Rivers, Lakes & Tidewater

Nushagak & Kvichak Bays

Outer Bristol Bay

Inshore

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  Sockeye Salmon — Bristol Bay's run peaks late June into July; short-line a weighted sparse fly or bare hook through the travel lane along the bank, where reds move in dense pulses.GearSockeye fliesBead and yarn rigsDrift fishing rod

  How to ID

  • No spots on back or tail
  • Bright silver body at sea, greenish-blue back; prominent glassy eye
  • Many long, fine, serrated and closely spaced gill rakers on the first arch (over 30–40)
  • Spawners turn bright red with a green head

  Typical: 22–28 in, 4–8 lb

  Tell it apart: Spotless body plus numerous long, fine, closely set gill rakers (count them on the first arch — far more than chum's short, sparse rakers) confirm a sockeye.

  Easily confused with: Chum Salmon, Pink Salmon, Coho / Silver Salmon

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  Chinook / King Salmon — Runs June-July on the Nushagak and the Peninsula rivers; back-troll plugs and drift bobber-and-yarn through holding water, or troll cut-plug herring in the salt.GearCut-plug herring rigSalmon plugsSalmon mooching rod

  How to ID

  • Black gums/gumline at base of teeth on lower jaw (mouth interior also dark)
  • Irregular black spots on the back AND on BOTH lobes of the tail
  • Silver body, blue-green back; large, robust, deep-bodied
  • Spots present on entire caudal fin, not just the upper lobe

  Typical: 24–36 in, 15–30 lb

  Tell it apart: Black gumline along the lower jaw PLUS spots covering both tail lobes separate a king from a coho's pale/white gums and upper-lobe-only tail spotting. Don't rely on size or fin-ray counts alone.

  Easily confused with: Coho / Silver Salmon

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  Chum Salmon — Thick July-August in tidewater and the lower rivers; swing chartreuse and green spoons, spinners and yarn flies for fish that hit swung hardware hard.GearBright casting spoonsInline spinnersYarn flies

  How to ID

  • No distinct spots on back or tail
  • Silver at sea; spawners show purple/green vertical 'calico' bars
  • Whitish tips on anal and pelvic fins
  • Narrow caudal peduncle (thin tail base)
  • Large, often white-rimmed pupil/eye

  Typical: 24–28 in, 8–15 lb

  Tell it apart: A spotless back and tail combined with a thin caudal peduncle and white-tipped anal/pelvic fins separate chum from spotted pinks/coho and from spotless sockeye (use gill-raker count to split chum from sockeye).

  Easily confused with: Sockeye Salmon, Pink Salmon, Coho / Silver Salmon

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  Pink Salmon — Heavy on even years July-August; cast small pink spoons and jigs into the schools stacked at river mouths and along tide rips.GearPink casting spoonsSmall pink jigsLight salmon combo

  How to ID

  • Large oval/oblong black blotches over the entire tail AND on the back
  • Very small scales (smallest of any Pacific salmon)
  • Bright silver at sea; smallest, most slender Pacific salmon
  • Spawning males develop a pronounced humped back

  Typical: 18–25 in, 3–5 lb

  Tell it apart: Big oval spots covering the WHOLE tail plus the tiniest scales of any salmon clinch a pink; coho spot only the upper lobe and chum has no real spots.

  Easily confused with: Coho / Silver Salmon, Chum Salmon

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  Coho / Silver Salmon — Best August into October, later than Southeast; cast bright spoons and spinners across tidewater current and swing them, or troll herring outside the lagoons.GearCasting spoonsInline spinnersSalmon spinning combo

  How to ID

  • Black mouth interior but WHITE/gray gums at base of teeth on lower jaw
  • Spots on back and on the UPPER tail lobe only (lower lobe usually clean)
  • Bright silver sides, blue back; broad caudal peduncle
  • Moderately forked tail

  Typical: 24–30 in, 8–12 lb

  Tell it apart: White/gray gums (against the black mouth) with spots confined to the upper tail lobe mark a coho versus the king's black gumline and fully spotted tail.

  Easily confused with: Chinook / King Salmon

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  Rainbow Trout — Bristol Bay's big resident rainbows key on the sockeye spawn; fish beads and egg patterns through the gravel August-September, then swing flesh and streamers into October.GearTrout beadsFlesh and egg fliesSingle-hand trout rod

  How to ID

  • Reddish-pink band along each side about the midline, from faint to radiant
  • Small black spots over the back above the lateral line, and on the upper fins and tail
  • 8 to 12 rays in the anal fin
  • No teeth at the base of the tongue
  • Sea-run steelhead are silvery or brassy, more slender, and heavily spotted both above AND below the lateral line

  Tell it apart: The pink midline band with black spotting confined above the lateral line, 8–12 anal-fin rays and no teeth at the tongue base positively identify a rainbow.

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  Dolly Varden — Sea-run dollies follow the salmon in from June; small bright spoons, beads and egg patterns along current seams and behind spawning fish.GearSmall casting spoonsBead rigsLight spinning combo

  How to ID

  • Light-colored spots on a darker greenish body — the inverse of a trout
  • Many small spots, each SMALLER than the pupil of the eye
  • Relatively thick caudal peduncle and only a slightly forked tail
  • Spawning males develop a distinct kype, red-black-and-white bellies, black gill covers and bright orange to red spots

  Typical: 12–24 in

  Tell it apart: Spots smaller than the eye's pupil, a thick caudal peduncle and a barely forked tail separate a Dolly Varden from an Arctic char, which has fewer and larger spots on a slimmer peduncle behind a deeply forked tail.

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  Arctic Grayling — A Peninsula and Bristol Bay fish — there are no grayling in the Aleutians. Rises freely in the clear tributaries above the silt line all summer; a dry fly or a small spinner drifted through the head of a run is usually enough.GearDry fliesSmall inline spinnersLight fly rod

  How to ID

  • Large sail-like dorsal fin with a scalloped edge — unmistakable
  • Dorsal fringed in red and dotted with large iridescent red, aqua or purple spots
  • Dark back; sides can be black, silver, gold or blue depending on the stream
  • Sides of the body and head freckled with black spots
  • A black slash on each side of the lower jaw

  Typical: 10–12 in at maturity

  Tell it apart: Nothing else in Alaskan fresh water carries that huge sail-like dorsal fin, fringed in red and spotted with iridescent color.

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  Northern Pike — Holds in warm weedy slough margins and lake outlets; work big spoons and wire-leadered streamers along the weed edge, where pike hit in weather nothing else will.GearLarge spoonsWire leadersHeavy spinning combo

  How to ID

  • Elongated body and head with a broad, flat, duck-bill snout
  • Light bean-shaped spots on a darker green-to-olive background
  • A single soft-rayed dorsal fin set far back on the body
  • A mouth full of sharp teeth that are constantly replaced
  • Color tracks the water — light green from clear lakes, much darker from a stained slough

  Typical: Fish up to about 20 lb are common in some Alaskan rivers and lakes

  Tell it apart: The duck-bill snout and a single soft dorsal set far back, over LIGHT bean-shaped spots on a dark body — there is no similar fish in Alaskan fresh water.

Offshore

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  Pacific Halibut — Not a fishery at the head of the bay — the flats run for miles and the water only gets deep enough well down the Peninsula side, a long committing run in the open bay.GearHeavy circle hooksLarge leadhead jigsHalibut rod combo

  How to ID

  • Both eyes on the right (dark, upper) side; right-eyed flatfish
  • Large diamond/oval flat body, lies on its side
  • Dark brown/mottled top side, white underside
  • Large mouth reaching to the eye; strongly forked (lunate) tail
  • Lateral line arches high over the pectoral fin

  Typical: 30–45 in, 12–40 lb

  Tell it apart: A large right-eyed flatfish with a strongly forked tail and white underside is a halibut, not an arrowtooth flounder (slimmer, large-mouthed, nearly straight tail) — confirm the forked tail and arched lateral line.

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  Pacific Cod — Same water as the halibut, well out toward the Peninsula — over hard bottom with a plain leadhead and a big soft tail worked slowly.GearHeavy bottom jigsShrimp fly bait rigsBottomfish rod combo

  How to ID

  • Single long chin barbel (whisker) at least as long as eye diameter
  • Three separate dorsal fins and two anal fins
  • Brown/gray mottled body, pale belly
  • Pale, curved lateral line
  • Rounded/square tail, blunt snout

  Typical: 20–32 in, 5–15 lb

  Tell it apart: The single fleshy chin barbel and three separate dorsal fins are unique among Alaska bottomfish and immediately separate cod from the barbel-less, single-dorsal lingcod.