The world's finest salmon fishing draws anglers each summer to the Last Frontier, where sport fishermen join residents stocking their freezers with food to live on through the year. Nearly half a million licensed anglers work Alaska's waters each summer, according to the most recent data obtained by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in 2007, contributing $545 million of income to the state. You can fish salmon all over Alaska, in fresh and salt water, notes Frommer's Alaska 2010, but the closer you are to the ocean, the better the fish will be for eating.
Geography
The Bristol Bay watershed west of Anchorage is the world's richest salmon fishery, Frommer's notes, calling lodges on its tributaries "an angler's paradise." The Copper River Delta on the east side of Prince William Sound provides famed eating kings. Seward on Resurrection Bay across the sound sponsors a Silver Salmon Derby each August. The Kenai River, accessible by road south of Anchorage, provides big kings, as well as silvers and reds. You can combine your fishing with bear watching in Kodiak, which Frommer's describes as having the best roadside salmon fishing in Alaska.
Types
Five species of Pacific salmon visit North America, the U.S. Forest Service states. Kings are the best fighting fish, running to 30 lbs., with a record 97-lb. fish taken by a sport fisherman from the Kenai River, Frommer's states. You'll need a special king stamp on your Alaska Department of Fish and Game license. Silvers, smaller at 6 to 9 lbs., fights ferociously, making it the next most-coveted type of salmon. Sockeyes, at 4 to 8 lbs., are the trickiest to catch. Alaskans don't catch pinks, but tourists may find them fun to land. Alaska Natives catch chum salmon to feed their dog teams, hence their nickname dog salmon.
Time Frame
King salmon show up at the end of May, and their season ends in mid-July. June brings red salmon, and the chum, pink and silver salmon arrive in July or August. You'll need to carefully time your trip to your destination, be it lake, river, creek or offshore, to the peak of the run or fishing will be slow, Frommer's advises. The guidebook recommends seeking advice from a trip planning service with detailed local knowledge, such as Sport Fishing Alaska.
Considerations
Your gear will depend on species and regulations. On salt water, you'll likely troll for kings and silvers with herring bait; in rivers, flies, salmon eggs or lures may work, with varying regional regulations. Flies work best with reds, Frommer's states, and most Alaskans use spinning gear for larger species, as a fly rod may be iffy.
Costs
An annual sport-fishing license runs $24 for residents as of 2010, according to the ADF&G, and a king salmon stamp an extra $10. Nonresidents can pay $20 for one-day license, $35 for three days, $55 for a week, $80 for 14 days and $145 for an annual license. King salmon stamps run $10 a day for nonresidents and up to $100 for an annual stamp.
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