me and some buddies are supposed to go above the bridge Wednesday afternoon, just got called and was told the fishing is dead due to high water. they want to reschedule us for at least 2 weeks later. we wont be able to go for a month. this is all of our first time going, is it still a good time to go, say on Friday 8/2, or get a refund and try again next year? TIA
2019 Copper River Dipnetting Reports
- Thread starter Jerod
- Start date
coho slayer
New member
Fishing will still be good in early August. Maybe not as many kings, but the run basically lasts all summer.
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AKdreamn
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Three years ago, based on the advice of a friend and of thefine folks at Hem and Copper River Charters, I changed my program completely.No longer to I watch counts, count days, read reports, and plan a whirlwindsuicide trip. Now I just wait until the second or third weekend in August, enjoythe drive with early fall color changes, bask in the serenity of a river that isdecidedly quieter than in in mid-July, and haul in fish after fish after fish. Isuspect you’ll find the same success I have by going in August. 8/15-16 is mytrip this year.
Well that sounds good to me! Think I’ll give that a shot and start recommending August to more folks. Who knows, maybe we could meet up down there Aug 15!
As of today I am seeing that the rock at the million dollar bridge camera is officially under water! I’m heading down to Chitna tonight to lay eyes on the situation unfolding so I will report back once I make a trip or two down to the Canyon. Hems charters is not running right now. Talked to AK expeditions to get a water level report and was told that the water is high but they were still able to fish the personal use side at this point. No fishing reports have been made since Stids report from a week ago! I am hoping to have a report for you folks soon!
I just ran the Canyon in my 18 foot jet and tried dipping in my go to places for a couple hours only to find that it is slow at this point, hoping it picks up soon! River is definitely high and we are dealing with a stiff upriver breeze. I talked to peter at the bridge sweeping and he hadn’t caught anything yet but he missed a really nice king that flipped out of his net.
Thanks for the report, iyouktug! Where did you launch your jetboat and how was that? Any photos of the river and boat launching area to share? I, too, hope the river goes down and fishing picks up! Thanks again.
I was able to launch just below the bridge without too much trouble. Once you launch you have to let the boat drift back about 100 feet or so to get into a deeper side channel so you can have room to get up on step then just hug tight on the outside of the first bridge piling on your way up and around to the river channel. Just watch out when bringing her back in, most guys have been coming in hot through the shallows and Chuck in the red wooldridge didn’t quite make her and slammed the bridge piling pretty good
Nice little humdinger on the port side. Fishing was hit hit and miss with the high water and it seemed to be extremely slow above the bridge where guys were making that drift. In three days I managed a few dozen reds and a king on the personal use side. Was slow, but persistence was key for me. Hope everyone has a great time down there and be careful in that canyon as she is in pure rage mode right now!
Heres a pic of the boat launch area in this high water just below the bridge, not too bad but just shallow. Where you at Jerod? You one and done this year or are you gonna make another run for the smoker?
Been two weeks since we’ve seen a dipnetting report other than myself. Are folks just not fishing this year? I know the high water got a lot of people down but hey the fish are still there in big numbers according to sonar counts. I plan to venture down myself later this week so stay tuned for another report.
coho slayer
New member
Personally, I've had no time to do anything this summer. Can't speak for anyone else, though.
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I and two friends made a suicide run to the Copper river Canyon on Friday. We launched the boat at the bridge at 5:30 am and fished until 9pm with a 3 hour break in the middle. With two nets we ended up with 93 Reds and two nice kings. The water still seemed high but according to the rock at the million dollar bridge it has come down about two feet. I ended up losing an alternator on my truck which was a real bummer as I had to purchase a 200$ battery at the hub in order to get home
On the plus side though while fileting my fish I discovered that I was lucky enough to catch an extremely rare white sockeye! Can’t wait to get this bad boy on the grill!
On the plus side though while fileting my fish I discovered that I was lucky enough to catch an extremely rare white sockeye! Can’t wait to get this bad boy on the grill!
TR
New member
Wow, that albino fillet is huge. Would be beautiful cold smoked. Sorry about your alternator, but sounds like it was a great time over allI and two friends made a suicide run to the Copper river Canyon on Friday. We launched the boat at the bridge at 5:30 am and fished until 9pm with a 3 hour break in the middle. With two nets we ended up with 93 Reds and two nice kings. The water still seemed high but according to the rock at the million dollar bridge it has come down about two feet. I ended up losing an alternator on my truck which was a real bummer as I had to purchase a 200$ battery at the hub in order to get home
On the plus side though while fileting my fish I discovered that I was lucky enough to catch an extremely rare white sockeye! Can’t wait to get this bad boy on the grill!
View attachment 98076
@TR Was definitely a great time! What a great place to spend a day in mid July. I think you are right about the coldsmoke on that filet and I may give it a try. Definitely feels good to have enough fish for another year.
TR
New member
Fish for the year is what it's all about. Having fun doing it is the bonus
Bushwhack Jack
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I and two friends made a suicide run to the Copper river Canyon on Friday. We launched the boat at the bridge at 5:30 am and fished until 9pm with a 3 hour break in the middle. With two nets we ended up with 93 Reds and two nice kings. The water still seemed high but according to the rock at the million dollar bridge it has come down about two feet. I ended up losing an alternator on my truck which was a real bummer as I had to purchase a 200$ battery at the hub in order to get home
On the plus side though while fileting my fish I discovered that I was lucky enough to catch an extremely rare white sockeye! Can’t wait to get this bad boy on the grill!
View attachment 98076
White sockeye huh? Never heard of it. Got any pictures before it was filleted? I wonder if it was really a steelhead and not a sockeye. There are steelhead in the Copper.
This was a first for me! I lived in southeast AK for years and have seen lots of white kings, even caught a white silver one time but that was on a commercial vessel. This was definitely a sockeye and outside appearance was like the rest of the fish we caught.
Bushwhack Jack
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No you're right, that definitely looks like a sockeye fillet from the outside skin. Interesting. I've never heard of that before. Must be something different in the diet. I remember reading that the red/orange/pink coloration of a salmon's flesh has something to do with they plankton it eats or something like that. Some kind of pigment derived from what they eat. Kind of like a flamingo. A flamingo is pink because of what it eats.
Gr is for Greg
New member
From what I have read (thank you, Google), it isn't a dietary difference, but rather a metabolic inability to digest or process carotene from what they eat, and that is why the pigment does not get into the meat, and it's genetic whether a fish has it or not.
