08/01/2011
I guided a morning group of 3 guests, each of whom kept a limit of salmon. The group caught a combination of silver and chum salmon on #5 Flashtrap Spinners.
I guided an afternoon group of 3 guests, who caught a total of 3 silver salmon and 2 chum salmon on #5 Flashtrap Spinners..
Coho Ho! During the month of August we catch more salmon than any month during our entire summer of guiding charter fishing trips -and most of them are highly prized coho (silver) salmon. Little Susitna River is the headline stream where our guests catch the largest silver salmon available in Mat-Su Valley streams.
Our Flashtrap Spinners produce well through out the entire coho salmon run. We also experience extremely good limit rates fishing salmon roe cured with Pautzke`s Fire Cure and drifted under ESB Bobbers when fishing time and areas where bait fishing is allowed.
Expect to read about good catch numbers of coho salmon during all of August when you visit this page in August of 2011. As mentioned last winter, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game adopted regulation changes that should boost coho salmon numbers throughout the entire months of July and August and into September in many Mat-Su Valley streams.
08/02/2011
I guided a morning group of 3 guests, each of whom caught a limit of silver salmon on #5 Flashtrap Spinners.
I guided an afternoon group of 4 guests, each of whom caught a limit of silver salmon on Flashtrap Spinners. Water is rising which should bring in more salmon and move salmon up the river.
08/03/2011
ADF&G ISSUES EMERGENCY ORDER FOR LITTLE SUSITNA RIVER
the river will REMAIN open to ARTIFICIAL LURES ONLY. Normally the river opens to bait fishing on August 6, but this year the fishery will continue without bait.
Today`s Trip –
I guided a group of 4 anglers, each of whom caught at least one chum salmon, and 3 of whom caught limits of silver salmon. The remaining guest caught one silver salmon. All of the salmon were caught while casting with #5 Flashtrap Spinners. Pink was the pattern we fished the entire trip. Although it rained most of the time during our trip today, the water chart from the upper Little Susitna River indicates that the water level should peak tomorrow at only slightly above average flow level in the lower river. Having a little extra water may help move additional salmon into the river and on upstream.
08/04/2011
I guided a morning group of 3 guests each of whom caught some chum salmon, one of whom caught a limit of silver salmon, and one of whom caught a single silver salmon. All of the salmon were caught on Flashtrap Spinners.
I guided an afternoon group of 4 guests. each of whom caught a limit of silver salmon while casting with #5 Flashtrap Spinners.
08/06/2011
I guided a morning group of 4 guests, each of whom caught some chum salmon, but only one guest managed to land a silver salmon. All of the fish were caught by casting with #5 Flashtrap Spinners.
I guided an afternoon group of 5 guests, 2 of whom caught a limit of silver salmon and some chum salmon, and 3 of whom did not catch any salmon. The river was busy with boats today, but not as busy as I might have thought it would be from looking at the vehicles in the campground and parking lot. Water level was rising later in the day.
08/07/2011
I guided a morning group of 4 guests. 2 of whom caught a silver salmon on #5 Flashtrap Spinners. We moved around and fished many spots, but never did have much luck.
I guided an afternoon group of 5 guests, 3 of whom caught a limit of silver salmon, and 2 of whom each caught one silver salmon. In addition the group also caught plenty of chum salmon. All of the fish were caught on #5 Flashtrap Spinners. Water was dropping and clearing in the afternoon, but should go up in the next day or two.
08/08/2011
I guided a group of 3 guests, each of whom caught a limit of silver salmon while casting with #5 Flashtrap Spinners. The group also caught some chum salmon before catching their limits of silvers. Silver / Black was the hot pattern that caught 5 of the guests 6 silvers.
I guided an afternoon trip of 3 guests, each of whom caught a limit of silver salmon on Flashtrap Spinners. The group also caught one pink salmon and several chum salmon. All of the salmon were caught on #5 Flashtrap Spinners. Silver / Black was once again the hot pattern catching 4 of the 6 silver salmon, while Pink caught the remaining two silvers.
Water was high and rising today, and I anticipate the water level reaming at nearly the same level tomorrow, as that is what the water chart for the upper river indicates.
I am scheduled to guide two trips tomorrow, and expect we’ll catch more chums and silvers on both of them.
08/09/2011
I guided a morning group of 5 guests, each of whom caught a limit of silver salmon while casting with #5 Flashtrap Spinners. The group fished both silver/black and pink patterns, but most of the fish were caught on silver / black. Members of the group also caught several chum salmon all except for one of which were released.
I guided an afternoon group of 3 guests, 2 of whom caught limits of silver salmon and 1 of whom caught a couple chum salmon. All of the fish were caught on #5 Flashtrap Spinners.
I’ll be guiding two more trips tomorrow — but we have charter space later in the week and next week. If you would like to join us on one of our guided salmon fishing charters give us a call at 907-746-2199.
08/10/2011
I guided a morning group of 6 guests, who caught a total of 5 silver salmon on Flashtrap Spinners. All of the group’s fish were caught early in the trip, but as the river rose and got muddier they only hooked a few salmon in the last 3 hours. We covered lots of water and fished lots of holes.
I fished with an afternoon group of 3 guests, and we caught 2 chum salmon on Flashtrap Spinners. We saw a few fish roll, but had very few bits. Both fish were caught on #5 Flashtraps, although we also tried back trolling K11X Kwikfish with no success.
Water conditions should improve slightly by Thursday — when I’m scheduled to guide only one trip.
08/11/2011
I guided a group of 4 guests, 1 of whom caught a limit of silver salmon, and 3 of whom each caught 1 silver salmon. In addition, each angler also caught and released some chum salmon, with one angler keeping a chum salmon as the second fish of a 3 salmon limit. All of the fish were caught on #5 Flashtrap Spinners.
The river water level surprised me today in that I expected it to drop and clear up somewhat, however, the water remained very high and muddy on the lower river.
I’ll be guiding again tomorrow.
08/12/2011
My morning trip cancelled about the time I arrived at the river, so I waited for the afternoon trip.
In the afternoon I guided a family of 4 people, who caught 4 silver salmon and a chum salmon. I also hooked a couple silver salmon which I let each of the young boys reel in. All of our fishing was done with #5 Flashtrap Spinners. The river remains high and dark colored, but it had dropped a bit overnight and should continue to drop tomorrow.
I plan to guide two trips tomorrow.
08/14/2011
I guided a party of 4 people each of whom caught a limit of silver salmon and 2 of whom caught and kept a chum salmon before keeping their second silver salmon. All of the fish were caught by casting with #5 Flashtrap Spinners. We fished Pink spinners and SIlver / Black spinners with the silver blades attracting most of the bites.
08/15/2011
I guided a morning group of 3 guests, each of whom limited on silver salmon. All of the Fish were caught on #5 Flashtrap Spinners. Silver / Black was the hot pattern.
I guided an afternoon group of 4 guests, 3 of whom caught limits of silver salmon on # 5 Flashtrap Spinners. One member of the group also caught a very bright chum salmon.
Water remains high, but cleared considerably during the day.
I’ll be guiding trips again tomorrow.
08/16/2011
I guided a group of 4 people in the morning, 3 of whom caught limits of silver salmon, and the 4th of whom caught one silver salmon and one chum salmon. All of the fish were caught on #5 Flashtrap Spinners.
I guided an afternoon group of 4 guests, 3 of whom caught limits of silver salmon, and the 4th of whom caught two chum salmon. All of the fish were once again caught on #5 Flashtrap Spinners. Silver / Black was the hot pattern. The water level on the lower river continues to drop, but remains significantly higher than normal.
I’m scheduled to guide trips again tomorrow, so check back if you would like to know what we catch.
08/17/2011
I guided a morning group of 4 guests, each of whom caught a limit of silver salmon while casting with #5 Flashtrap Spinners.
Greg Acord and I guided an afternoon group of 10 guests on a shortened afternoon trip. 4 of the people in Greg’s boat caught a limit of silver salmon, and the 5th person caught one silver salmon. In my boat, 3 anglers each caught a limit of silver salmon, 1 angler caught a silver salmon and two chum salmon, and 1 angler did not catch a salmon. All of the fish were caught on #5 Flashtrap Spinners.
08/18/2011
I guided an afternoon group of 6 guests who caught 5 silver salmon and 5 chum salmon. All of the fish were caught on Flashtrap Spinners. The group started the trip catching fish quite well, however, as the trip continued the river rose significantly and became muddier and our fishing success slowed.
I’ll be guiding again tomorrow, so check back in the evening to learn what we catch. I expect the water will be even higher and possibly still rising in the morning.
08/19/2011
I guided a morning group of 4 guests, 3 of whom caught limits of silver salmon while casting with #5 silver / black Flashtrap Spinners. The river water level was higher than yesterday and continuing to rise. All of the fish caught were average or better sized, and chrome bright in color. We currently have charter availability in the coming week if anyone would like to join us. Looks like water conditions will likely remain high for the next several days.
08/20/2011
I fished with family this morning, and out of 4 people fishing, 3 caught limits of silver salmon, and 1 person caught a single silver salmon. 6 of the fish were caught on #5 silver/black Flashtrap Spinners and 1 fish was caught on a K-13X Kwikfish. The river was high and muddy colored, but seemed to be dropping. We had a good dose of rain during the trip.
I’ll be guiding trips tomorrow.
08/21/2011
I guided a morning group of 3 guests, 2 of whom caught a limit of silver salmon, and one of whom caught 1 silver salmon. Each guest also caught and kept a chum salmon. All of the fish were caught on #5 silver / black Flashtrap Spinners.
I guided an afternoon group of 5 guests, 4 of whom caught limits of silver salmon on #5 silver / black Flashtrap Spinners. Water was dropping during the day, but remains on the high side with quite a bit of color.
I’m scheduled to guide tomorrow, so check back in the evening to learn what my guests catch.
08/22/2011
I guided a young family of 4 people. The mother and father each caught a limit of silver salmon, and the kids each caught one silver salmon and one chum salmon. 3 of the fish were caught casting with #5 Flashtrap Spinners and 5 salmon were caught by back trolling with K11X and K13X Kwikfish and another small plug. Water was dropping and clearing, but should come up again slightly in the lower river tomorrow according to the USGS water chart.
I guide again on Tuesday, so check back in the evening to learn what my guests catch. Considering that we’re fishing artificial lures without bait, fishing is definitely better at this time in the season than it was last year. It is also noteworthy to still be catching some fresh chum salmon this late in the season on the Little Susitna River, and most of the silver salmon we’ve been catching have been nice chrome-bright fish.
08/23/2011
I guided a morning group of 4 guests, each of whom caught a limit of silver salmon. All except one of the silver salmon were caught on #5 Flashtrap Spinners. The remaining silver salmon was caught by back trolling a K13X Kwikfish.
I guided an afternoon group of 4 guests, each of whom caught a limit of silver salmon by casting with #5 silver / black Flashtrap Spinners.
Water level continues to drop and clear up near the Little Susitna River Public Use Facility.
08/24/2011
I guided a group of 4 guests, each of whom caught a limit of silver salmon, while casting #5 silver / black Flashtrap Spinners.
08/25/2011
ADF&G Announces Coho Salmon Closure —
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announce that all Knik Arm Drainage streams (except Fish Creek and Eklutna Tailrace) will be closed for silver salmon fishing starting Saturday Morning August 27.
This emergency order closes the Little Susitna River — where we had run all of our silver salmon charters this season. I plan to go out and do a little exploring on some other streams and depending upon what I find, may be able to offer additional silver salmon trips.
Deshka Landing and Sustina Landing (North of Willow) both remain open to boaters and anglers can continue fishing for silver salmon there as well as out of the Talkeetna River Boat Launch.
08/26/2011
mid-Susitna River tributaries —
I took 2 of my nephews fishing on Susitna River tributaries and while we caught plenty of colored up chum salmon and old pink salmon, and I also somehow snagged one silver salmon. The only fish that was in good enough shape that I would have wanted to eat it was the silver salmon. All except one salmon were caught while drifting Fire Cured salmon roe under bobbers.
We covered lots of water and burned plenty of gas as we looked around. I suspect there may still be occasional small schools of silver salmon available — we even saw a few silvers in the slough above Little Willow Creek, however, there were so few fish that we did not even bother to fish in that location.
08/27/2011
2011 Salmon Charters wrap up for season.
WIth the Little Susitna River now closed to silver salmon fishing, and numbers of fresh silver salmon dropping off rapidly at the mid-Susitna River tributaries, We’re nearly done with our open water salmon charters for 2011.
We still have a few remaining reservations booked — and we’ll be honoring those reservations– if guests still want to go under what will likely be marginal fishing catching conditions. Aside from those few already booked trips, we would advise anglers interested in catching hard fighting salmon in good eating shape consider fishing other locations at this time.
Possible alternative salmon catching locations include Talkeetna River, Kenai River, and Valdez saltwater.
08/31/2011
Thursday September 1 is Andy’s 50th Birthday.
THANK YOU!
To all of our guests who fished with us during our 2011 open water salmon fishing season and helped make it such a success.
New Supply of Flashtrap Spinners —
Now available at 3 Rivers Fly & Tackle in Wasilla. All except 2 patterns of our Flashtrap Spinners had completely sold out, before we recently had an opportunity to restock 6 additional patterns at the Tackle shop. Visit 3 Rivers Fly & Tackle near the corner of the Parks Highway and Main Street (Knik – Goose Bay Road) in Wasilla. For more information about Flashtrap Spinners in stock and updated fall fishing reports and information you may contact: 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle at (907) 373-5434.
RESERVE YOUR 2012 GUIDED SALMON FISHNG TRIP NOW!
Some guests have been asking when they can start reserving their 2012 salmon fishing trips. While we are always willing to reserve space for our May, June, July, August salmon fishing trips for future years, now that our current year’s open water salmon fishing charters are completed, it is easier for us to focus on 2012. We have a few guests, who have standing reservations for the same date every year — until they tell us otherwise — but for the most part, nearly all of our best 2012 charter dates are available for reservation at this time. Remember that our Guided Salmon FIshing trips also make great gifts! Call us at (907) 746-2199 to reserve your 2012 trip or for more information.
Now that August is over look for our latest updates in our September 2011 Fishing Reports — We will repeat this report as our first update for September.