[Joe Smolt]

We are planning to meet family on a trip to the Kenai area next year and I am trolling for advice. I've been on the upper Kenai chasing rainbows and dollies. It was great but I kind of feel like "been there, done that". Fishing with beads isn't my first choice.

I've always wanted to try and take cohos on the fly, preferably on the surface. I'd like to schedule a trip around that. Looking for advice on time of year, rivers, even potential guide advice. Looking for advice on good places for walk-in fishing too. Looking for lodging advice too. Please respond or PM me.

Joe

 

[AlaskanDan]

Silvers on a dry fly is a tough feat. From the statistics i was able to find with the local fly shops is that you may catch 1 on topwater for every 20 you hook on a streamer. My favorite place to fish up in AK is on the Talkeetna river. You do need to get ahold of a guide for that river though (tri river charters or denali anglers are good, Mahays is the big service up there though). For walk in fishing in August you can drive the road system north of anchorage, past wasilla, and do walk in fishing on the willow, little su, Kashwitna, Montana, rabideux creek, birch creek. All of them are accessible via the highway and provide some good fishing. To get any sort of solitude on those rivers, you will probably have to do a little brush crashing. I've fished all of them, and caught fish in all of them.

Another thing you might think of doing isbringing a 3 or 4wt and fishing the clear water for grayling. Its a blast fishing for them, i cannot get enough of it! If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me, I was born and raised up there and know the southcentral area well.

 

[ak_powder_monkey]

For silvers on a dry fly, you gotta get off the road system or get really really lucky/work your ass off... Although we accidentally caught a couple on the kenai in January on a mouse pattern...

If I were flying up here to go fishing I'd come in late July because there's shots at all five species of salmon in various areas, and my favorite trout fishing of the year. Or I'd come in mid to late september and go steelhead fishing.

 

[AlaskanDan]

Although we accidentally caught a couple on the kenai in January on a mouse pattern...

Now that is a cold day of fishing!

 

[g_smolt]

Get ahold of Fred Telleen at Mystic Waters guide service. He is a guru on the Kenai, and if you want to catch coho on the flyrod, he is your man. He probably knows a great backwater where the fish are inclined to come to the top.

There are coho in most Peninsula streams by the first of september, but you will find that most of those places also get plenty of pressure. If you gots the frogskins, you should do a fly-out day to the West side of Cook Inlet...there are some systems over there that are INCREDIBLE for topwater coho, but most of the runs over there are peaking in mid-august.

 

[longstick]

Don't plan on topwater for silvers. Also you need to know that the drift boat guides in the upper fish four guys out of a 20' drift boat. It works you will be roll casting all day till they find a gravel bar with room. If you want to fish with just you or your group tell the guide you choose that you want the boat. It will cost more, but some clients want to pay the extra. Good luck

 

[gt]

'falling in hole', best silver gravel bar on the entire river. august is usually when you find them but with climate change, who knows. i have only caught these coho on a swung fly, barely subsurface but not a dry fly by any stretch. lots of water, lots of people any day of the week any time of the day. all the best.