July 2025 Alaska Fishing Reports
July is the month where our guests catch all 5 species of Alaska salmon. It is rare for a person to catch all 5 species on the same trip, but it is possible — and especially around mid-month. This year king salmon fishing has been closed on both the Little Susitna River and Deshka River, however, there should be solid numbers of other salmon to catch at both of these location during July. July 14 is the date bait fishing opens on the Susitna River drainage, so we often have guests interested in fishing at that time. Little Susitna River is restricted to artificial lures through August 5, but the cooler water temperatures of Little Susitna River, during July, and the presence of all 5 salmon species often make it our top choice for the month.
Timing wise, king salmon are in largest abundance early in July, and the only location we are allowed to fish for king salmon this year is the Eklutna Tailrace / Knik River side-channel fishery. Sockeye salmon are available all the way through July at Little Susitna River and Knik River, but often with greater availability during the later half of the month. Chum salmon start a bit later, but on an early run-timing year may also be available from the start of July — with larger abundances of chum salmon starting about July 20. Pink salmon can show up in large numbers early in July — and particularly at Deshka River (where the bonus pink salmon limit is 6 per day) — on Little Susitna River the greatest pink salmon abundance is often during the last 10 days of July. Our guests have caught a few early coho on Little Susitna in late June and on the Deshka River during the first week of July, however the best coho catching usually occurs after July 20 and throughout August. Currently our earliest group with a reservation in July is scheduled for July 3. The young man pictured above caught his first ocean-fresh coho salmon from Little Susitna River on a July 10 charter.
Scroll Down for the most recent July 2025 Fishing Report:
July 1, 2025 — Fish Creek Weir — An Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) fisheries biologist told me yesterday (June 30) the Fish Creek salmon counting Weir was installed. Therefore, the first counts of salmon passing the weir should be available on the ADF&G website shortly (during periods of low water flow salmon may school below a weir for a few days before migrating on upstream). P. S. Later in the day I noticed ADF&G had posted a single sockeye salmon had passed the Fish Creek Weir on June 30 – the same day of installation. This is the earliest passage of sockeye salmon through the Fish Creek weir I found in searching through 30 years of records — however — June 30 is also the earliest Fish Creek weir installation in 30 years of records posted on ADF&G’s website.
I am writing my weekly fishing column for the Frontiersman Newspaper (for the Friday July 4th paper), making an Anchorage shopping trip with my wife, and also have an afternoon dental appointment today, so no fishing charters are scheduled for today.
July 2, 2025 — Eklutna Tailrace I fished and watched others fishing at Eklutna Tailrace this morning for a couple hours. When I arrived one angler had already caught a large king salmon near the tailrace / Knik River confluence. Most anglers in that area were drifting bait under bobbers. I casted a #4 spinner without any strikes, and worked my way up to where the tailrace emerges from under the Old Glenn Highway. I only saw one fish surface upstream of the pedestrian bridge. I saw several salmon surface downstream gof the tailrace / Knik confluence and watched two anglers hook king salmon. One salmon got away, while the other was caught — which I would estimate to weigh over 20 pounds. Both fish I saw that anglers had caught were developing a dark reddish hue. One fish was obviously a male, and the other looked to be a female. When I arrived there was a dozen vehicles in the parking lot, and when I left there were 14 vehicles. Most of the fish surfacing that I saw were early in the morning with considerably less fish activity when I left a bit after 8 a.m.
King Salmon Restrictions: Upper Copper River (including Gulkana, Klutina, Tonsina) sport king salmon fishing will be Restricted to Catch and Release Only starting Monday July 7, 2025. In addition all Upper Copper River drainage flowing waters are restricted to fishing with single hook artificial lures through August 10.
July 3, 2025 — First Chum Salmon of 2025 I guided a morning group of 3 guests who caught 1 chum salmon, several jack king salmon and a few larger king salmon. The jacks and kings were released without removing them from the water. All the fish were caught on diving plugs rigged with 1/2 inch gap single hooks. Each guest caught a fish. During the trip we saw ducks and a bald eagle along the river.
I guided an afternoon group of 5 guests, each of whom caught a fish. During the trip 1 chum salmon, 1 rainbow trout, some jack kings and some larger kings were caught. The only fish harvested was the chum salmon. All of the fish were caught on diving plugs with a 1/2 inch gap single hook. Each guest caught a salmon. We saw multiple bald eagles along the river in the afternoon. The water was high and dark colored during both trips.
Note: Today Dustin Slinker with The Bait Shack on Ship Creek in downtown Anchorage posted on his Facebook page that an angler caught the first know pink salmon of the season from Ship Creek. Dustin also mention that anglers had been seeing pinks on some of the recent high tides.
July 4, 2025 — I guided an afternoon group of 2 guests from New York. One of them caught a king salmon and a king salmon jack. The other guest briefly hooked, but lost a salmon. We had a tougher time finding fish today, and did not see any surface during the trip. All of the fish were hooked on small plugs with a 1/2 inch gap single hook. Both fish were released. Near the end of the trip we heard and saw a bald eagle. With the warm sunny weather the river was a bit higher today.
July 5, 2025 — First Sockeye of 2025 –-I guided a morning group of 4 guests, who caught 2 sockeye salmon, 1 jack king salmon, and 3 king salmon while fishing with small plugs. The two sockeye salmon were kept, while the jack king and kings were released. We’ve been fishing lots of water to find a few salmon each trip during the past three days. During our trip we saw a beaver, a couple bald eagles and some ducks and ducklings along the river.
NOTE: We have morning fishing charter availability for the next three days (Sunday July 6, Monday July 7, and Tuesday July 8). To schedule a trip with less than 24 hour notice — you will need to call. Trips more than 24 hours in the future can be booked on this website — using our online reservation service or through a phone call.
July 6, 2025 — Eklutna Tailrace — No charters today, so I drove over and fished the tailrace for about an hour in the morning. I casted a #4 spinner and did not get any bites. I watched the other 6 anglers fishing near the Tailrace / Knik River confluence, but did not see anyone hook a salmon. I did see one sockeye salmon on the bank that had been caught before I arrived, and talked with another angler who mentioned a couple other nearly identical salmon had also been caught earlier. There was a good amount of water flowing out from the tailrace, however, the Knik River water volume looked to have increased, so likely the Eklutna Tailrace lens of cleaner water may not extend as far down the Knik River side-channel as it did earlier in the season. While at the tailrace I observed several salmon surfacing — some of which appeared to be sockeye to me.
Monday July 7, 2025 — I wrote my weekly fishing column for the Frontiersman Newspaper today. The Mat-Su Anglers column should be available in print in the Friday July 11 Frontiersman — possible sooner online. We had no salmon fishing charter scheduled for today July 7, however, our salmon fishing charter availability is filling rapidly for the next couple weeks.
Mat-Su Valley salmon counts through the Lake Creek sonar, Deshka River Weir, and Fish Creek weir were posted on the ADF&G website — after no updates since the start of the Independence Day holiday weekend. Salmon passages through July 6 include:
Deshka Weir — 1,364 Chinook (king) pink, coho, and limited sockeye and chum counts likely by approximately July 20. Fish Creek Weir — 91 sockeye (red) with daily counts of coho, pink, and chum likely to start sometime in mid or late-July. Lake Creek sonar –477 Chinook (king) through July 2.
Little Susitna River Weir — no salmon counts yet, but ADF&G is prioritizing installation of Little Susitna River Weir, as soon as possible, awaiting subsidence of high stream flows caused by late snow melt / recent rain. I expect to see positive daily counts for Chinook, sockeye, and chum salmon as soon as this weir is installed (at a further upstream location for 2025) with positive counts of coho and pink salmon to follow soon — or at the same time depending upon installation date.
Jim Creek Weir — scheduled for installation during the later half of July — with sockeye and coho salmon counts to follow.
Larson Lake Weir — (Talkeetna River drainage) — may post sockeye salmon counts starting approximately July 20.
Chelatna Lake Weir –-(headwaters of Lake Creek) — may post sockeye salmon counts starting approximately July 20.
July 8, 2025 — No fishing charters scheduled today, so I posted data on when the first coho and sockeye salmon passed Mat-Su salmon counting weirs during 2024 (last year). See the Italic Reports Below. Note: Dustin Slinker with the Bait Shack at Ship Creek posted that the first coho salmon of 2025 was caught at that location on Monday July 7. Also I looked at the commercial harvest report from July 7 and noticed 62 coho were caught in the Northern District set gillnet fishery, so I am confident a few coho are likely in milling in the lower reaches of some Mat -Su Valley streams by now.
July 9, 2025 — First Pink Salmon of 2025 —I guided a group of 4 guests from Iowa on a salmon fishing trip that started at 9 a.m.. Each of them caught 3 or more salmon. They caught 2 sockeye, 9 chum, 2 pink, 1 king salmon, and 1 king salmon jack. All of the fish were caught on small plugs with a 1/2 inch gap single hook as required by regulation. The group kept 9 chum salmon, 1 sockeye salmon, and 1 pink salmon. All of the other fish were released without removing them from the water. Once again we fished lots of spots along the river searching for fish. During the trip we only saw one salmon surface — other than the ones my guests hooked. While fishing we saw some bald eagles along the river and some ducks. Water appeared a bit higher today and was dark colored.
Note: Sockeye escapement numbers through Fish Creek Weir have jumped up with over 300 salmon passing the weir on both July 7 and 8. I imagine there is likely now a consistent number of sockeye available downstream of Knik Goose Bay Road on every high tide. This sport fishery is only open through July 14 and between the hours of 5 a.m. — 10 p.m.
Thursday July 10, 2025 — I guided a husband and wife from Iowa who caught 1 sockeye, 4 chum, and 6 king salmon on small plugs equipped with one small single hook. All the salmon were released, except for the sockeye salmon. The woman was interested in the wild flowers along the river. I identified Fireweed, Dwarf Fireweed, Geraniums, and also saw some blue bells for them. We also saw some ducks along the river. The water may have dropped a little today, but not much.
Larson Lake Weir installed.
Friday July 11, 2025 –– First coho salmon of 2025 –– I guided a morning group of 2 guests who caught and harvested 5 chum salmon and 1 sockeye salmon while fishing with small plugs. One guests also caught and released a king salmon jack. During the trip we saw a few bald eagles along the river and some ducks.
I guided an afternoon group of 5 guest, who caught 1 coho salmon, 4 chum salmon, 1 pink salmon, 2 rainbow trout, and a king salmon. They only kept the coho salmon and 4 chum salmon. All of the fish were caught on small plugs. During the trip we once again saw ducks and bald eagles along the river.
Saturday July 12, 2025 — I guided a morning group of 5 guests who caught 1 silver salmon, 1 sockeye salmon, 6 chum salmon and 1 king salmon on small single hook plugs. The king salmon was released, and they kept the other fish. During the trip w saw bald eagles along the river, and the guests also saw a cow and calf moose cross the road as they were driving to the boat launch area.
I guided a husband and wife in the afternoon, whom I believe caught 6 chum salmon, but decided to only keep 3 of them. All of the salmon were caught on small plugs, however they also casted and retrieved spinners for a considerable part of the trip. They saw and took pictures of a bald eagle perched in a tree along the river. The river was dropping this afternoon.
Lower Susitna River Personal Use Dip Net Fishery — This is the first day of Personal Use Dip Netting for Alaska residents on the lower Susitna River (near Susitna Station) in 2025. This fishery is open from 6 a.m. — 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Wednesdays ONLY through July 30. During 2025 there will be 6 total days of legal dip netting in the lower Susitna River fishery. Access is by boat from Deshka Landing or people also access this fishery by landing small airplanes on gravel bars (when the river is not too high).
July 13, 2025 — I guided a morning group of 5 guests who caught 9 chum salmon, 2 coho salmon, 1 sockeye salmon, 1 pink salmon, and 1 rainbow trout while fishing with single hook plugs. The pink salmon and rainbow trout were released, while they harvested all of the chum, coho, and sockeye. After filleting those fish I came home to get some rest, cure fish eggs, and prepare for guiding on Monday.
Monday July 14, 2025 — I guided a morning group of 4 guests, and we fished at at a location where they could use bait. They drifted Fire Cured salmon roe under ESB Bobbers, and even so we struggled to find salmon that would bite. They caught 1 coho salmon and 2 sockeye salmon. Water was rising during this trip.
I guided 2 very experienced anglers in the afternoon, and one of them caught a sockeye salmon by drifting Fire Cured salmon roe under ESB Bobbers, but only had a very few other light bites during the trip. We saw a bald eagle along the river during this trip.
ADF&G had tentatively scheduled to install Little Susitna Weir on this day. I hope they get it done and start counting salmon!
***First 2 coho salmon passed Deshka River Weir On July 14 during the 2024 season
July 15, 20125 — Day off from guiding. I will be writing my Frontiersman fishing column. ***First 14 coho salmon passed Little Susitna River Weir on July 15 during the 2024 season
Wednesday July 16, 2025 — I guided a group of 3 guests, who caught and harvested 8 chum salmon while fishing with small plugs — and one additional chum salmon which was caught on a #4 Spinner.
July 17, 2025 — I guided a morning group of 3 guests, each of whom selectively harvest a limit of chum salmon caught on small plugs equipped with one single hook. One of the guests also brought a pink salmon to the boat –that was not kept. While boating along the river, we had a yearling moose cross the river a short distance from the boat.
The first coho salmon passed Fish Creek Weir in 2025 — this was the first coho counted at any Mat-Su Valley weir in 2025.
Jim Creek Weir Installed — According to information posted on ADF&G’s website
July 18, 2025 — Day off from salmon charters. I tied up some some bait fishing rigs for later use, and will also be curing salmon roe later today.
Chelatna Lake weir Installed.
Saturday July 19, 2025 — I took extended family members fishing, and everyone caught salmon.. Greg Acord guided a salmon trip for us.
Sunday July 20, 2025 — Greg Acord guided a morning group of 2 guests for us, each of whom harvested a 3-salmon limit by casting spinners.
First 2 sockeye passed Chelatna Lake Weir in 2025.
I guided a mid-morning family group of 4 guests, each of whom caught a limit of salmon, although they did not all keep a limit. One guest harvested a coho salmon and two chum salmon on a #5 Pink Flashtrap Spinner, another guest harvested a chum and two coho on a #4 spinner and also released a pink salmon, a third guest harvested a coho on a #4 spinner and two chum salmon on plugs, the 4th guest harvested a coho on a #4 spinner and and a chum salmon on a plug, and relaseasd a pink also caught on the plug. It was a bit rainy today and we did not see much wildlife along the river. The water level had dropped a bit since I was previously guiding on Thursday.
July 21, 2025— Fish Creek Personal Use Fishery To Open. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced by emergency order today that the Fish Creek Personal Use Dip Net Fishery will for Alaska residents on July 23. The fishery located in a small portion of Fish Creek accessible form Knik Goose Bay Road will be open for a total of 8 days during the 2025 season from July 23 — 31. Legal fishing hours are from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. A household Upper Cook Inlet Personal Use permit is required to participate and may be obtained on the licensing page of the ADF&G website.
I guided an 11 a.m. family group of 5 anglers today, each of whom caught and harvested a limit of salmon while fishing with small plugs equipped with one single hook. The group harvested 13 chum salmon and 2 coho salmon, and also released a few pink salmon. During the trip they saw a couple bald eagles along the river and a muskrat near the shore as well.
First sockeye passed Larson Lake Weir in 2025.
First 5 coho passed Jim Creek Weir in 2025. First 72 sockeye passed Jim Creek weir in 2025. (One year ago the first 3 coho salmon and first 452 sockeye passed Jim Creek Weir on July 26)
July 22, 2025 — I have today off from guiding, and will be writing my weekly Frontiersman Newspaper fishing column, doing some boat maintenance, curing salmon roe for future use, going in for random drug testing as part of my coast guard boat captain licensing program, and preparing for a family & friends fishing trip tomorrow. Greg Acord will be guiding a group of salmon anglers for us today.
Saturday July 23, 2025 — First Day of Personal Use Dip Netting at Fish Creek — 6 a.m.– 11 p.m. I took a personal fishing trip, elsewhere, with my wife and three friends, and they all caught and harvested salmon.
Little Susitna River Weir installation completed at 7 p.m.
First 100 sockeye salmon passed Larson Lake Weir (Talkeetna River drainage) during the 2024 season
July 24, 2025 — I guided a husband and wife in the morning. She caught and harvested a limit of 2 chum salmon and 1 coho salmon, while he harvested a limit of 2 coho salmon. All of the coho were caught casting with #4 and #5 spinners. The chum salmon were caught on a small diving plug.
I guided a group of 4 in the afternoon and everyone caught a salmon. The group caught 1 coho salmon, 2 pink salmon, 4 chum salmon, and 2 rainbow trout. They also hooked, but lost some additional salmon — including 2 coho that went nuts when hooked! The fish were caught on #4 and #5 Spinners and also small plugs.
First 10 coho counted passing Little Susitna River Weir in 2025, along with 10 s0ckeye, 1 king, 62 pink, and 307 chum.
July 25, 2025 — It was a very wet guided fishing trip this morning. I had 4 guests, including one young boy on his first fishing trip. They harvested 1 coho salmon and 1 chum salmon, caught and released a couple pink salmon, and broke off 2 additional coho salmon that ran under the boat. Another few salmon were hooked and lost, but we never seemed to find any significant numbers of fish in one spot, and we tried lots of spots. Both harvested salmon were caught on #5 pink Flashtrap Spinners.
July 26, 2025 — Greg Acord guided a group of two, each of whom caught a limit of coho salmon. I had the day off from guiding.
July 27, 2025— I guided a 9 am group of 4 people who caught 5 coho salmon, 1 chum salmon, and 1 pink salmon. 6 salmon were caught while casting with #5 Flashtrap Spinners. 1 salmon was caught on a #4 Vibrax Spinner. During the trip we saw a beaver and bald eagles along the river.
July 28, 2025 — I guide a brother and sister on an 11 am trip guided mostly in the intertidal zone of the river. We cover lots of prime water, but saw very few salmon. The woman caught 2 coho on a #5 Flastrap Spinner, while her brother caught a chum salmon and experienced an exciting fight with a leaping coho, before it jumped a final time and shook the lure loose. During the trip we saw a couple bald eagles perched near the river.
July 29, 2025 — I guided and fished with one long-time guest on a mid-0morning trip. We each caught / harvested a limit of coho salmon. He caught his fish on a #5 Vibrax Spinner, while I caught my fish on #5 Flastrap Spinners. Later in the evening I also wrote my weekly fishing column for the Frontiersman Newspaper.
July 30, 2025 –The cooler weather and rain today will raise water levels a bit and cool down stream water temperatures _ I expect this change will kick coho salmon fishing success to a higher level — likely even by this afternoon. I had today off from salmon guiding, and picked raspberries in the morning, before it started raining.
Thursday July 31, 2025. — Last Day of Personal Use Dip Net Fishery at Fish Creek. This fishery will close for the 2025 season at 11 p.m. tonight, so Alaska residents with an Upper Cook Inlet Personal Use Permit who still may want to harvest sockeye salmon in the Mat-Su Valley have this last day of opportunity.
For Our next Fishing Report Update, Please Go to our August 2025 Alaska Fishing Reports page.