By Andy Couch North of Anchorage, Alaska, in the Mat-Su Valley king salmon fishing regulations are the most restricted I’ve seen in 35 years of guiding. Fortunately, there is still one location where standard fishing king salmon fishing regulations remain in effect: the Eklutna Tailrace/Knik River fishery. If you want to use bait for kings […]
By: Andy Couch Mark the date — the Susitna River drainage north of Anchorage, Alaska opens to bait and scent fishing on Friday July 14, 2017. Because of low king salmon numbers the entire Susitna River drainage was closed to king salmon fishing on July 3, and bait fishing had been restricted in the Deshka […]
By: Andy Couch Green leaves emerging in spring signals that Alaska’s state fish, the king (Chinook) salmon will soon be pushing into Mat-Su Valley rivers and streams. The first few king salmon will likely be taken from valley locations during the week of May 8-14. Kings are the largest and first salmon to show up […]
By: Chris Shaffer When we booked our fishing trip with Alaska guide Andy Couch a few months ago he suggested we plan for a full day chasing Chinook on the Deshka River. The hope was to gain enough footage to film Pautzke Outdoors on this popular greater Anchorage area fishery without Couch having to give […]
By Andy Couch In Alaska it’s no secret that salmon roe is a top bait, especially when fishing for early running king and coho salmon. There are times, however, when a roe-fishing angler may need to, “kick it up a notch,” in order to draw strikes in occluded waters or jazz heavily pressured salmon into one […]
By: Andy Couch The Matanuska – Susitna Borough (Mat-Su) contains lots of lakes, is roughly the size of West Virginia and is rich in ice fishing opportunities. Many lakes along the road system are stocked by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) providing endless options. Perhaps the best way for anglers to learn […]
By: Andy Couch Gary’s bobber disappeared under the water, so he set the hook, and a chrome silver salmon thrashed to the surface. He battled the fish for several minutes, then led it to the net, and our first fish of the day was on the boat. We had already fished 5 prime spots without […]
