killin me to ask

[cabin]

With so many fishing in one spot....is there a lot of fights?Must be some great stories if at all ....that is my spot or i was just here 1 sec ago...just left to a new cold one ,and now ?

[Alaskan Fly Guy]

I does happen. When you fish in combat zones, you must bring a little patience and "grains of salt" along with you. These seems to always be at least one who has had that one too many, or never got along with others in the sandbox in kindergarden either.

[Ak Bird Brain]

seems to help if you bring your wife and kids with you. When someone starts getting to close I let my boys try a couple of casts. If that doesn't spread them thinner I'll give my wife the rod, she smiles really pretty and anounces how long it's been since she's "accidently" hooked someone. That's usually all it takes to get some elbow room.

[cabin]

seems to help if you bring your wife and kids with you. When someone starts getting to close I let my boys try a couple of casts. If that doesn't spread them thinner I'll give my wife the rod, she smiles really pretty and anounces how long it's been since she's "accidently" hooked someone. That's usually all it takes to get some elbow room.

Funny you say that,cause that was my point.When you live in AK and someone from the lower 48....thinks cause he spent x$$$$ he should come first?You on the other hand need stock for the winter....and you relay on this time of year.

[alaskachuck]

Beer. Lots of Beer. I dont fish the combat zones much anymore. I do have 3 or 4 buddies who come up every late july to chase the reds. Good guys and I will fish the combat zone with them. I have said here before we make it a fun time. We just find a spot we like and sit down and have a cold one and BS with each other and the others fishing. Before you know it someone needs a break and one of us steps in. As they day goes on you get a great rotation and meet some new friends.. We will scout the fishermen for a while. It does not take to long to figure out who is naughty and who is nice


My wife always has a big smile when we float by the guantlet line. Usually filming someone on the shore doing something crazy. Like jumping in after a salmon they just lost on the bank.

[cabin]

Beer. Lots of Beer. I dont fish the combat zones much anymore. I do have 3 or 4 buddies who come up every late july to chase the reds. Good guys and I will fish the combat zone with them. I have said here before we make it a fun time. We just find a spot we like and sit down and have a cold one and BS with each other and the others fishing. Before you know it someone needs a break and one of us steps in. As they day goes on you get a great rotation and meet some new friends.. We will scout the fishermen for a while. It does not take to long to figure out who is naughty and who is nice


My wife always has a big smile when we float by the guantlet line. Usually filming someone on the shore doing something crazy. Like jumping in after a salmon they just lost on the bank.

I just think that the 48 ...must make you all drink more.

[Hunt&FishAK]

veteran of many river bank and seward beach brawls.....worst places ive seen are sheep creek slough and caswell, sunshine and willow creeks for kings and silvers around willow, seward beach when the silver snaggin starts, bings landing, and the mouth of the kenai dipnettin.....most every fight ive seen or had to jump into or stand my ground involved alcohol....go figure huh? i dont drink till i get back to camp for the nite myself, save a few beers in my pack to drink along the river on a hot day...it can get pretty interesting and loud when the rowdies show up at a hole....locals from the willow area are especially ornery when challenged, dont go testin your luck with them or youll find yourself outnumbered and in trouble real fast, i just happen to know alot of them since i lived there for a few years, but it doesnt always help...rare is the time when theres a trooper nearby...

[AKGunner]

After 15 years on the rivers up here I've yet to see an actually fight. Words exchanged, yes. Once on Willow a fellow had a king hole staked out. He announced to another raft as we went by that they better float the **!!!#* on by without stopping because he didn't carry he 44 mag just for bears. He put his hand on his gun for emphasis. Great way to get a brandishing charge and loose one's gun rights. Idiot!

[big_dog60]

Simple show up a couple hours before the opening. Have a large number of empty beer cans set up in your area and lay the beer cans out and thow your 12 ga. over your sholder.

[jay51]

Walk soft, talk softer, and carry your favorite sidearm in plain sight. Never been in a single fight on the banks in my 20+ years of fishing in the valley. I've seen more fights between drunken-boaters than bank-fishermen, but there are testosterone-charged alcohol-fueled idiots just about everywhere. Willow Creek, the Little Su, and Jim Creek seem to have the highest concentration of idiots in the valley. To the south, Ship creek is an absolute zoo, and the Russian isn't much better. I try to avoid the crowds, walking the extra mile, or driving an extra twenty seems to work out better for me. I may be anti-social, but I enjoy myself!

-J

[RandallT]

Walk soft, talk softer, and carry your favorite sidearm in plain sight. Never been in a single fight on the banks in my 20+ years of fishing in the valley. I've seen more fights between drunken-boaters than bank-fishermen, but there are testosterone-charged alcohol-fueled idiots just about everywhere. Willow Creek, the Little Su, and Jim Creek seem to have the highest concentration of idiots in the valley. To the south, Ship creek is an absolute zoo, and the Russian isn't much better. I try to avoid the crowds, walking the extra mile, or driving an extra twenty seems to work out better for me. I may be anti-social, but I enjoy myself!

-J

I like the way you think. Why would anyone want to fish when all you see are people. Is it that those specific areas are that great, or is it that those spots are so easily accessed? I'm with you though, I'm all about going the extra mile to distance myself from the crowd, and usually the fishing is a whole hell of a lot better.

[cabin]

Boy was i wrong...in thinking hotdogs from the 48.But as most have said it's the cold ones that start to problem.

[jay51]

It is a combination of factors that usually start trouble, differing opinions on how to fish, misguided perceptions about high-concentrations of fish in easily accessed, over-trodden areas, and alcohol. Most of the visitors from out-of-state that I run into are very nice. Even if they are a little ignorant about how to fish politely for salmon in a crowd, they are willing to learn and eager to make friends.

I was fortunate enough to be born into this wonderful state, and I spent my youth fishing for salmon, trout, dollies, and whitefish off the logjams of a secluded section of river on my grandfather's homestead. Fishing in solitude, or with a couple close friends on a lonely stretch of river is as close as I can get to heaven on this earth.

I learned to "combat fish" from my grandmother, she quietly snipped every line that strayed over her shoulder or into her drift! She was also a lifelong Alaskan, and she knew that no-one that picked a fight with a 100lb woman was going to get make it back to their truck without someone physically educating them on the proper treatment of women! It is a different world now, better to just avoid the crowded holes and the confrontations that come with them, in my opinion.

Good fishing,
-J