There are plenty of resources available to get fishing news, from online fishing forums to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Web site. And there are plenty of fish still available for catching in area streams and Kachemak Bay.

Diehards will be halibut fishing well into October, and fly anglers will target steelhead on the Anchor River until the snow flies.

But the pickings have started to become slimmer and many anglers are now out in the field looking for bigger, four-legged trophies.

All-in-all, 2006 was a great year for fishing, from winter kings to monster halibut.

Let’s hope 2007 is even better. See you out on the water.

Anchor River

The Anchor River has risen with the recent steady rains. Even so, silver salmon fishing in the lower river has been good early in the morning and around high tide. Silvers will be available through Labor Day.

Try flash flies, egg patterns and spinners for good results, but remember, the majority of freshwater stream fisheries on the Kenai Peninsula will be limited to the use of single-hook, artificial lures beginning Friday.

Anglers on the Anchor River, Deep Creek, and Ninilchik River can expect fair catches of Dolly Varden. Salmon eggs, small clumps of roe and small spinners are working well for spin fishing anglers, at least until Friday. Fly-fishing anglers are having good success with egg patterns, beads and muddler minnow patterns.

Steelhead are entering the rivers, and the runs are not very large, so all rainbow and steelhead are catch-and-release only. Please familiarize yourself with the differences between a silver salmon and a steelhead. One of the best ways is to look at the tail fin. Rainbow and steelhead have black spots over the entire tail fin, while silvers have black spots only on the upper lobe of the tail fin.

Halibut

Halibut fishing is slowing down as many anglers have to try several holes before reaching their bag limits. The best spots remain near Flat Island and Point Adams in waters 180 to 250 feet deep. The area near the Barren Islands is producing good catches.

Salmon

The late-run silvers are in the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon in fair numbers. Fishing is expected to remain fair to good until mid-September.

Other salt water fishing

Lingcod anglers venturing to the outer North Gulf Coast are bringing back fair catches. There is a minimum size limit of 35 inches, and a bag limit of two per day, two in possession for lingcod.

Shellfish

The next series of good clamming tides run Sept. 6-12. The best time is one hour before to two hours after low tide. No permit is required, just a sport fishing license.

Best of luck.