With a wide range of streams, rivers, lakes and ocean waterfront, Alaska has an abundant fishery featuring salmon, trout and Arctic char. Alaska has incredible fishing opportunities for residents of Alaska and for visiting anglers. For fisherman, southern Alaska's Bird Creek is a prime fishing destination. It is home to three different types of salmon, and it offers bountiful waters in wondrous surroundings.
Location
Bird Creek is roughly 20 minutes southeast of Anchorage, approximately 50 miles from Seward Highway. With an abundance of parking spaces on the north and south sides of the creek, Bird Creek provides travelers access to the creek.
For public convenience, walking bridges have been built to allow safe passage across Seward Highway. Bird Creek is an excellent salmon river when heading up south from Anchorage. The sport-fishing creek is in the middle of an Alaskan wildlife setting.
High Tide
According to Alaskan Outfitting.com, when high tide occurs, Bird Creek is not hospitable to fishing. Bird Creek water is moderate clear, yet has enough sediment of sand and clay material, making it difficult to fish.
During rain, Bird Creek becomes cloudy, and when glaciers melt, the runoff makes the water murky. In addition, when high tide arrives, fishing can become dangerous; many anglers have been swamped from shallow water banks and later found drowned.
Three Species of Salmon
According to Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Bird Creek has three species of salmon that thrive in the environment: silver, pink and chum.
The silver salmon range from 6 to 12 pounds each. Silver salmon enjoy minnows and live baits such as night crawlers. Casting baited hooks with tiny split shot weights and allowing them to drift in the water can be an effective way to hook a silver salmon.
Pink salmon are one of the easiest to catch on rod and reel. They average around 2 to 4 pounds. When fishing for pink salmon, using a small spinner such as a rooster tail will garner a powerful strike.
Chum salmon weigh approximately 6 to 10 pounds and can reach up to 18 pounds. Anglers employ the use of fly rods and reels when fishing for chum salmon, as they prefer colorful flies.
Salmon Runs
The three species of salmon travel through Bird Creek on their way to spawn. This yearly occurrence, known as salmon runs, signals when to fish for each speciaes.
Starting in July and lasting through October, silver salmon move up the creek to spawning locations. By late July to August is the peak time to fish for this species.
The chum salmon run beginnings mid-June to early September, and the best times for fishing for chum is during the early part of August, as they are most hungry.
Late July, pink salmon roam aggressive throughout the waters and when lures or bait land in their general direction, they strike them with vigore.
According to AlaskaFishing.com, attempting to catch fish past November and until early June is tough as there is few salmon in the creek during this time.
Fishing Bird Creek
Public fishing of Bird Creek is permitted only for the first 500 yards; residents privately own remaining sections of the creek. Nonresident fishermen need to be cognitive of the no-trespassing signs and cable wires laid strategically around Bear Creek.
In some rare cases, owners allow fishermen to venture on their lands to fish for salmon, but an angler must receive permission.
There is a three-salmon-per-day limit when fishing at Beer Creek. Anglers can posses all three species or a combination of silver, pink and chum salmon. Unfortunately, state regulations do not allow anglers to keep king salmon. They must be promptly returned to the water when caught.
Alaska Fishing Licenses
All persons 16 to 59 years of age must have an Alaska sport-fishing license to fish in all Alaskan freshwater and saltwater. Anglers can purchase, an Alaskan sport fishing licenses as well as a king salmon stamps from retail stores throughout the state.
In accordance with rules and regulations, a fishing license allows an angler to take any fish in freshwater and saltwater, except king salmon. For a resident of Alaska, a sport-fishing license will cost $24 as of 2010. For nonresidents wanting to fish, one-day a license will cost $20. For three days of fishing, it will cost a visitor or nonresident $35. A king salmon stamp is a requirement in order to possess this fish. The stamp costs Alaskan residents $10. A one-day fishing license for nonresidents costs $10.
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