2006 KING SALMON DAILY FISHING REPORT

Thursday May 25th
I guided 3 guests on a morning trip to the Deshka River. We noticed the Big Susitna River water level has risen sharply in the last 36 hours and the Deshka flow had slowed at the confluence from the past few days. Water levels on the Deshka have fallen slightly and color was good. We began by fishing the mouth of the Deshka where one of our guests hooked and netted a very fresh 15lb King which he released. We were using eggs. Later we moved up river and back trolled plugs and caught a very nice chrome bright 40lb buck that still had sea lice. We also hooked another very nice King which appeared to be in the 30lb class that came loose after a short but acrobatic fight. The fishing has definitely picked up over what it has been and the Kings are starting to show up. I expect the fishing to to get better by the day. 

We still have good availability for this weekend and into next week for those who want to get out and catch Kings. You can make a reservation on this website or call us at 907-357-0131

Friday May 26th
I guided 2 guests on the Little Susitna River. The water was a little high but still very fishable. We worked hard back trolling for six hours back trolling and but were unsuccessful. There were only 4 fish reported at the ranger station that day.

Saturday May 27th
I had a group of 4 today and we fished the Deshka River. The water had dropped slightly but was in very good shape. The weather continues to be sunny and hot but the bite was still good. We managed to find several fish that were interested and we boated 4 kings.

Sunday May 28th
Today I fished the Deshka River with a group of 4. The water conditions were great and we spent most of the day back trolling spin and glows and eggs which resulted in several good take downs. Everyone in the boat had a chance to fight a king salmon however we only boated one fish.

Monday May 29th
We were back at the Deshka today and I had 2 guests on board. The river is dropping and is still in great shape. It was memorial day and so there was heavy boat traffic on the river which made the fishing more challenging but it was still a beautiful day on the water. We fished some of the upper stretches of the river and found three kings that were interested in taking what we were offering on our half day trip. We were able to boat two of them. One of these guests had a Mat-Su King Salmon Derby ticket and won the first fish weighed prize for the Deshka Landing Lodge.

Tuesday May 30th
I did not fish today.

Wednesday May 31st
Today I had two guests and we fished the Deshka River. We caught 1 king salmon on spin and glows and eggs back trolled behind jet divers. I rained on us all day but our guests hung in there and managed to catch 1 fish.

Thursday June 1st
I fished the Deshka River with 5 guests and we caught 5 king salmon. We had several other good chances to hook fish on solid take downs but missed them. The largest fish weighed in at 26lbs and the others averaged 15lbs. We caught them on spin and glows and eggs behind divers.

Friday June 2nd
I had 5 guests and we fished the Deshka River. The water had risen some since the rain but was still very fishable. We fished spin and glows and eggs behind divers and hooked 4 king salmon. We lost one near the boat and kept 3 fish today.

Saturday June 3rd
It was an absolutely beautiful morning on the Deshka river today and I had 6 people on board, 4 adults and two small children. We hooked and boated 4 king salmon and fought two others that spit the hook before we could net them. We caught all of them on spin and glow and egg combinations fished behind divers. We hooked some while back trolling and others while anchored up.  All the adults had a chance to fight a king today.

Sunday June 4th
I had a morning trip with 4 fisherman to the Deshka River today. The water level is dropping and fish are making their way up the river. We worked some stretches of water upriver back trolling spin and glows and eggs behind divers which produced good results. We caught and kept 5 king salmon and lost two others after a short battle. The fish were chrome bright and very fresh. Three out of four fisherman were able to hook and land a king.

I had an afternoon group of 3 today also. We began the trip working holes upriver which resulted in one bite and one fish. We then finished the trip fishing the mouth and caught and kept one more. Two of the three fisherman caught fish.

Monday June 5th
We had a wonderful trip today with 4 guests on board the boat. We fished the Deshka river and the bite was on. Both the Big Su and the Deshka are dropping fast. We journeyed upriver and back trolled Spin and Glows and eggs behind divers. The result was lots of bites and we boated 6 king salmon and fought several others. There were awesome views of Denali today from the river and we saw lots of wildlife including a black bear feeding along the river.

Tuesday June 6th
Today we had 4 fisherman on the boat and we once again journeyed up the Deshka in search of the wily King salmon. We fished the usual spots and did not have much action. We caught 1 king salmon drifting eggs under a bobber and lost another after a short fight. We then moved down river to the mouth and fished the remainder of our time together there.

Wednesday June 7th
I fished the Deshka again today and had 5 guests on board. The Big Su and the Deshka river have been dropping like a rock. The water level had fallen another foot since yesterday morning. We started the morning fishing eggs on the bottom. The action at the confluence streaky and some small fish were being caught. After some time we caught and kept 1 king salmon and caught and released another. We decided to go upriver in search of fish and could not find any that would cooperate. While we fished the sign hole near the weir we saw and cow and calf moose run across the shallows like they were being chased. Just then a brown bear came charging out the brush chasing the moose calf. They all disappeared into the brush and went out of sight. It was a scene right out of Marlin Perkins Wild Kingdom and all the guests had a front row seat and were able to see the whole thing.

Thursday June 8th
I fished the Deshka today with 5 guests. We fished at the confluence as well as upriver in several holes and were able to catch 3 king salmon. All three were caught in the lower river near the mouth using corkies and eggs fished on the bottom. It was a slow day at the mouth and the water levels continue to drop. Both the Big Su and the Deshka are still dropping and water levels are low. We did see a cow moose with a calf today along the river along with several beavers and eagles.

Saturday June 10th
Today I fished the Deshka river with 4 adults and two kids. The kids ages 5 and 7 did not fish on their own but helped their parents fish. We began upriver and worked stretches of water by floating eggs under ESB bobbers. This is a great way to fish Kings and work lots of water. Right away we hooked and landed 2 very nice chrome bright king salmon in the 20lb class. The fish we are catching right now are very fresh and sport beautiful ocean colors. Later we anchored up and ran spin and glows and eggs out behind divers and whacked another very fresh chrome bright 25lb hen that stripped 60 yards of line off the reel before the fisherman could get her turned. It was a very strong and spunky fish that gave it everything it had before joining the others in the cooler. It was a beautiful morning on the river and we spent most of it fishing entire stretches by ourselves. We saw a cow and calf moose, eagles, and beavers. Our other boat spotted a black bear scrounging for hooligan along the rivers edge and watched him for several minutes.

Sunday June 11th
I had two trips today, a morning trip with 2 clients on board and an afternoon trip with 4 people. The two trips could not have been more more different in terms of the fishing.

On the morning trip we traveled upriver and immediately noticed schools of king salmon running and darting through the riffles and holes. We set up to fish eggs under ESB bobbers and soon had a ocean fresh chrome bright 20lb king in the box. It still had sea lice on it. Quite a few fish moved through the hole we were anchored up in rolling and waking but they seemed set on running upriver instead of holding up in the usual spots and they definitely were not interested in what we were throwing at them. We bounced eggs off their noses and could not coax more than a short nibble of a bite which we missed the hook sets on. They did not seem to be interested in anything. Eventually threw everything we had at them and could not hook up another fish. It was frustrating to say the least. I felt that I must have had a bad batch of eggs or something and it left me scratching my head wondering what happened.

Then I picked up my afternoon group at 12 noon and we headed out. I was not looking forward to a repeat of the morning but we headed up river nonetheless. We stopped in a hole and chucked out the same eggs under the same bobbers on the same poles as we were using on the morning trip. One rod even had the same bait still on it from the morning group and we tossed it out without re-baiting. Immediately we banged a chrome bright 25lb buck that swallowed the hook and came to the net only after a long and defiant protest. I thought to myself, "finally an aggressive bite". Within 90 minutes we had all 8 fish we needed and we were taking pictures. Wow what a difference two hours makes. We were using the exact same bait and gear but with totally different results. Well I guess that's fishing for you. We are planing to be on the Deshka again tomorrow.

The fish have definitely arrived and I saw good numbers of fish bombing up the river today. I believe tomorrow is going to be good.

Monday June 12th
Today I had six guests on the boat on my morning run and 3 for the afternoon. We also had 2 other boats go out full this morning and a midnight run this evening.

The morning trip was AWESOME! It was dad who received one of our Christmas gift certificates as a gift and wanted to take his 4 kids plus one of their friends fishing. Their ages were 9, two 10 year olds, 12, and 13. I love it when dads take their kids fishing, that is how I got started when I was only 4 years old. We started upriver working holes with bobbers and eggs and began picking up fish right away. The kids were the first to hook up and we had a blast watching the bobbers go down and seeing the kids setting the hooks. None of the kids had ever caught a king salmon before today. The fish were chrome bright and very spunky and the drags were sizzling as these fish took off on 50 and 60 yard runs. The kids just hung on with both hands, kept reeling and filled the fish box. All five kids plus dad caught two fish and we limited out the boat in just 4 hours. Then we had 12 very nice king salmon to clean. Way to go Mark!  Don't stop taking the kids fishing.

The afternoon run was also very fun. I had a couple from Fairbanks with their son come along and we set out at noon to harass some kings. I went right back to the hole that we limited out in on the morning run and the first bait in the water lasted only seconds before the bobber disappeared under the water with a swoosh of water. The bite was still on and within 45 minutes we had caught 7 king salmon and kept 4. We moved to he next hole and immediately picked up the remaining two fish and then it was picture taking time. If only all the days of fishing could be like that!

The kings have finally arrived in good numbers in the Deshka. The water levels have gone up a little and the color and fishing conditions are very good. I spotted several large groups of fish shooting the riffles and waking up in the holes like so many torpedos. It is good to see kings in the river again. I expect the fishing to get better and remain good for the next couple of weeks.

Tuesday June 13th
Today I had a group of 5 on the boat with me and we set out early for the Deshka river. We arrived at the fishing hole and I gave my usual recital about the method of fishing we would be doing and what they should expect as I baited the first rod. We tossed it out and I began to bait the other rods one by one. Before I could get the third rod baited the second one went down and the fun began. These guys started hooking king salmon faster than I could keep up. Twice we had triple hook-ups and I had just enough time to net one fish, remove the hook, gill it and toss it on the bank just in time to net the next. 5 guys had both their fish by 6:15AM. It was a boat limit in under 45 minutes! The bite was on and as we approached our limit we called in one of our other boats so they could get in on it. As they arrived another guide boat that had been fishing near by slid into the hole and tossed out their anchor right on top of the fish and just like that the bite was over. Our second boat managed to work for 5 more kings before quitting time and then work began. The fish were chrome bright and most of them had sea lice on them. They were beautiful Deshka kings in the 25-30 pound class.

These are the kind of mornings that you dream of on those days when you work for 6 hours flogging the water and can't buy a fish. Some would say it is foolish to even publish such a report because now everyone who comes fishing with us will expect these kinds of results. We all know that doesn't happen all the time but it sure is fun to be in on it when it does. The last three days have been like this and I hope tomorrow morning has more in store. I plan to fish the Deshka again tomorrow.

Wednesday June 14th
I had a group of 5 today and we headed to the Deshka with high hopes of a repeat of the day before. Everything looked to be about the same, weather, water conditions, and rolling and waking fish in the hole. We hooked and landed a nice chrome 25lb bright buck on the first cast and I though "here we go again". After that we did not have one other fish on all day after fishing hard for a full six hours plus. What a difference a day can make. Their. There were fish all over the river and all around our boat and no matter what we through at them they were not biting.

Thursday June 15th
Today I had a group of 6 people from Rhode Island in the boat and we ventured up the Deshka. We fished holes up the river picking off a fish here and a fish there. We wound up some miles above the weir and found  fish there for a total of 5 king salmon for the day. Still there were many fish in the river but not much bite.

Friday June 16th
Today I had the group of six from Rhode Island once again. We began at the mouth of the Deshka and worked for 5 king salmon on the day including a very nice 35lb bright shiny buck. 5 out of 6 people were able to catch and keep a king. The rain has seemed to pick up the bite and I expect good fishing tomorrow.

Saturday June 17th
Today I had a a morning trip and an evening trip.

For the morning trip I had a group of 4 on the boat and we set out to find the wily king salmon. We worked a favorite Susitna tributary and fished in a number of different ways. First we spent some time casting spinners and mag warts and caught a nice 22lb buck. Then we back trolled plugs. Finally we switched and anchored up on a good slot, ran plugs off the back of the boat and caught two more fish.

On the evening run I had 4 people with once again and we went to a favorite Susitna tributary. We began by anchoring up and running mag warts and kwikfish off the back of the boat. Immediately we nailed a small king and released it. Soon after we caught another king and kept it. After working several holes we ended up with 4 king salmon in the boat, 1 was released and we had two that we lost.

Sunday June 18th
I had 6 members of one family on board and they were celebrating fathers day by going fishing. We went to the Deshka and stopped in a favorite spot of mine. We fished bobbers and eggs and it did not take long for the only lady on the trip to catch the first king. That was followed by two others and soon we had three fish. We decided to move upriver and came upon an open spot and anchored up. The bobbers started going under at a pretty good clip and we had fish on! Within a short time all but one of the party of 6 had a limit. We caught 11 out of 12 king salmon that morning. It was a great family and I really enjoyed their company.

The season is going great and we are going out twice a day on most days. I had no idea when I started this report how difficult it would be to sit down and do it after a 3 o clock morning, 12 hours on the river,boat cleaning, rod rigging, and egg curing. WOW! I missed a few days here but I am going to try to get on track.

Thursday June 22
I had two trips today, a morning trip with 3 people and an afternoon trip with 4 people. We fished the Deshka river with both groups.

The morning started off slow and we fished under a steady pounding rain. First we drifted eggs under bobbers without results. Then we tried diving spin and glows and eggs off the anchor. We did not have one solid bite for over an hour and a half. Then moved to a new spot and set up for bobber fishing. As I was resetting and testing the depth for the bobber on the first the bobber went out of site and the first fish was on. We had steady but not fast bites all morning and we eventually picked up our limit. The fish are chrome bright and most still are carrying sea lice.

The afternoon group all limited out as well. Again we fished under a cloudy rainy sky and I don't think the rain stopped once while we were out. We drifted bobbers and eggs and worked a small stretch of water picked up all our fish (8 kings) without ever moving from that spot.

Friday June 23rd
I had a crew of 5 today and we fished the Deshka river. The water on the Big-Su as well as the Deshka had risen overnight and continued to rise today. We started off real slow today and did not have any good bites for over an hour. We fished eggs floated under bobbers and picked up 6 king salmon. The largest was a very nice Chrome Bight king weighing 32lbs.

UPDATE:Today I finally got a chance to run back to Wasilla to update this report. Once again I am sorry I have not kept up with this especially since we have had some GREAT days of fishing on the Deshka.

About a week ago my partner and I decided to rent a cabin at the Deshka Landing Lodge so we could get more sleep between trips. There is no internet service there so it makes the job of updating this report more difficult. We have changed our fishing schedule to morning and evenings tand have nixed midnight runs and afternoons. This way we can take our guests out during the best possible times to catch fish. While this does make it tougher for us on our sleep schedules we feel it is well worth it and the proof is in boat limits of king salmon on both trips each day.

Our morning trips begin when we meet our people at 4:45 AM. We are on the water by 5:00 AM and back at the dock at 11:00 AM. For our evening trips we meet folks at 5:45 PM, get out on the water by 6:00 PM and we are back at midnight. The ability to stay right there at the Deshka Landing has saved our bacon and allowed us to keep this schedule.

Wednesday June 28th
Today I had two groups, one in the morning and one in the evening, each with 4 people.

On the morning run we had several good takedowns right away on bobbers and eggs but it was very difficult to hook up the fish. We worked several holes and stretches of river and were finally able to pick up a fish here and a fish there. We finally ended up at the mouth soaking eggs on the bottom to end the trip. We ended up with 6 king salmon and it felt like a really slow day. I guess we are spoiled.

For the evening run my expectations were not very high and I believed I would see the same kind of fishing as on the morning trip. Nothing much had changed, the sun was out and it seemed like it was going to be another long trip. I figured we would have to work hard just to find a fish let alone catch one after the mid day boat traffic and sunny bright weather. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. The first line in the water got a fish. Then the second line in produced the same result and we were off to a great start. I could not believe it was the same day, the same river, the same bait, and the same hole as a few hours before. We had 5 people on board and even after catching and releasing 10 nice kings we still limited out in a short amount of time and had 10 nice king salmon on the boat. That was a very strange day of fishing.

Thursday June 29th
Today I had two groups, 4 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon. I fished the Deshka once again.

On the morning I had a group of 4 and we had all our fish (8 king salmon) by 9 AM! As soon as we got the lines in the water we had action and this group limited out in no time even after catching and releasing several nice fish. The bite was on! I wish every morning was like that.

The evening trip was just as good as the morning with the exception that it took a little while longer to get the bite going. We spent the first hour or so working the water and looking for a fish without any results or bites. While we were fishing for kings we caught and released several nice rainbow trout. Another hour past without a king on the boat and it seemed like forever, I wondered if we would get any fish that night. Then, as if someone rang a dinner bell the bite came on. We got 8 kings in the boat in a little under an hour and a half and just like that it was picture taking time.

Friday June 30th
Today I had two groups again, one in the morning and the other in the evening.

On the morning I had a group of 5 people and we set out to the Deshka once again. We baited up the hooks and the third bobber down the drift went under and we had our first fish. By 8:30 AM we had 10 king salmon in the box and it was picture taking' time again. These have been some of the best king fishing days I have ever had and there are very few people on the river. The report got out that the Deshka was slow but I have seen a little different picture. I have another group of 5 tonight. I will try to get back into town soon to give an update.

The evening trip went very well tonight. I had a husband and wife with their two young children and a single man to round out the group of 5. We immediately hooked up and began filling the fish box. The bite was on and we were able top catch and release several nice kings and keep the bigger and brighter ones. We kept 7 out of the possible 10 kings we were allowed and released another 6-8 fish. We also caught and released several very nice Deshka rainbows. The young kids caught nice kings also and it was a very nice evening.

Saturday July 1
Today I had only 1 trip in the morning and I took the afternoon off to catch up on things like fishing reports. We had another very good day on the river with a group of 5. Many of the best holes were taken this morning which forced us to work some stretches of water I do not usually fish. We were able to find fish in every place we stopped and the bite was good. We caught and kept 7 kings out of the possible 10 and caught and released another 4-6 fish. Many of the fish still had loose scales and sea lice on them although we are starting to catch some bronze colored fish.

July 2-5
I fished the Deshka each of these days with groups for both morning and evening trips. I truly expected the river to be a mess with people and boats over the long July 4th weekend but I was pleasantly surprised. We had much more of the river to fish than I had thought we would. The numbers of kings entering the river has begun to drop off over the last few days and that coupled with sunny hot days and dropping water conditions has made the fishing a bit challenging. We have averaged 4 kings in the boat on each of our last 6 trips after releasing some fish that have turned too far into their spawning colors. The fishing over these last few days is definitely slower but not impossible. We are still catching some chrome bright fish and we have already begun to catch early silver salmon as well. We are waiting to see if more fish are coming since the weir counts have not added up the the predictions and the run came in late. As of July 6th the fish count for king salmon over the weir is approximately 28,000 and they are seeing under 500 fish per day go through now.

We have trips for the weekend and I will update this report again soon.

NOTICE: We are catching more and more silver salmon each day on the Deshka. It seems that an early batch of fish are entering the river and silver action is picking up a little more each day. No one can say for sure if this is the main run starting early or just an anomaly of a few fish hitting ahead of the others but either way it adds to the fishing excitement when you never know just what you will catch. We will keep you posted on our findings on the river. It definitely does add a bonus to the king fishing when you can whack three fresh silvers while catching your kings If you catch your silvers first you could come away with a total of 5 salmon for your limit!!

Saturday July 8th
Today we had two boats out on the Deshka, one with 5 guests and the other with 4. Both guides reported good fishing this morning. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game weir count has been between 400 and 500 fish per day and bright fish are still coming into the river system daily. With the recent freshet of rain and the overcast skies the fishing has once again picked up on the Deshka.

Howard Riley's boat worked holes upstream and caught and kept 5 king salmon and released one darker fish. He said all the kings they kept were chrome bright fish in really good shape. They also caught and kept one silver salmon this morning. He reported that they also had many good take downs that they did not get the hooks set on and that the bite was good this morning.

Luke Conner's boat reported catching and keeping 2 king salmon and 8 silver salmon this morning. He said they got into a batch of silvers this morning that were on the take and they had a blast. He said they had several more fish on that came off early and that the action today was good.

We will have 3 boats going out to the Deshka tomorrow. We still have availability for anyone wanting to get out and catch king salmon this year. Call us at 357-0131 to get more information or to book a trip. The season is over July 13th so don't miss your chance to put some kings in the freezer this year!

I did not guide any trips on the 9th and 10th.

Tuesday July 11th
I guided a trip to the Deshka River today with 5 guests on board. We fished several holes upriver using bobbers and eggs and soon found some silver salmon. The bite came on quickly and everyone in the boat caught fish. We wound up with 12 silver salmon, 2 king salmon, and a jack. We hooked and lost several other kings and silvers. One person came close to a 5 fish limit with 3 silvers and 1 king. I will be running both a morning and an evening trip to the Deshka tomorrow.

We have availability on our boats for those who want to get out and catch a king or silver salmon. Call our office at 907-357-0131 for more information.

Wednesday July 12th
Today I had 4 people on the boat for the morning run and we set off for the Deshka river once again. We fished upriver using bobbers and eggs. It took and hour or so before we found fish but when it started it came with a flurry. For about an hour and a half I could not bait hooks fast enough as the silver bite came on. Between the 4 fisherman we caught 25 silvers and 2 king salmon. It was a great morning on the river. I had two people come close to a five fish limit when each of them caught and kept 3 silvers and 1 king. It is supprising to see so many silvers so far up the river so early season. It has given our guests the unusual opportunity to keep 5 salmon on one charter.

Thursday July 13th
It is the last day of king season on the Deshka for 2006. It is sad to see it go, as it was such a good season and we met so many great people along the way. Thanks to all of you that chose to go out with us and make this king season our best ever.

Today I had a morning and an afternoon group. On the AM trip I had 4 on board and we motored down the Big-Su one more time to the Deshka in hopes of catching the last kings of the year on this stream. It was a beautiful morning and we quickly found some kings hooking and catching 2 fish and loosing another after a long fight. We moved upriver and worked a favorite stretch of river using bobbers and eggs and caught several silver salmon and 1 more king. After that bite tailed off we went back down to the first spot we fished and caught another king and lost another huge fish that lived to make more salmon. We saw a wolf, lots of eagles, beavers, and a seal chasing fish at the mouth of the Deshka. It was a great morning with good friends!

For the afternoon trip I had 2 people and we went out to finish off the king season. We went straight to the holes we had done so well in earlier that day and found that the fish were not there as before. We worked several stretches hard and only managed to scrounge up 1 king and 1 silver salmon. It was a nice evening on the river but not too productive on the fishing.

Silver Salmon Fishing begins!
Starting tomorrow we will be targeting the feisty silver salmon. We still have availability for peak silver salmon dates but now that the word has gotten out that the silvers are in we are experiencing a large volume of calls about silver fishing. Call us today at 907-357-0131 to book your silver salmon fishing adventure!

See the 2006 Silver Salmon Fishing Report to continue...

READY FOR YOUR TURN TO CATCH KING SALMON?