Alaska Fishing Reports for Fishtale River Guides operating on Mat-Su Valley rivers, lakes, and streams a 90 minute drive north of Anchorage. June is our best king salmon fishing month — and in 2019 we will be providing king salmon fishing trips to the Eklutna Tailrace / Knik River fishery. As mentioned on our May Fishing Reports — the Deshka River and Little Susitna River were closed to king salmon fishing starting May 1, because of a projected low return of king salmon during 2019 — so any trips to those two locations and other Susitna River drainage locations will focus on other species of fish this year.
June 1, 2019 — Eklutna Tailrace — I drove in the morning and arrived just as two gentlemen were leaving — we talked a bit and they showed me an ocean-chrome king salmon of close to 20 pound that one of them had caught while casting with a spinner. They had not seem any fish rolling, and had only fished for about 1/2 hour before catching this fish. I talked to other people fishing along the tailrace and there was one other fish caught earlier before I arrived that people knew about. Otherwise everyone I talked to had not even seen a salmon surface that morning. I covered lots of water in the tailrace with both Fired Cured salmon roe drifted under an ESB Bobber and also by casting and swinging a #5 pink blade Flashtrap Spinner. I saw some ducks and other anglers, but no king salmon and no bites this morning.
June 2, 2019 — My wife and I packed camping gear for a trip we had planned.
June 3, 2019 — Camping with my wife, my older brother, and two additional friends.
June 4, 2019 — Camping and fishing. My brother spotted and pointed out a grizzly bear, we also saw bald eagles, several moose, and snowshoe hares.
June 5, 2019 — Clean up from our camping trip.
June 6, 2019 — I guided an afternoon group of 4 guests for king salmon on the Knik River. No one caught a king salmon. We did see a few salmon surface, and had a couple bites while drifting Fire Cured salmon roe under ESB bobbers. We saw some bald eagles during the trip and several other boatloads of anglers out attempting to catch king salmon.
June 7, 2019 — I guided a group of 2 guests, each of whom caught a king salmon while drifting Fire Cured salmon roe under ESB Bobbers. In addition, one of the guests also caught a whitefish. During the trip we saw some bald eagles and ducks. Driving home after the trip I spotted a moose feeding near the highway.
June 8, 2019 — My wife, nephew, niece, and I went on an early morning personal fishing trip to the Knik River. We fished kwikfish, spin-n-glow / diver/bait, and Fire Cured salmon roe under an ESB bobber. We did not get any bites. The river was the highest and darkest color I’ve seen it this year. We saw a few other groups out in boats, but did not see anyone hooking fish. During the trip we saw a bald eagle in a perch over the river watching us fish.
June 9, 2019 — I guided a morning group of 2 guests for king salmon, who did fine job of fishing, but decided to call it a trip after about 3 hours of fishing. We did not get any bites or see anyone else fighting a fish. There were only 4 other boats out this morning, but the water had risen even more since yesterday and remained quite turbid.
June 10 — My wife, nephew, and a friend went camping.
June 11 — camping trip.
June 12 — I guided 5 guests, 2 of whom caught king salmon. Both fish were caught on Fire Cured salmon roe fished behind a Spin-N- Glo. In addition we saw a few small fish surfacing during the trip, and also saw 3 trumpeter swans, a bald eagle, and several other boats full of anglers. Water was of better clarity today although still mostly gray in color. It has been an extra long day with plenty to do beside guide a fishing trip.
June 13 — My wife and I made a 9 hour drive today to retrieve a repaired vehicle and a trailer.
June 14 — I guided a group of 3 people, 2 of whom caught a king salmon. 1 king salmon was caught on a Mag Lip Flatfish and 1 king salmon was caught on a Spin-N-Glo and Fire Cured salmon roe fished behind a jet diver. We saw additional salmon surfacing today. Water was quite turbid. Along the river we saw some bald eagles and ducks and other people fishing.
June 16 — I guided a morning group of 2 guests, each of whom caught a king salmon. Both king salmon were caught on Fire Cured salmon roe fished behind a Spin-N-Glo and a jet diver. During the trip we saw bald eagles and a duck with young ducklings.
I guided an afternoon group of 4 guests, 3 of whom caught a king salmon. 2 king salmon were caught on a Mag Lip Flatfish and 1 king salmon was caught on Fire Cured salmon roe fished behind Spin-N-Glo and jet diver. We saw the same duck family during the afternoon, and although we heard the eagles calling we did not see them.
June 17 — I guided a group of 4 guests who caught 1 king salmon and 1 king salmon jack. Both of the fish were caught on Fire Cured salmon roe fished behind a Spin-N-Glo and a jet diver. During the trip we saw one bald eagle, and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day. We also saw other anglers catch some king salmon. River level remains high and water is turbid.
June 18 — I did not have any guided trips today, but took my brother, a niece, a nephew, and my wife fishing. My brother and my wife each caught a king salmon on Fire Cured salmon roe fished behind a Spin-N-Glo and jet diver.
June 19 — I guided a group of 2 guests, each of whom caught a king salmon on Fire Cured salmon roe fished behind a Spin-N0Glo and jet diver. During the trip we saw several bald eagles and plenty of other anglers out looking for a king salmon.
June 20 — I guided a morning group of 4 guests, 3 of whom caught a king salmon. The group also caught 3 jack king salmon. All of the fish were caught on Fire Cured salmon roe drifted behind a jet diver or on a Mag Lip Flatfish plug. During the trip we saw a family of ducks, and some bald eagles.
I guided an afternoon group of 3 guests, each of whom caught a king salmon on a Mag Lip Flatfish plug. During the trip we saw the same family of ducks and some bald eagles. We have been getting a few bites per trip and my guests have been doing a great job of hooking and landing those bites.
June 21 — I guided a group of 3 guests, 1 of whom caught a king salmon. That was the only bite the group got. The fish was caught on a Mag Lip Flatfish. The river is running high after some hot weather and visibility is quite low. We fished right where we saw a few fish rolling, but simply could not draw another strike. During the trip we saw several bald eagles and the family of merganser ducks. We also saw several other anglers out fishing.
June 22 — I guided a morning trip of 3 people and 1 of them caught a king salmon. The king salmon was caught on Fire Cured salmon roe behind a Spin-n-glo and jet diver. During the trip we saw some bald eagles, the family of ducks, and a pair of sandhill changes. We had great guests this morning and simply could not get many solid hookups. Quite a lot of other anglers out this morning. Water is high and turbid and will likely stay that way with our recent hot weather.
I guided an afternoon trip with 2 people and although they got a few bites we were not able to hook any salmon well enough to bring them to the boat. We fished with both plugs and Fire Cured salmon roe behind Spin-N-Glos and jet divers. During the trip we had a very good view of several bald eagles, and also saw the family of ducks.
June 23, 2019 — My wife and I were attempting a road trip when we had a mechanical issue with her Suburban. It will be getting worked on at Jenski Automotive in Palmer — so we may not be fishing on Monday July 24 . I’m hoping to get one of my other guide boats out for a check run on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Tuesday June 25, 2019 — I guided a group of 2 guests for king salmon. We had one really good pull down bite, but were unable to hook it. In addition we had a few smaller bites, but did not hook them either. We watched two other boats get one king salmon each. We fished Fire Cured salmon roe behind Spin-N-Glos and jet diver, and also fished Mag Lip Flatfish and Kwikfish plugs. During the trip we saw bald eagles, and I also spotted some dall sheep on the mountain.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game is opening Little Susitna River to king salmon fishing and harvest starting 6 am on Wednesday June 26, 2019.
Wednesday June 26, 2019 — I took a morning group of friends fishing who caught 1 full-sized king salmon, 2 small king salmon, and 1 jack king salmon. All except one of the fish were caught on Mag Lip Flatfish, the other fish was caught on a Spin-N-Glo. During the trip we saw some bald eagles and ducks, and plenty of other anglers.
I guided an afternoon group of 2 guests, 1 of whom caught a king salmon on a Mag Lip Flatfish. Water was very muddy by afternoon, but we still had 3 bites. We fished lots of water to get those bites.
Thursday June 27, 2019 — I guided a morning group of 4 guests, who caught 2 small king salmon and 2 jack king salmon. 1 king salmon was caught on a Spin-N-Glo and 1 king salmon was caught on a Mag Lip Flatfish. Both jack king salmon were caught on Flashtrap Spinners. We saw a moose right at the start of the trip and some eagles during the trip.
I guided an afternoon group of 3 guests, who had a few bites, but did not catch any fish. We saw some bald eagles and near the end of the afternoon trip we saw 2 single moose. The river level is dropping.
Friday June 28, 2019 — I guided a morning group of 5 guests, who caught 1 king salmon, 3 jack king salmon, 1 rainbow trout, and 1 whitefish. The king salmon was caught on a Mag Lip Flatfish as was 1 of the king salmon jacks. 1 king salmon jack was caught on a Flashtrap Spinner, and 1 king salmon jack, the rainbow trout, and the whitefish were caught on a wee wiggler. Water is dropping and there was a considerable amount of boat traffic this year.
I guided an afternoon group of 3 guests, who caught 1 king salmon, 4 jack king salmon, and 2 rainbow trout. The king salmon, 3 jack king salmon, and 1 rainbow trout were caught on Mag Lip Flatfish. 1 king salmon jack and 1 rainbow trout were caught on a wee wiggler. We saw a family of ducks during the trip, and after the trip I saw a moose in the Little Susitna River Public Use Facility campground area. There were lots of people heading to the river this evening and other boaters setting up camps along the river when we returned from out trip.
Saturday June 29 — We had Saturday morning booked, but after our report on fishing conditions and the number of people out looking for king salmon our guests decided to wait for a better fish catching opportunity. Therefore we will take Saturday off from king salmon fishing and guiding.
Sunday June 30 — I guided a morning group of 2 guests, 1 of whom caught a small king salmon and a jack king salmon. The king salmon was caught while casting with a #5 Flashtrap Spinner. The jack was caught on a Mag Lip Flatfish. During the trip we saw bald eagles and a moose.
I guided an afternoon group of 6 guests, 1 of whom caught a jack king salmon on a #5 Flashtrap Spinner. That was the only hook up the group had. During the trip we saw 2 bald eagles.
Go to our July 2019 Alaska Fishing Reports page for our next update.
If you would like more information about out guided riverboat trips for salmon during July, 2019 or if you would like to make a reservation for a July, August , or September 2019 fishing trip feel welcome to give us a call at 907-746-2199.
In early July we will start focusing our trips on catching chum salmon, coho salmon, sockeye salmon, and pink salmon. Our best salmon fishing of the 2019 season will likely occur in July, August, and early September — when we will be fishing primarily for silver and chum salmon.