AK Parks Highway Fishing

[saltydog401]

Hello all, I'm new here and looking for information. My fiancé and myself are going to be traveling to Alaska in June (6/3-6/10) for our honeymoon. We're flying into Anchorage the first night and then will be heading to Denali later in the afternoon the following day. After 3 days in Denali, we're heading to Talkeetna for a day and night, then heading to Seward for the remaining days. We are from Columbus, OH and have been salmon/trout fishing before. However, after some research, I've noticed there is a vast difference between fishing in OH/IN/MI and AK. So that leads me to the following questions:
1. I've tried to read AK sport fishing regulations and while I feel I understand them to an extent, there's still a lot that I have questions on. With that being said, what waters along the Parks Highway will be open for King fishing?
2. What kind of flies are typically best?
Basically, if anyone could give me some pointers in regards to waters to fish, flies, and presentation methods - I would gladly accept the help. I'm not asking for anyone's "honey hole's" or best spots, just any information an Ohio boy could gather about AK fishing and waters. Thanks in advance, SaltyDog401

[Gary]

Hello all, I'm new here and looking for information. My fiancé and myself are going to be traveling to Alaska in June (6/3-6/10) for our honeymoon. We're flying into Anchorage the first night and then will be heading to Denali later in the afternoon the following day. After 3 days in Denali, we're heading to Talkeetna for a day and night, then heading to Seward for the remaining days. We are from Columbus, OH and have been salmon/trout fishing before. However, after some research, I've noticed there is a vast difference between fishing in OH/IN/MI and AK. So that leads me to the following questions:
1. I've tried to read AK sport fishing regulations and while I feel I understand them to an extent, there's still a lot that I have questions on. With that being said, what waters along the Parks Highway will be open for King fishing?
2. What kind of flies are typically best?
Basically, if anyone could give me some pointers in regards to waters to fish, flies, and presentation methods - I would gladly accept the help. I'm not asking for anyone's "honey hole's" or best spots, just any information an Ohio boy could gather about AK fishing and waters. Thanks in advance, SaltyDog401

At this point, no one knows what waters (if any) will be open to king fishing. With reduced returns, there was not much open last year and this year could/should be more of the same. The absolute best way to shorten the curve on learning the best ways to fish here (for various species) is to hire a local guide for a day or two. Guides will know the local regs and where to fish and how to fish and most enjoy imparting their knowledge with clients. All enjoy seeing their clients catch fish. AK regs can be confusing, with different regs for streams in the same area and emergency openings and closures common. EO's can be anticipated by following the AK Department of Fish and Games home page. They usually give a few days notice of changes to the regs.

[kwackkillncrew]

I am not sure if you have been able to keep a king off the parks in the last 5 years. If you're looking to keep kings I would try ship creek in Anchorage or try to snag them in the salt water kn seward. If you're in seward the last part of your trip you shiuld.be able to.snag reds and well in the salt water. For trout fishing on the parks the salmon wont be dropping eggs yet so I guess you would throw scuplins, leeches, things like that. Like it was already said if you get a guide for the day it will get you a few steps up on the learning curve. <br/><br/>Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk<br/><br/>

[upstreamV]

State of Alaska offers fishing reports by region and month.
Just find the geographic region and then read the month of June 2020. This will be last years data however these reports offer suggestions as to what streams and which presentations were working. You may be able to develop a better sense of streams and runs this way. The previous suggestions are spot on.

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/Fishin...ADFG=main.home

[Fuel E Fishin Sea]

Cool honeymoon, Saltydog401! You'll wish you had more time to explore, and Alaska will call you back to her.

Previous advice is good.
King runs the last few years have been fairly dismal, and the regulations can change quickly if an "Emergency Order" is put out by Fish & Game. For the timeframe you are here for example,(June 3-10) the Little Susitna River (on the Parks Highway near Wasilla) saw 3 kings past the sonar counter in 2020 from June 3-10. The "fish count" tab on the ADF&G website can help clue you in as the date gets closer. See link below:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/FishCo...&SpeciesID=410

I would recommend a look at this 12 page publication of the MatSu King salmon fisheries. This should point you towards a few places on your way north. Link below:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/fi...KingSalmon.pdf

Also, if you will be in Seward a few days, consider the advice to snag some red (sockeye) salmon in Resurrection Bay. People snag in Seward (it's legal in the salt water in Seward) right from the beach. The local hardware store carries snagging hooks if you need some. Observe the locals, ask for advice if you're having poor luck. You should be able to find a few reds milling around out there during your stay. Limit in the salt there is 6/day, sometimes 12 if the run is strong. Some information from ADF&G on the Seward snag fishing here, pgs. 2-3:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/ap...gulf_coast.pdf

Good luck to ya on the trip to AK and a world class honeymoon!

[saltydog401]

Thank you all for the replies, this has been a wonderful help! Unfortunately with me being the youngest guy on my shift at the firehouse I'm unable to get much extended time off, so the 7 days I get is, hopefully, going to be enough to bring me back later in life. I can't wait to get up there and hopefully get on some fish! Thank you all for the replies, stay safe!