Description
Departments
4 Fish Alaska Online
6 Alaska Traveler
8 Creel
10 Gear Bag
14 Fishing for a Compliment
16 Salmon Sense
18 Fly
20 Boats
30 Saltwater
32 Flyfishing
36 Conservation
78 Recipe
81 Ad Index
82 Final Drift
On The Cover
Tanner crab are abundant in Alaska and absolutely delicious to eat.
© Kodiak Legends Lodge
40
Saltwater Pink Salmon
by Terry W. Sheely
Pink salmon are the Rodney Dangerfields of salmon. They get no respect in Alaska! At least, not nearly as much as they deserve. Ask anglers in Seattle—they’ll be at the boat launch at 4:00 a.m. to target Puget Sound saltwater pink salmon. Meanwhile, Alaskans scoff at or ignore pinks. To turn little pinks into mighty humpies, gear up by gearing down and pinks will show you what they’re made of.
50
Descending Rockfish by George Krumm
All Alaska saltwater anglers fishing for bottomfish must have some form of descending device (AKA deepwater release device) onboard. It goes without saying that we should know how to use it. If we want to ensure the health of our rockfish populations, we all need to be prepared to skillfully descend any rockfish suffering from barotrauma that we don’t want to keep or are required to release.
62
Seafood Platter Coho
by Scott Haugen
Coho salmon in Alaska rivers are abundant and generally bite well, but they are equally well known for suddenly going off the bite, especially in heavily fished rivers. Scott Haugen has discovered some baits that can loosen up tight-lipped coho and get them biting again. Unusual seafood baits which are easily acquired in grocery stores can help you catch more coho, especially when they’ve developed a case of lockjaw.
70
Jigging for Saltwater Salmon by Josh Leach
The two most popular saltwater techniques for lining your floorboards with salmon scales are trolling and mooching. However, jigging for salmon in the salt chuck can be highly effective, doesn’t require large amounts of expensive herring, and is a fun, hands-on technique. Josh Leach jigs up lots of saltwater kings and silvers while guiding out of Larsen Bay on Kodiak every summer. This article tells you how to do it.
