Anchorage, AK

Chinook Salmon

Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

The largest Pacific salmon and the top target for BC and Pacific Northwest boat anglers. Chinook feed aggressively around tide changes and along structure.

Coho Salmon

Oncorhynchus kisutch

Acrobatic and aggressive, coho are the shore angler's salmon. They push baitfish against beaches in the fall and hit fast-moving lures.

Pacific Halibut

Hippoglossus stenolepis

The heavyweight of the coast. Halibut sit on gravel and sand edges where current delivers food, and reward patient anchoring or controlled drifts.

Rockfish (Sebastes spp.)

Sebastes spp.

Dozens of species share one habit: structure. Rockfish are the reliable backbone of BC bottom fishing and perfect for new boat anglers.

Pink Salmon

Oncorhynchus gorbuscha

The smallest and most numerous Pacific salmon, famous for huge schooling runs every second year. Pinks bite small pink lures willingly and are the easiest salmon for beginners to catch from shore.

Sockeye Salmon

Oncorhynchus nerka

The prized red salmon, plankton feeders that travel in dense schools on set migration routes. Sockeye are reluctant biters in the ocean and reward anglers who troll tiny offerings at the exact depth of the school.

Dolly Varden

Salvelinus malma

A colourful coastal char that follows salmon runs to feast on eggs, fry and flesh. Dollies gather below spawning salmon in fall, take egg patterns and small spoons eagerly, and fight well on light tackle.

Arctic Grayling

Thymallus arcticus

A sail-finned fish of clear, cold northern rivers and lakes, famous for rising freely to dry flies. Grayling feed in groups in pools and riffles and are a signature light-tackle fish of Alaska and the far north.

Pacific Cod

Gadus macrocephalus

A true cod and a staple food fish of the North Pacific, schooling over soft bottom in deep water. Cod are easy to catch on baited rigs and jigs and are a reliable winter and spring target in Alaska and BC.

Northern Pike

Esox lucius

A toothy ambush predator of northern weed beds, famous for explosive strikes and slime. Pike sit motionless in cover and lunge at spoons, spinnerbaits and large flies passing within range.

Burbot

Lota lota

The only freshwater cod, an eel-like, mottled bottom fish that spawns in mid-winter and feeds at night. Burbot are a favourite ice-fishing target in Alaska and northern lakes, and almost never caught by day in summer.

Sablefish

Anoplopoma fimbria

The black cod — sablefish live deep on the continental slope from Alaska to California and are prized for the richest, most buttery flesh on the coast. Electric reels and deep-drop rigs made this deepwater delicacy a realistic target.

Sheefish (Inconnu)

Stenodus leucichthys

The tarpon of the north — sheefish are giant predatory whitefish that run Alaska and Arctic rivers in summer and crush big spoons with salmon-like power. Remote water, huge silver fish and almost no crowds define the fishery.

Seward Silver Salmon Derby

Mid-August, every year (nine days from the second Saturday)