This was great fishing days ! We were elbow to elbow in people and poles at 3am in July of 89 ! About then someone yells , " Fish on " and you quickly reel in not to tangle the person !  20 minutes later I'm yelling . This was not the biggest fish I ever caught but it was sure fun ( sorry about photo quality we were flooded) 

That fish is beastly!  I dunno if I could deal with being elbow to elbow with people though.  I get irritated when I see someone else across the lake from me.  I guess I've spoiled myself cuz I mainly fish from about 4:30 to 8:30 am and rarely see anyone on the lakes I frequent.

Ya it took me about 25 minutes to get it in Joe . The pole I was using broke and I did not have a net (someone next to me netted it) ! For King Salmon fishing it"s kind of hard to keep away from people as everyone is excited as you to get one and their were plenty to be caught ! I met some nice people in my three months living and fishing there

I've gone "Combat Fishing" for Silvers in Ship Creek which runs through downtown Anchorage...what a blast! !!

Howdy Itchin ! " Combat Fishing", Bahahaha ... I never heard it called that before....how big those Silver get?

No where near as big as Kings but I think a 15-20# fish is a good un if I remember correctly...a 30 was a trophy...

Combat fishing is calked that because people have been shot for not bringing in thier line...

Thanks for the info ! The King in the photo was 46 lbs , It was one of the best fighting fish I caught they fight like a real big Rainbow  Now I remember why I reeled in so fast Did not want to be shot at  !

Thanks for the info ! The King in the photo was 46 lbs , It was one of the best fighting fish I caught they fight like a real big Rainbow

 

Nice King lanz!! I'll hopefully be feeling that fight soon!

 

My fiancee and I are heading up to Cooper Landing, AK for a couple weeks to fly fish for Kings, Sockeye, & Silvers. King run hasn't been looking too good this year but the Sockeye & Silver runs should be plentyful.

Best of Luck to you ! I am sure you will both get lots of all, and what a great time of year and wonderful place to take your Fiancee Oh ya that feel you will remember the rest of your life !

Every few years I've heard there's a HUGE run of Pinks (Humpies) in a river near the town of HOPE...heard they get so think in there, you can almost walk across without getting your feet wet...I doubt that but I get what the person telling the story was trying to convey.

I have often wondered how many types of fish make their runs up in Alaska ? It would be nice to know !

Pink(Humpy), Chum(Dog), Chinook (King) Sockeye (Red), Coho (Silver) all species of Salmon...I lived in AK for 3 years and those are the species I know of...I'm sure there's also a Steelhead (Sea run Rainbow Trout) run too.

There's also Arctic Char(unsure if they "Run" per se) and even some landlocked Salmon stocked in some lakes.Other fish found in Alaska are Scheefish, Northern Pike, Grayling, Rainbow Trout...I'm certain there's lots more species I've forgotten.

That's more than I knew about ! Thanks for sharing

Not all the fish I mentioned "Run", meaning they go out to sea as a juvenile, spend however many years there and then return. I think only the Salmon and Steelheads participate.I could be wrong

Thing that I find as crazy is some fish travel(run)all the way to Fairbanks and further from the ocean which is down by Anchorage...a distance of like 360 miles and more...to spawn.Those are some determined fish...and when everything is done...they die.

Here's a list of fish both fresh and saltwater fish that can be found in Alaska:

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=animals.listfish

I've caught Rainbow Trout, Coho Salmon, Landlocked Salmon and Nothern Pike while I was stationed there.

Very interesting how they they behave its like a homing device in them that drives them back ! We did a lot of smoking of King, we used appletree chips Very good smoked meat !