Our Alaska fishing in November often starts with ice fishing for rainbow trout, Arctic Char / Dolly Varden, and landlocked salmon. We usually wait until the ice has time to thicken with ice fishing trips often starting near or after Thanksgiving. Check back later in the month for updates on ice and fishing conditions. Scroll Down for the latest fishing reports.
November 1, 2019 — I built about 150 of our new more durable Flashtrap Spinners in the silver / black pattern I use most frequently on my salmon fishing charters.
November 2, 2019 — I attended an informational meeting for outdoor users in Anchorage with individuals from several user groups, a few legislators, Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff, Fish and Wildlife Service staff, and one Department of the Interior staff.
November 3, 2019 — I built a few spinner patterns I had never tried before utilizing two light weight spinner blades. Next I drove over to Eklutna Tailrace and tested them. They did NOT work well, so needless to say I will not be building any more with that design. I took a few of my normal patterns along to compare with — and they worked so much better — starting easily and working smoothly on slow presentations. While at the tailrace I talked with 3 individuals who had been / were fishing. They had not caught any salmon today, but one of them had caught a blushed silver salmon on Saturday November 2 — they were fishing bait under bobbers.
November 13 and 14, 2019 — I attended the Mat-Su Salmon Symposium in Palmer at the Railroad Depot. It was a good time to hear what governmental groups, individuals, and organizations had been doing with salmon studies and habitat work in the Mat-Su Valley during the past year. It was also a good opportunity to talk with several individuals I mostly see at one of these meetings.
November 15, 2019 — Spinner Month Continues. I received several spinner body samples along with a large order of spinner shafts a few days ago. Having never tried any of these spinner bodies before, I built them into several spinner patterns in hopes of giving them a whirl shortly.
November 25, 2019 — With spinning reels on sale approaching Black Friday, I’ve purchased 3 Shimano Stradic 4000 XGFK spinning reels. This reel has been a solid performer over the past 3 years on king salmon and silver salmon charters — I own 12 of this model, and all of them remain in service. In addition a New model Shimano Stradic spinning reel has recently become available, and after seeing and cranking the newest model, I purchased six from 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla. I believe the Shimano Stradic ST4000XGFL will be the best Shimano spinning reel I’ve ever used on my guided salmon fishing trips — and that is saying a lot because over the years my guests and I have fished numerous models of Shimano reels. The ST4000XGFL features smoother gears, a longer stroke spool (said to increase casting distance), a better water resistance system, and weighs less. What’s not to like? I plan to use the new reels during my 2020 charter season — when my guests are primarily casting lures for king salmon or silver salmon. Why not fish for salmon with the best in 2020?
November Ice Fishing — Until recently it had been too warm to form good ice on the lakes — but with the recent drop in temperatures solid ice could be forming soon in the Palmer — Wasilla area. When I was over at 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle they had no reports of anyone ice fishing the local lakes at this time. It is always better to err on the side of caution and not go out on thin ice — especially early in the season. I normally consider Thanksgiving as about the earliest I want to venture out on local lakes. This year I have several other projects going and do not anticipate starting ice fishing trips until about December 20.