The run of red salmon took awhile to develop this year. I won’t say panic set in, but the community collectively held it’s breath waiting for it to begin in huge numbers.
We’re all breathing a lot easier now.
I started the week fishing Team X. Dad Adam and youngest son Ashton with the first double of the year.
The fishing wasn’t as fast as I was hoping for, but it was a nice beginning to the week. From left to right are Aiden, Adam, and Ashton.
By the way, the young man on the left holds the distinction of being the youngest fisherman to be in my boat. When Aiden was 6 months old, mom and dad bundled him up and brought him out on a king trip. It’s hard to believe it was 22.5 years ago.
The following day I had the pleasure of fishing with Mike, Dick, Gary and Kurt. Here’s Dick with the first red salmon of the morning.
And then it was Kurt with his first salmon in Alaska.
We gave it a long day and unfortunately this is all we had to show for it.
The consensus in the community was Tuesday would be the first big surge of fish. It didn’t happen. I netted one red salmon for Scott, Mason, Connor, Megan, and Lindsey. They said it was a good prep day for all the fish they’d catch at the end of the week. Gotta like that attitude.
Later Tuesday afternoon, I had Mark, Amy, Heidi, Max, and Katherine fishing in the rain. This was the entire catch. Like my morning crew, they thought this was good prep for when they’d fish with me in a couple days.
The Wednesday prediction of a huge push of fish didn’t come together either. Mike, Dick, Kurt, and Gary gave it an all day effort in the rain. We missed a half dozen fish and put 2 on the stringer.
Guess what? It finally happened BIG TIME on Thursday. The first large sonar day of the year arrived. It didn’t take long for Scott, Mason, Conner, Lindsey, and Megan to catch 30 fish. The happy fisherman were greeted at the dock by Kayleigh, who proudly joined them for a photo.
And, later on Thursday, Mark, Amy, Wendy, Max, and Catherine put 30 fish on the bank as well.
Friday was a repeat of Thursday. Lots of fish in the river. In the early, early morning Scott, Mason, Conner, Lindsey, and Megan had no trouble finding their limits.
Friday, late morning Mark, Amy, Max, and Catherine methodically caught their limits as well.
I can’t say enough about these two families. Everybody pitched in helping me net fish, clean fish, and package fish. I look forward to seeing all of you next time!
The week ended with the annual Matt’s Birthday Trip. Joining Matt is his wife Kelly, and friends Nolan and Annalise. Always fun to see you guys.
Come back next week to see how this grand river that owes nothing treated us.
Fishing Report Week Ending 7/19/26