Brent and Gina
Arkansas
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I've read some on Salmon fishing primarily in Alaska here on the site, but I can't seem to find a simple answer to these two questions:
1. What time of year is best for silvers where crowds are minimal and fishing is still quite good?
2. What problems, if any, will I run into trying to haul fish back home, from Alaska through Canada, and is there a limit?
3. I see much traffic on Alaska. Does Canada have pretty good runs as well, west coast of course?
Thanks, Brent.
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garym114
Bluff Dale, Texas
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Generally the larger silver runs start in September. The run times are different for every stream. The silvers at Whitier and Valdez are hatchery fish and do not go up a river for their run. Take a look at the fish counts and run times for coho on the ADFG site Fish Counts
No limit and you will have no trouble going out of Canada. Hardest thing is to keep them frozen. Recommend filleting them out, vacuum bagging and freezing if you plan on taking a lot home.
Have Fun !
I had the most fun on the Anchor River and Valdez. We fished from a boat at Valdez.
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joe b.
Florida
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Late August and into September are when many of the silver runs occur. However the Alaska Dept of fish and feathers, has stopped counting many runs at the end of August, so you have to look at historic data. Some of the silver runs will draw lower crowds to the Kenai, as many of the Anchorage residents will have packed their freezers with reds, pinks and kings by the time the silvers show up. Silvers are by far the most fun to catch, IMHO, especially on a fly rod. If you don't want to be in crowds, you have to look at getting off the highway system and do some flying out.
I like to use the info given in www.alaskaoutdoorjournal.com
click on the "fish runs" in the upper right hand corner.
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FMVan
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The book "The Alaska Roadside Angler's Guide" has a lot of info on the runs.
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Brent and Gina
Arkansas
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joe b. wrote:Some of the silver runs will draw lower crowds to the Kenai, as many of the Anchorage residents will have packed their freezers with reds, pinks and kings by the time the silvers show up.
Although I understand that the the species preferred is opinion, in my research, I'm reading that reds and silvers top the lists more often due to texture and fat content. With silvers running later, it would seem logical for me to give them a go. Thoughts on why bigger crowds aren't fishing later in the season or fishing silvers? Well, other than just wanting to do it earlier in the year. School maybe? Summer ending? Just wondering.
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joe b.
Florida
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For eating fish, I much prefer reds and silvers over kings, dogs and pinks. There was an article in the Alaska Magazine, a couple of years back, about the dying sport of fishing in Alaska. The gist was that more and more people in Alaska, especially Anchorage area residents, are not sport fishing, but are out to fill their freezer with low cost, high quality fish. Often the red run is opened to residents for snagging in the Kenai area if the run is very large. Never heard of being able to snag silvers. The red run is the easiest fish run to do this on the Kenai. Then add in the dip netting for salmon in the Copper River area for residents and soon the freezer is full. Of course by spring time, the cook will be hearing, "oh no, salmon again tonight" LOL The dog salmon run would be the easiest to do on the Yukon River run, but they are not all that good eating, hence the name of the main consumers of them dried, dogs.(and bears) LOL
School may be some part of the factor, but once the freezer is full for many, they won't wet a line till next summer.
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sbishop
Eagle Rock, CA
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#1-The Kustatan River in late July to mid August. Check with Alaska West Air (in Kenai) for fly out with guide.
#2-Keeping the fish safe to eat. There is a daily limit and for some species, a bag limit. Canada won't be a problem.
#3-There are some fantastic runs of silvers in BC. But look at a map and then ask how do you get to the coast to fish. Most of the really good fishing is by fly out to Lodges.
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AKsilvereagle
North Pole, Alaska
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Only time I fished for silvers was in mid to late August when the runs started in the Valdez Area.... I would not say it was too crowded really as there is plenty of room to fish at any spot along the shoreline (at Allison Point), although I was privilaged to be in a boat that belonged to someone else.
I would say it was just as crowded as the pink runs that typically happen in mid July, which is a dime in a bucket comparing to the ungodly combat fishing that happens in June along the Kenai River (and Kenai Peninsula) for reds and kings.
Just to keep in mind also :
The past few years especially, the different species of fish have been running either late, slow, low count, or perhaps even a rare early occurence to where Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game would restrict or temporarily open/close fisheries when fishing season for those management region areas would be normally be open at calendar dates specified, depending what you would be fishing for....and of course subsistence and commercial fishing tend to have different regulation rules too.
So in other words, when you arrive close to the time and destination of the area you choose to fish at, keep posted with the ADFG website on specified dates for permitted fishing and do check with the toll free hotline phone number too which will give you up to date statewide regional reports on all the current open/closed fishing and current status of how good or slow the reported areas are doing.
As Joe and others have stated, if you want a secluded fishing experience away from people..... hook up with a guide and a boat, or fly out with a guide to remote places if you have the extra bucks for some real incredible fishing, which I have yet to do in my 29 years living in Alaska.
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Alaska Annie
Sheep Mountain, AK,USA
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Look at Valdez around Aug.20 to Labor Day. We fish from the beach at Allison Pt. and find that the crowds are smaller during the week. You can dry camp there or use one of the campgrounds in town and the city provides great fish cleaning stations. Valdez is a favorite for us.
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plainsman48
IN
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Brent and Gina wrote:I've read some on Salmon fishing primarily in Alaska here on the site, but I can't seem to find a simple answer to these two questions:
1. What time of year is best for silvers where crowds are minimal and fishing is still quite good?
2. What problems, if any, will I run into trying to haul fish back home, from Alaska through Canada, and is there a limit?
3. I see much traffic on Alaska. Does Canada have pretty good runs as well, west coast of course?
Thanks, Brent.
That all depends on when you're gonna be there. We are going in May and expect to see the kings running in BC & SE Alaska. By late June they should be at their peak. Many steelhead follow them, eating their eggs. Next come the reds, dog and pinks (depending on year cycle) - so by August the silvers will start to appear. Each area of Alaska has its own season (of sorts). I just outlined SE, where road access is limited.
We don't bring fish home - we only kill one king which will keep us in protein for a week.
Brett - deceased 4/11/2011
His step-brother Capt. Abraham Quasuittuq suffered a stroke and died 4/19/2011
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