Chitina Dipnetting

ANGLER: fishonbruceAK

TRIP DATE: 6/19

REGION: Upper Susitna and Copper River area

WATER: Chitina Dipnetting

SPECIES: Reds and Kings

REPORT: Two buddies and I hit the Chitina dipnet for an overnoght stay on the Copper River. We were dropped off near the lower end of the rapids at about 6 PM whereupon for the next six hours the fish came in at a fairly consistent rate including two 45lb kings. By midnight, we had about 50 or so on the bank and then it shut down. By 5 AM we had eeked up to 66 fish (includding another king in the 30lb range) and saw no more after that. We called it quits at seven and headed back. The reports from the other over nighters was pretty much the same, a few limits or near limits, but then it stopped in the morning. A nice morning was then spent filetting our catch then back to Anchorage. The guides are saying then river is really coming up right now and that the increased flows may hold back the fish. Or maybe not... Fish On!!

Views from Ship Creek

Views from Ship Creek

I went out fishing again on Saturday to try for another Ship Creek King. The air was cool and a stiff breeze off the inlet made for another chilly evening. With this being the last weekend of the King derby, the crowds were thick. We were fishing from a boat, and were joined by probably a dozen others. Throughout the night, while waiting for a fish to bite, I took the opportunity to take phots of the action. It is near impossible to catch the full extent of action, espcially watching a very young girl reel in a twenty pound King. But as the fishing was slow, and the lighting superb, there were many oppotunities for a good picture or two.

We boated only one and saw maybe another dozen landed from boats and the lower Ship Creek banks.

Here's one of the dozen or so boats out on Saturday. The camo-guy eventually landed a nice 25lb king that put up quite a fight including a run in or two with the outboard.


A croweded but not quite shoulder to shoulder Saturday night out on Ship Creek. You'll see a wide range of folks ranging from a Cabella's decked out tourista, a family with strollers, the sourdough sipping beer in a lawn chair, kids playing in the mud, etc, etc, etc.

Now this was a unique situation. This kayaker was trolling around through various fishing holes and boat when he hooked up with this nice 15lb fish. He fought and landed it solo. I could't resist getting a shot of him with the city in the background.



Here's a partial picture of Mr Steve (a.k.a Stan) taken by me (a.k.a. Ollie) of a nice 30lb he tagged for the $500 derby fish.


A couple of the next generation fish slayers trying their luck out on Ship Creek mud. Didn't see them get any fish tonight but you know these two will bank plenty of fish in their lifetimes.

Being Father's Day, I couldn't resist a shot of this father/son duo.

Like I said, the lighting was great. Here's a group of angler's way down near the mouth. Definately getting late in the day.

Fifth King

The following is my post to the Alaska Outdoor Journal private angler's fishing reports. Before I get to that I must say that this has been a stellar year so far. Five Kings to the bank. I am sure this is my personal best for a year. The downside is that for all of that, I have only been able to put two in the freezer. At Ship Creek I have had four take downs, reulting in two fish on, both snags!! I have been using a double hook rig which is what I think has bee leading to the problems. The 2nd hook gets the fish in the side when I o for the set, then the mouth hook releases with no tension on it. I think I'll try going to a single hook rig for a while to see if that make a difference.


ANGLER: FishonBruceAK
TRIP DATE: 6/12
REGION: Anchorage
WATER: Ship Creek
SPECIES: Kings
REPORT: Hit the high tide this afternoon and saw several hookups with many jacks coming in before the high then fish getting progressively bigger after the tide. Six to eight kings to the bank in the 15 to 30 lb range. I got one too, good for about 15 pounds. Too bad it was foul hooked and I had to let him go. For all the griping about a lack luster year, that was my fourth king to the bank this season, fifth if you include a jack. Fish On!!!

What A Night

I went fishing on the Ninilchik for the midnight opener on Friday night/Saturday morning. A buddy and I got to the river about 10:30 PM and were happy to see several rolling Kings in multiple holes. The anticipation for the next ninety minutes was just about more than one could stand. At midnight we rigged up eggs for drifting through our chosen hole. No more than ten flips later, FISH ON!!! I landed a silver bright 20 pound hen. My buddy slipped up to my spot and caught the same drift as I had. Four flips later, FISH ON!!! His hook up quickly became fish two to the bank; a 22 pound buck. I glanced down at my watch. 12:06!!! We had just hooked up and landed two fine kings in six minutes. Both had their adipose, so now we needed hatchery kings. I brought two more kings to the bank (a 10 pound buck and a 14 inch jack) and lost a real nice one in the stick on the other side of the river. We kept the jack, but the buck was natural. My buddy brought two others to the bank, a 20 pound hen, and a near 30 pound buck. All had fins so back to the river they went. At about 1:30 we called it quits. Around us, we saw ten other anglers who between them had a total of two hookups (both by the same teenage boy) one of which was landed (a 10-15 pound king). One other angler walked by with a King in hand, but we saw no other fish than that. We definitely were in the right spot with the right gear for the night. The photo of the fish is after a night on the ice gutted and gilled at my buddy's place on the Kenai. We cooked some up that night over the campfire. Awesome!! Fish On!!

The $2,500 Salmon

ANGLER: fishonBruceAK
TRIP DATE: 6/6
REGION: Anchorage
WATER: Ship Creek
SPECIES: Kings
REPORT: I fished the high tide from a boat with a volunteer from the Ship Creek Derby (buy your tickets!!!) to tag kings for the jackpot. I hooked and landed a 28lb hen which we marked with the $2,500 tag. It was sad to release such a fine fish, but we did get a picture before she was set free. I had one more take down without a hookup. Saw one other fish on this morning. Perhaps things are starting to pick up. I hope someone catches her again. They will walk away with a smile and $2,500 in their pocket, assuming a ticket was bought. Fish On!!!

Snooker Kings

ANGLER: FishonBruceAK
TRIP DATE: 6/2
REGION: Anchorage
WATER: Ship Creek
SPECIES: Snooker Kings
REPORT: Ran into a new species of fish on Ship Creek. Its called the snooker King. Just about when you are going to call it quits, the snooker king will come and take a swipe at your eggs. No hook up of course, but just enough of a hit to snooker you into fishing for another half hour or so. I fished near the mouth at high tide on Monday night. About an hour after the change my bobber and a buddy's took a ride. We both went for the set and saw a nice king splash, but no hookup. His eggs were intact, mine were all but gone. We got snookered. Our action was the only excitement we saw all night long, other than watching another buddy falling (literally) prey to creek crossing along the grassy flats. At least he was wearing waders. On another note, I think I'll buy stock in a surgical glove factory. Those latex wonders are quite the hit at Ship, particularly when they are stained a nice shade of blotchy egg dye pink. Fish On!!

Ship Creek 06/01/2008

ANGLER: fishonBruceAK
TRIP DATE: 6/1
REGION: Anchorage
WATER: Ship Creek
SPECIES: Kings Yet To Arrive
REPORT: To quote the phrase from Dances with Wolves 'There ain't nothin' there Lieutenant'. Well not totally true. I counted about 70 or so anglers on the very lower reaches of Ship Creek. Floating eggs, eggs on the bottom, tossing pixies, even a fly or two and all I saw for it was one Jack King landed by some guy fifty yards downstream. Granted I only fished the hour or so of high tide on Sunday night, but the word of the day was, they aren't here yet. Despite the non-abundance of fish, it was a great night to be out on the water. A cool breeze off the inlet, folks laughing and joking about the no luck of the night, an underlying anticipation of what we know is to come sooner or later. I brought a friend with me for his very first trip to the Ship. Yeah, he was less than impressed by the lack of action, but the comaraderie of shared fish-less-ness and a relaxing time well spent on the banks of Ship, leads me to believe this won't be his last trip to our urban jewel. It won't be my last either.