Fishing the start of the salmon spawn

The king and pink salmon have started their mating dance on the Parks Highway streams. Schools of fish jockey for position along shallow gravel bars, clearing the rocks of slime and silt to create a protected, oxygenated space for their eggs to drop. The males pair up alongside the females as some are just starting to lay their eggs. This is the start to one of the best times of the year for trout fishing.

I first noticed salmon sitting on their spawning beds, called redds, several days ago. In the low, clear water the salmon are easy to spot. The gravel is swept clean and stands out as a dark patch on the stream bottom.

As soon as the salmon move in and prepare for the spawn, the trout move in behind them in anticipation of the thousands of eggs that are about to be dropped. The trout hurry to pick off any that miss the gravel and tumble along downstream. You can often spot the trout sitting amongst and behind large schools of salmon on redds. The trout can put on a large amount of weight very quickly as they gorge themselves on the eggs.

The tributaries of the Susitna River struggled last year with a lower number of salmon and the trout suffered because of it. A lack of salmon meant a lack of eggs and flesh as they begin to deteriorate and die off. The trout had little to eat and many were skinny and unhealthy going into the winter. As a result, we lost some of our larger fish.

But this year will be different. The salmon run this summer has been one of the best I’ve seen since guiding here the past five years. We have thousands and thousands of pinks, plenty of chums and more kings than I’ve seen in the last couple of years. More salmon means more food and I anticipate the trout will get fat and happy over the coming weeks. This is a breath of fresh air for anglers and guides that both enjoy and rely on the resource to stay healthy for years to come.