King Salmon Fishing in Talkeetna-Looking for guide

[swdke]

Has anyone hired a guide they can recommend out of Talkeetna for some King Salmon fishing? Thanks.

[mytime53]

What is your exact date?

[wolfie11]

King salmon run in this area from June to July. However, many of the creeks/rivers are restricted on days and times fishing is allowed. Try googling "Talkeetna fishing" and a bunch of alternatives will come up.

[swdke]

What is your exact date?

 

The date I plan to fish and will be in Talkeetna is July 8. Thanks.

[mytime53]

You are managing to catch the tail end of king season, so Clear Creek (a tributary of the Talkeetna River) should be a good bet. I don't recommend any guides, as we never use them. My husband was a fishing guide for the past couple years, and my only recommendations were to people calling last minute, desperate for someone to take them out. So I recommended the newest guides for the year who weren't likely to be booked. My recommendation to you is to call them and talk to them. See who you feel comfortable with.

Unless you have a specific reason to be spending this time in Talkeetna, you could fish further south (Little Su or Deshka Rivers), and have a chance at Silver salmon in addition to Kings.

 

Here is a link to one guide's reports for July 2006 (this person does not work out of Talkeetna--I just include it because you might enjoy seeing how their trips went during the time frame you will be fishing--read far enough and see notes of seeing wolves).

[swdke]

You are managing to catch the tail end of king season, so Clear Creek (a tributary of the Talkeetna River) should be a good bet. I don't recommend any guides, as we never use them. My husband was a fishing guide for the past couple years, and my only recommendations were to people calling last minute, desperate for someone to take them out. So I recommended the newest guides for the year who weren't likely to be booked. My recommendation to you is to call them and talk to them. See who you feel comfortable with.

Unless you have a specific reason to be spending this time in Talkeetna, you could fish further south (Little Su or Deshka Rivers), and have a chance at Silver salmon in addition to Kings.

 

Here is a link to one guide's reports for July 2006 (this person does not work out of Talkeetna--I just include it because you might enjoy seeing how their trips went during the time frame you will be fishing--read far enough and see notes of seeing wolves).

 

 

Thanks for the great information. Could you please attach the link you mentioned? I'll be in Talkeetna on July 7 to take a flight around Mt. Mckinley in the evening, and overnighting in Talkeetna. Therefore, we're there the next day and currently open for an activity and interested in fishing. It's actually our last day and we fly home that evening. So I thought a morning trip would work best. So, for fising July 8, being the end of the peak season, what are my chances of actually catching a fish? Thanks for your help. any additional information is appreciated.

[mytime53]

http://www.fish4salmon.com/reports/2006/july2006.asp

 

I can't believe I left that off last night. I shouldn't be allowed near my computer that late!

 

Early morning is best for kings, the earlier the better. They get sluggish (i.e. non-aggressive) in warm water, so you hope for cool evenings. Also, IF the hours get relaxed this year, there's the opportunity for all-night fishing, which can be fun. The past 2 years they've relaxed the hours for king fishing. One reason my husband isn't guiding any more is that I was tired of the long hours he put in...getting up at 2 in the morning to meet clients at 4 am, getting home just in time to eat, go to bed, and get up a few hours later. Or fishing all night and then sleeping all day. I'm looking forward to getting to fish during peak time this year!

[swdke]

http://www.fish4salmon.com/reports/2006/july2006.asp

 

I can't believe I left that off last night. I shouldn't be allowed near my computer that late!

 

Early morning is best for kings, the earlier the better. They get sluggish (i.e. non-aggressive) in warm water, so you hope for cool evenings. Also, IF the hours get relaxed this year, there's the opportunity for all-night fishing, which can be fun. The past 2 years they've relaxed the hours for king fishing. One reason my husband isn't guiding any more is that I was tired of the long hours he put in...getting up at 2 in the morning to meet clients at 4 am, getting home just in time to eat, go to bed, and get up a few hours later. Or fishing all night and then sleeping all day. I'm looking forward to getting to fish during peak time this year!

 

 

Thanks again for the great information. What guide service would you best recommend? Thanks.

[mytime53]

I haven't personally fished with any of them, so won't make a recommendation...Talkeetna's a little far north for me to personally know them...we have all the fishing we need much closer, but I've heard good things about all of them.

Some questions to consider: 1) Do you require a covered boat for inclement weather? Not all charters have covered boats. It's easier to fish out of an uncovered boat, but on bad days you might prefer it.

How many people will be with you (or will you just pay for the entire boat?)? All are licensed for 6 passengers, but going with only 4 is better. Are there at least 2 of you? Sometimes it is difficult to get a booking for only 1 person. Exactly how do they handle the fishing? I think all of them are "hold your own pole" (unlike fishing the Kenai, where you usually don't hold the pole until the fish is on), but I'm not positive...maybe that doesn't make a difference to you, though. Find out if you'll be with an Alaskan guide (or at least someone who's guided the area for several years) or someone new brought up for the summer. Look over as many web-sites as you can (google Mat-Valley fishing) and look at all the pictures.

Here's a link to some of them:

http://www.memberservicecenter.org/irmweb/wc.dll/akpalcvb?id=akpalcvb&doc=rol/rol1/results

Enjoy your trip!