Only limit for fishing is measured by enjoyment

I have heard a lot of people refer to pink salmon, or humpies, as “river maggots.” In years of strong pink salmon returns, it can be a real problem trying to catch a silver salmon if it happens to be with a group of humpies because the pinks will usually grab the bait or lure long before it even has a chance to sink to where the silvers are holding, usually below the school of pinks.

I will admit that I’m not fond of pinks after they’ve been in freshwater for several days either. Pinks start to watermark within about 12 hours of entering freshwater and after only a few days, the flesh starts to soften up quickly as well. However, fishing for pink salmon while they are still in saltwater or have only just entered freshwater can be a real blast if you use the right sized gear.

My wife and I ventured to Valdez last week to see if we could put a pink or two in the ice chest. I enjoy eating pinks that are still silver-dollar bright from saltwater or have just entered freshwater. Their oil content is lower than the other salmon species, giving them a milder salmon taste. Since I grew up in the Midwest where salmon only came in cans, eating a lot of fresh salmon is still a taste I am trying to acquire. Pinks, with their milder flavor, help me toward that end.

Pink salmon are the smallest of the five Pacific salmon species, generally averaging around 3 to 4 pounds in weight. Obviously, your king salmon gear or even your silver salmon rod and reel would be overkill when pinks are the target. However, the fish will gain a whole lot of your respect if you go after them with an ultralight rod and reel loaded with 4- to 6-pound test line. A lure like a small orange or red insert Pixie or about any of the Mepps spinners will attract a bite and, once hooked, the fish will give you a great fight.

I’m not much into fly fishing yet and have never gone after pinks with fly fishing gear, but I would suspect using a 4- to 6-weight rod and matching line will give you the same thrill as the ultralight spinning outfit mentioned earlier.

Our drive to Valdez was a first for my wife who, though born and raised in Alaska, had never been to Valdez. Nor had she seen the pipeline that parallels much of the Richardson Highway running to Valdez. I have always enjoyed driving through that part of Alaska because of the scenery. I think it’s one of the prettiest places, but I wouldn’t want to live there during the winter!

We arrived in Valdez and found an RV parking spot at Allison Point. We could look out the side window and see the pipeline terminal and some of the oil storage tanks up on the hill behind the terminal.

Fish were coming in and a large number were holding just off the mouth of the outflow from the Solomon Gulch power generation facility and the Solomon Gulch fish hatchery, located about a mile down from where we were parked. We tried fishing from the bank just in front of our campsite location the evening after we arrived, but the run was still building and fish moving through that area were few and far between.

Since we were early, or more correctly, the pink run was later than normal and time for us was short, we decided to scrap the sports fishing idea and shifted into a meat fishing mindset for the rest of the trip. We both used our silver salmon gear to snag our limits from the saltwater near the hatchery. The limit was six fish per day and 12 in possession, so we figured our maximum was 24 fish to take home, given the timing for the trip.

I got lazy the second day and stopped at four fish. My wife took her full limit. The last day, we both took our limits. We ended up with 22 fish for the trip.

There are no fish cleaning facilities at Allison Point so we drove around to the Valdez boat harbor both days and used the cleaning tables there. The harbor cleaning tables were very convenient and, other than soaking myself twice with the water sprayer while cleaning fish, were much appreciated.

After returning home, we canned about three-quarters of the fish, saving the brightest ones for eating fresh or fresh frozen. Again, my roots have given me a distinct liking for canned salmon. My wife can eat salmon fixed any way, but I think she actually prefers fresh or fresh frozen to canned.

If you’re interested in having some fun catching pink salmon, take your kids and your ultralight gear and head toward Hope, just around Turnagain Arm from Girdwood. That area is closer than Valdez and is also known for good pink salmon runs up Six-Mile Creek. I suspect now would be a good time to make that day trip.

I saw a notice recently about a kid’s-only pink salmon fishing tournament here in the Valley. I believe it is sponsored by the Lions Club and is coming up real soon. Keep an eye out for details.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by e-mailing sports@frontiersman.com.