July Alaska Fishing Reports 2021
During July 2021 — Fishtale’s Alaska salmon fishing trips targeted king salmon through July 12 — then transitioned to targeting silver (coho) salmon, chum salmon, and pink salmon from July 13 through the end of the month.
Thursday July 1, 2021 — Deshka River — I guided a morning group of 2 guests, each of whom caught a king salmon by drifting Fire Cured salmon roe under ESB Bobbers. One go the guests also caught 2 king salmon jacks with a Flashtrap Spinner before harvesting his large king salmon. During the trip they saw several eagles and some ducks along the river.
I guided an afternoon family group of 3 people who enjoyed spectacular sunny weather and warm temperatures, but did not catch any king salmon. During the trip my guest only got one bite. With the water dropping and water temperatures rising, it is very difficult getting bites on the afternoon trips — and even more so on hot sunny afternoons.
Little Susitna River Update: King salmon escapement past Little Susitna River weir is now 2,062 fish more than 98% of the minimum Little Susitna River king salmon escapement range of 2,100 — 4,300 fish.
Friday July 2, 20201 — I guided a morning group of 4 guests, 2 of whom caught a king salmon by drifting Fire Cured salmon roe under ESB Bobbers. During the trip we saw several bald eagles and some ducks with ducklings.
Little Susitna River Will Open to King Salmon Harvest The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced today that Little Susitna River would open to king salmon harvest below the weir only at 6 am on Saturday July 3 — Tuesday July 13, 2021 11 pm. This will provide 11 days of king salmon harvest on Little Susitna River (all in July) during the 2021 season.
By day’s end 2,392 king salmon had passed Little Sustina River weir — 292 fish above the minimum escapement of 2,100 fish.
Saturday July 3, 2021 — Deshka River –I guided a morning group of 5 guests, 2 of whom caught king salmon on a #7 Flashtrap Spinner. During the trip we saw a moose with 2 calves, bald eagles, and a coyote.
As mentioned above — Little Susitna River opened to king salmon harvest today — and below the weir only. Talking with my nephew who fished at Little Susitna River today — fishing success was wide spread, but relatively low. He said boats were getting about one king salmon per boat — which is what his group caught.
Sunday July 4, 2021 — I guided a morning group of 5 guests, 4 of whom caught a king salmon by drifting Fire Cured salmon roe under ESB Bobbers. During the trip we saw plenty of bald eagles and an arctic loon.
I guided an afternoon group of 4 guests, and 2 of them caught jack king salmon by drifting Fire Cured salmon roe under ESB Bobbers. One guest also hooked and fought a larger king salmon for a while, only to have it pull loose before getting a chance to land it. During the trip we once again saw several bald eagles and an arctic loon.
Monday July 5, 2021 — I have the day off from guiding, but may be spending considerable time getting ready for future trips. Morning fishing trips have been considerably more product over the past week and we expect that trend to continue — although the forecasted rain for this week could help boost catch rates for both morning and afternoon fishing trips for the next 5 days. We currently have whole boat morning trip availability for guided king salmon trips to the Deshka or Little Susitna River each day through Sunday July 11. We also have afternoon availability on some of those dates — for people who would prefer a more leisurely start time. We have space in both Greg Acord’s and my boat depending upon the day selected.
Later today I will be working on my Friday fishing column for the Frontiersman Newspaper.
Flashtrap Spinners — 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla now has a limited supply of our new size 6 Flashtrap Spinners in glow orange, glow pink, glow blue, and chartreuse blades with sticky sharp treble hooks. If you like slinging spinners you may want to give these a try.
Tuesday July 6, 2021 — I guided an afternoon group of 3 guests, each of whom caught a king salmon by drifting Fire Cured salmon roe under ESB Bobbers. During the trip guests saw and took photos of several bald eagles along the river. It was a wet afternoon, and I am hopeful the rain raise the river water level a bit, as it was lower than it has been all year.
Wednesday July 7, 2021 — I guided a morning group of 4 guests, each of whom caught a king salmon. 1 king salmon was caught on Fire Cured salmon roe drifted under an ESB Bobber, 2 king salmon were caught on a #7 Flashtrap Spinner, and a king salmon was caught on a #5 Vibrax. During the trip we saw a moose in the river, an arctic loon, and some bald eagles.
After my guided trip I noticed Northern Cook Inlet commercial fishers harvested over 100 sockeye salmon per permit fished along with about 1 coho and 1 pink salmon per permit on Monday July 5. Even these low numbers of pink and coho salmon are an indication to me that additional salmon species will be showing up in Mat-Su streams soon.
Thursday July 8 — I guided an afternoon group of 5 guests, one of whom caught a king salmon jack and a mussel on a #5 Vibrax Spinner. Two other guests hooked and fought king salmon, but were unable to land them. One king salmon was caught on a #7 Flashtrap Spinner and the other king salmon was caught by drifting Fire Cured salmon roe under an ESB Bobber. During the trip we saw several bald eagles along the river and some ducks.
Friday July 9, 2021 — I guided a group of 4 men in the morning, each of whom caught a king salmon. 3 king salmon were caught on Fire Cured salmon roe drifted under ESB Bobbers and 1 king salmon was caught on a #5 Vibrax Spinner. During the trip we saw several bald eagles and some ducks.
Saturday July 10, 2021 — I guided a group of 2 couples in the morning, and 2 people caught king salmon. One king salmon was caught on a #7 Flashtrap Spinner and 1 king salmon was caught on a #5 Vibrax Spinner. In addition a jack king salmon was caught on Fire Cured salmon roe drifted under an ESB Bobber. During the trip we saw an otter, ducks, and several bald eagles. It was cloudy and cool all morning.
I guided an afternoon family group of 4 people, one of whom caught a king salmon on a#7 Flashtrap spinner. During the afternoon we had some sunshine and saw lots of bald eagles.
Sunday July 11, 2021 — I guided a morning group of 4 guests, 3 of whom caught a king salmon by drifting Fire Cured salmon roe under ESB Bobbers. In addition another salmon was hooked and battled for several minutes before coming unhooked. That last salmon hit a #7 Flashtrap Spinner. During the trip we saw a seal and several bald eagles.
Monday July 12, 2021 — First 2021 Chum Salmon from My Boat –I guided a family of 5 on a morning trip, and they caught 1 dark king salmon on a Mag Likp Flatfish (which was released) and the first chum salmon of the year on a Kwikfish. During the trip we saw a bald eagle, a flock of yellow legs shorebirds, and ducks. Greg Acord also guided an additional 4 people as part of this trip who caught 3 king salmon.
Tuesday July 13 , 2021 — First 2021 Coho Salmon from My Boat –-I guided a morning group of 2 people who limited on salmon. One guest caught and kept 2 silver (coho) salmon and the other guest caught and kept a king salmon. Salmon were caught on a #6 Flashtrap Spinner and a #5 Vibrax Spinner. During the trip we saw a cow and calf moose along the river.
I guided an afternoon group of 6 guests, who caught 2 king salmon, 2 pink salmon, and 5 coho salmon. The fish were caught on #5 and #6 Flashtrap Spinners and a #5 Vibrax Spinner. During the trip we saw 2 moose that came down to the river and some bald eagles.
Wednesday July 14, 2021 — I guided a morning group of 4 guests who caught 3 coho salmon while casting spinners. During the trip we saw shorebirds, ducks, and bald eagles.
I guided an afternoon group of 4 guests, one of whom caught a silver salmon, and one of whom caught a pink salmon while casting with spinners.
Thursday July 15, 2021 — I guided a morning group of 4 guests, one of whom caught a king salmon, a silver salmon, and hooked but lost a pink salmon. All of the fish were hooked on the same #6 silver Flashtrap Spinner. During the trip we saw a beaver up on the bank eating, shorebirds, ducks, a hawk, and a bald eagle.
I had some rest and relaxation with the afternoon off.
Friday July 16, 2021 –– I guided a morning group of 5 guests who caught 2 king salmon, 1 chum salmon, and 1 rainbow trout while casting with Flashtrap and Vibrax Spinners. During the trip we w saw shorebirds, and a bald eagle.
I guided an afternoon group of 2 guests, 1 of whom caught a silver salmon and 1 of whom caught a pink salmon. Both fish were caught on a # 5 Vibrax Spinner. During this trip we saw several salmon surface, a bald eagle, and shorebirds.
Saturday July 17, 2021 — I guided a mid-morning group of 3 guest, one of whom caught a silver salmon, and one of whom caught a pink salmon. One fish was caught on a #6 nickel Flashtrap Spinner and the other fish was caught on a #5 Orange blade Flashtrap Spinner. During the trip we saw a hawk, shorebirds, and a couple bald eagles.
Most Mat-Su Valley streams are at low flow levels right now, so we could really use some rain to raise water levels and cool water temperatures. Commercial fisheries have been harvesting a large amount of salmon in Upper Cook Inlet — however — Area -wide drift gill net opening will be reduced during the last half of July and in addition there should likely be some net restrictions occurring in the Northern District set gill net fishery starting on July 22. Combine that with the usual run timing for pink salmon, chum salmon, and coho salmon, and Mat-Su streams should start seeing a boost in salmon numbers during the coming week. FISH ON!
Sunday July 18 — I had a day off from guiding. I built several different patterns of Flashtrap Spinners to test fish during my next trips.
Monday July 19, 2021 — I guided a morning group of 3 guests, one of whom caught a silver salmon and also hooked a whitefish while casting with #5 Flashtrap Spinners. During the trip we saw plenty of shorebirds and some ducks. Water level remained low, but I expect it will briefly go up and then back down tomorrow.
Tuesday July 20, 2021 — I had the day off from guiding, and wrote my Frontiersman Newspaper Fishing Column for the Friday July 23 paper.
Wednesday July 21, 2021 — I made two lower Susitna River dip netting trips with two groups of friends.
Thursday July 22, 2021 — Greg Acord and I each guided a morning group of 4 guests. Each group caught 2 silver salmon on Flashtrap Spinners. Greg’s group also caught 3 pink salmon.
Friday July 23, 2021 — I guided a morning group of 4 guests who caught 4 silver salmon, 1 chum salmon, and a few pink salmon. All of the fish were caught on #5 Flashtrap Spinners in either silver or pink blades.
I guided and afternoon group of 6 guests who caught 1 chum salmon and 1 silver salmon. Both fish were caught on #5 pink blade Flashtrap Spinners.
Saturday July 24, 2021 — I guided an afternoon group of 6 guests who caught 1 chum salmon and 3 silver salmon. All of the fish were caught while casting with Flashtrap Spinners.
Sunday July 25 , 2021 — I guided an afternoon group of 4 guests, one of whom caught a silver salmon on a #5 Vibrax Spinner.
Monday July 26, 2021 — First coho salmon limits for entire boat in 2021 — I guided a morning group of 3 experienced salmon anglers who made me look good and each harvested a limit of coho salmon. In addition, one of the anglers also caught and released two ocean-fresh chum salmon before harvesting his coho limit. All of the fish were caught by casting #5 pink bladed Flashtrap Spinners. We saw a bald eagle and sandhill crane along the river.
I guided 2 anglers in the afternoon, one of whom caught a chum salmon and the other of whom caught a coho salmon. The chum was caught with a #5 pink Flashtrap Spinner and the coho was caught on a #5 Vibrax Spinner. During the trip the guests were excited to see and photograph 2 bald eagles along the river.
Tuesday July 27, 2021 — I guided a group of 4 people who caught 3 silver salmon and 2 pink salmon while casting with Flashtrap and a Vibrax Spinner. During the trip we saw a cow and calf moose waded out in the river.
Wednesday July 28, 2021 — I took friends and family out on the lower Susitna River today. We saw bald eagles along the river.
Thursday July 29, 2021 — I guided a morning group of 4 guests, 3 of whom caught and harvested limits of coho salmon and the final one harvested 1 silver salmon. In addition, two members of the group also caught a chum salmon — one of which was harvested. All of the salmon were caught by casting spinners. One of the silver salmon was caught on an experimental Spinner with a Colorado blade.
I guided an afternoon group of 5 guests, 3 of whom caught limits of silver salmon, and 1 of whom caught a single silver salmon. In addition one member of the group also caught and harvested a chum salmon. All of the fish were caught on #5 Flashtrap Spinners. During the trip we saw lots of shorebirds and merganser ducks and a bald eagle.
Friday July 30, 2021 — I guided 3 guests — 2 of whom caught limits of coho salmon and 1 of whom caught 1 silver salmon. In addition all member of the group caught some pink salmon and 2 members of the group each caught a sockeye salmon. All of the fish were caught on Fire Cured salmon roe drifted under ESB Bobbers.
Saturday July 31, 2021 — I guided a group of 6 people in the morning who caught 5 coho salmon on Fire Cured salmon roe. During the trip we saw several bald eagles.
In the afternoon I took my wife and some friends dipnetting.
Interested in a guided Alaska Salmon fishing trip — Call for information — or to make your reservation (907) 746-2199. Next day reservation must be made over the phone.
For our next Alaska Salmon Fishing Report — please go to our August 2021 Alaska Fishing Reports page.