Brent Fenty was a newcomer to Alaska when he cast for trout in a Susitna Valley lake one evening a few Septembers ago. The waters around him reflected the golds and reds of fall, and the air, cooling fast as the sun sank below the treetops on the lake's far side, carried the sweet and sour smells of ripening berries.
From his float tube, Fenty worked a small cove where trout feeding on midges left rings on the lake surface. He kept his eyes on the water and when a fish eventually rose within range, he was ready. A crisp cast sent his fly toward the fading rise-form. For a moment, everything in the world seemed to stop. Fenty held his breath.
Suddenly, his line snapped taut and a trout sprang from the water. For a moment it hung over the lake, shaking crazily in a halo of droplets. Then it splashed down with a slap and Fenty hauled back on his rod. There were several more leaps and couple of hard runs that tore line from the drag on Fenty's reel. But soon he led the trout to his landing net, as he had with perhaps two dozen others that evening. Eighteen inches long, he announced, smiling.
Fenty removed the hook and lowered the fish back into the water. After it darted into the depths, Fenty looked up at the Talkeetna Mountains that loomed beyond the lake and said, "Alaska is such an awesome place."
Most anglers would agree. Whether you're fishing for spring steelhead in the streams of temperate Southeast or for sheefish in the ice-cold rivers of the Northwest Arctic, few places in the world offer greater angling action in more fantastic settings than Alaska. Of course, reaching the farthest-flung corners of this enormous, largely wilderness state can be challenging. And that's what sets the Susitna Valley apart.
Less than a two-hour drive north of Anchorage in Southcentral, this West Virginia-sized land of lakes and streams offers some of the state's most accessible and diverse fishing opportunities. Whether you're seeking a weeklong wilderness experience or just a couple hours of peace after a day in town, fine fishing in the Valleys awaits just a floatplane charter or short car drive away.
From May through early September, five species of Pacific salmon - kings, reds, pinks, chums and silvers - run in Valley streams. Native rainbow trout, arctic grayling and Dolly Varden are also plentiful in the creeks and rivers, while the region's scores of lakes provide excellent fishing for trout, arctic char, landlocked salmon, grayling and northern pike.
For many Valley anglers, fishing season begins in May, when king salmon start running in local streams. Although kings can be caught earlier, action in the lower Susitna Valley normally heats up around Memorial Day weekend. Fishing improves as runs build in June, with the action peaking around Willow and Talkeetna during the first two weeks of July.
Valley kings normally weigh between 20 and 70 pounds, with 25 to 30 pounds considered average. Most are caught on bait-casting or spinning outfits.
An 81u20442-foot, fast-action rod made to handle 12- to 25-pound-test line is ideal. Reels should hold a minimum of 100 yards of 25-pound-test line. Some of the most popular lures include Kwikfish, Corkies and Spin-N-Glos in pink, orange or green rigged with 5/0
single hooks. Many anglers use a bait loop to attach a 2-inch-long hank of matching color yarn below their rigs. Mepps or Vibrax spinners in sizes 5 and 6 are also good for kings, as is cured roe in waters where bait is legal.
Red salmon start appearing in area streams like Lake Creek and the Little Susitna River in June and July, followed by pink salmon, chums and silvers from mid-July through August. Of these four species, silvers are most popular among Valley anglers. A medium-size salmon - 6 to 10 pounds is average - silvers are hard-fighting, aggressive fish, renowned for their willingness to strike lures, flies and baits.
Medium-weight spinning, bait-casting or fly rods are perfect for Valley silvers. Monofilament lines of 8- to 12-pound-test are heavy enough to handle most fish in most situations. Silvers viciously strike No. 4 Vibrax and Mepps spinners in pink, orange, green or blue. Corkies and Spin-N-Glo rigs, like those used for king salmon, also work well, with hooks downsized to No. 2. Cured roe can work very well on streams where bait is legal. Fly-fishers have good luck with streamer flies, such as Purple Egg-sucking Leeches, Battle Creek Specials and black, purple, orange or white Bunny Flies; weighted flies in size No. 2 are about right.
Popular road-accessible Valley fisheries for king and silver salmon include the Little Susitna River and the mouths of Willow, Sheep, Montana and Rabideaux creeks along the Parks Highway. More remote fisheries, such as Lake and Alexander creeks and the Deshka and Talkeetna rivers, can be accessed by riverboat with the help of guide services working out of Wasilla, Houston, Willow and Talkeetna.
Trout and grayling can be caught in Valley streams throughout the summer, though the best fishing often occurs in August and September when these fish congregate behind spawning salmon to feed on succulent stray eggs. Average trout and grayling run from 12 to 18 inches long, though rainbows to 8 and 10 pounds are frequently caught in many rivers and creeks.
Trout, grayling and Dolly Varden will take a variety of small spinners, spoons, baits and flies, though fly-fishing with salmon-egg imitations such as beads or Glo-bugs is very popular. Beads are most effective since, on a given day, the proper size and color can perfectly imitate salmon eggs found spilling out of redds (salmon "nests").
Good outfits include light- or medium-weight fly rods rigged with floating lines and 10- to 12-foot leaders. A bead is threaded onto the leader and a short-shanked hook tied on. The bead is then slid an inch or so above the hook and held in place by jamming the point of a toothpick in the hole of the bead. The outside end of the toothpick is then broken or nipped off so that only the bead can be seen.
Finally, a split-shot or two is placed about 18 inches above the bead to keep it rolling along the stream bottom like a salmon egg. The setup is highly effective because as the bead drifts downstream, fish can softly strike, spit out the bead and still be caught by the trailing hook.
This technique is so effective that some traditional fly-fishers eschew beads, preferring old-fashioned fur and feather creations to the plastic, glass and ceramic salmon-egg imitations. These anglers prefer Glo-Bugs, Iliamna Pinkies, Babine Specials and other mock salmon eggs spun from chenille, saddle hackles and marabou. In expert hands, these fly patterns can also work well for trout, grayling and Dolly Varden.
Valley lakes offer a different kind of fishing experience. Loaded with trout, grayling, char and pike, scores of lakes offer excellent fishing from breakup around mid-May until freeze-up in October. Ranging in size from fewer than 10 acres to several hundred acres in surface area, most of these waters, including more than 70 stocked annually by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, are road-accessible and tailor-made for anglers of all ages and abilities.
Float tubes, canoes and small skiffs allow anglers to work coves and points where fish congregate to feed. Light spinning and bait-casting outfits rigged with 6- to 8-pound-test monofilament lines are good options for Valley lakes. Spinners such as Mepps, Panther Martin and Rooster Tails in sizes 0 to 2 are smart choices. Bring along a variety of colors, bearing in mind that fish can be fickle, preferring bright hues one day and muted tones the next.
Bait anglers normally use single hooks in sizes 6 to 12. Power baits, single salmon eggs, roe, earthworms and cocktail shrimp are all good bets. Baits can be fished on the bottom or hung from bobbers.
Fly-fishers do well using olive-colored mohair and marabou Lake Leeches, Woolly Buggers and Muddler Minnows. Lightly weighted No. 8-10 streamers can be fished effectively behind floating lines and 10- to 12-foot leader with tippets of 4- or 5-pound-test.
This story was first published April 23, 2006.
