Anchor River above the bridge in Anchor Point opened for Dolly Vardens Monday, and with plenty of salmon holding in certain sections of the river, fishing should be good.
In my semi-secret hole Monday afternoon, I hooked into 10 fish in about an hour using egg patterns and flesh flies, and got a bite on nearly every drift.
Most of the fish were on the small side, but a couple 18 inchers took the flies as well.
Look for a congregation of salmon and drift a red or orange bead below and behind them for best results. Many of the fish I caught Monday hit at or near the end of the drift, so let it linger a while at the end and pick it up slowly.
Recent rains have muddied and raised the water level, so it will be harder to spot the telltale flash of Dolly schools. But the salmon are aggressively fighting for spawning beds and are easy to see due to their deep red color.
Remember salmon may not be fished for, including catch-and-release in these upstream areas. And while they aren’t biting much these days, it is possible to snag into them accidentally when Dollies spit out the bait.
A few rainbows are feeding on the eggs as well. They cannot be retained or taken out of the water and must be released immediately.
The daily bag limit is two Dollies per day.
Halibut
Halibut fishing continues to be good to excellent throughout lower and central Cook Inlet. Anglers report finding the best fishing in waters 125-200 feet deep and have been having good success around Flat Island, and 25-30 miles west of the Homer Spit. Other areas, such as the Homer Bluffs, have been reported as fair.
The average weight is about 25 pounds, but many larger fish in the 50-100 lb. range are caught every week.
The daily limit is two halibut, and four in possession.
Jim Corliss of Corvalis, Ore. took the $1,000 top prize for July in the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby and continues to lead the overall standings with his 310.4-pound halibut caught with Central Charters.
Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon.
The early run silver salmon fishing will continue to improve through early August and will continue into September.
The daily bag and possession limit for silver salmon is six in the lagoon area.
Clams
The next series of good clamming tides runs Aug. 18 to 23. The best time to clam is one hour before to two hours after low tide. Only littleneck clams 1 1/2 inches and larger and butter clams 2 1/2 inches and larger may be kept in Kachemak Bay. Sub-legal clams should be reburied with the neck up.
Every razor clam dug (up to the limit of 60) must be retained and there is no minimum size limit for razor clams.
China Poot
The dipnet fishery in China Poot Creek upstream of Alaska Department of Fish and Game markers continues to be open through Sunday. No permit is required. You must be an Alaska resident and have a 2005 Alaska resident sport fishing license, a fish and game senior license, or fish and game disabled veteran’s license while taking or transporting the fish.
The personal use bag and possession limit in China Poot Creek is six sockeye salmon per person per day. Only sockeye salmon may be kept, and only dipnets may be used.
Tight lines
Got a fish story? E-mail me at ben.stuart@homernews.com.
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