends and family.

70 Cracking the Klutina
by Joe Jackson
Copper River reds…desired by salmon epicures far and wide. The Klutina, a tributary of the mighty Copper, is one of the many tributaries in which Copper River sockeye ascend to spawn. Joe Jackson lives not far from the Klutina, and fishes it regularly for sockeye in June and July.

Cover: Kenai sockeye are plentiful, fight hard and taste great. © Greg Brush