As predicted, and as expected, the red salmon returned with a vengeance this past week. A combination of run timing, along with restricted commercial fishing, made for spectacular in river sport fishing.
The week started out wet and cold. Compared to the weather the lower 48 has been experiencing, I’ll take it. Leslie, her sister Connie and best friend Barbara, were with me on Sunday. The action was decent, but it took most of the day to get a couple of limits.
Over night, a big slug of reds found their way into the river. It took Mark, John, Robert, Giulo, Max, and Alex less than two hours to catch their limit. Giulo had the hot hand and lead the way. Heck, they all had a hot hand.
The next day, Ken (my second cousin), Sue, Doug, and Peggy had a very productive morning. For being new to the “red salmon flip”, they sure caught on quickly. It took about an hour to get their limits.
The following day was even better than the day before. Here are Bruce, Brian, Steven, Kort, Brook, Rhonda, and Roxy.
Bruce, Brian, Steven, Kort, and Roxy fished the next day with me. Same results. It was another action packed morning on the bank.
When the fishing is this good, I’d be in trouble if I didn’t get Jane out too. In 15 minutes, she was done.
I ended the week dipnetting with my son Mac, neighbor Dan, and college buddy Dan. Plenty of fish were to be found. By the way, it was 38 degrees when we started our day.
I almost forgot, a special shout-out needs to go to fellow guide Tommy Belknap for helping me out with both Mark and Bruce’s crews. It’s good to have a network of trusted guides to help with large groups.
For the week ahead I expect more of the same. We are just past the half way point of the run and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down at all. In fact, the run is so strong that ADFG has increased the red salmon limit from 3 to 6 fish.
See you next week.
Fishing Report Week Ending 7/17/22