Alaska: Steelhead

It’s hard to imagine that steelhead could be overlooked anywhere, but in Alaska that is often the case. Salmon and big trout are definitely targeted much more by both tourists and locals. But, this does not mean there is not steelhead to be had. Quite the contrary. Alaska has some of the best steelhead fishing in the world. whether you are looking for numbers or size, Alaska is world class steelhead country. It’s also much easier to narrow down the spots to fish for steelhead, compared to salmon or trout. The only places they run in big numbers are on the chain, Kodiak, the Kenai Peninsula and Southeast Alaska. This means you can eliminate much of the state. From this point you can narrow it down even more by factoring in timing because most southeast steelhead are spring run and most chain and south-central steelhead are fall run. Let’s start with Southeast Alaska steelhead. Southeast Alaska has a ton of rivers that get steelhead runs. Most of the steelhead rivers are small, remote and get less than 100 fish. Obviously, you want to target the rivers that get the most fish since you are here for a limited time. The First river I would recommend is the Situk which has the largest run of steelhead in the state. As many as 14,000 fish go up this relatively small but long river that is barely big enough to float and is full of long jams. The first thing that sticks out about this river besides the numbers of fish is the prodigious size of the fish. Your average spring fish is around 30 inches but 40 inch steelhead are a distinct possibility and The Fish And Game has tagged fish over 45 inches. The Situk is also very accessible making it a good budget trip. The peak of the run is in late April. Another location to consider is Prince of Wales Island which also has large fish and has several rivers that contain good runs of fish that can trickle in over several months. South Central Alaska also has some excellent steelhead fishing although unlike Southeast Alaska this area is a almost a 100 percent fall fishery with fish starting to arrive in early September continuing through November with the peak in most places being mid October. There are some rivers around the peninsula such as the Anchor that have decent runs of steelhead but they can be quite crowded since all the anchorage locals drive down to target them. Still, if you are in the area, wild pacific steelhead is hard to pass up! A far better Option might be Kodiak Island and Afognak Island which are adjacent to each other. Afognak has several small streams with small runs of steelhead and very little pressure. Kodiak has many streams but the two most productive are the Ayakulik and Karluk both located on the Southwest part of the island. The Karluk has the second largest steelhead run in the state. As many as 11,000 fish make the run annually and because of its remote location and light fishing pressure it can be highly productive. A fly fisherman can expect 10 hookups a day and on good years I’ve landed 20 steelhead per day. The Ayakulik has a smaller steelhead run of around 3,000 fish but is also a smaller river and can also have outstanding action. All South Central steelhead are smaller compared to their South East counterparts with fish averaging around 26 inches and topping out around 36 inches. Finally, the chain and Peninsula have some absolutely virgin water for fall steelhead. It is extremely expensive to get too but you could be fishing a piece of water for the first time, literally. One river that is gaining notoriety on the chain is the Sandy River which has some really big fish that are caught close to the ocean. With large runs of 100 percent wild fish, no dams and unspoiled scenery the last frontier is truly a top flight destination for steelhead.