There’s a place that has 13,000 miles of salmon and steelhead producing streams that flow through 16.7 million acres of pristine forest.
That place, of course, is in Alaska.
The rivers and streams would take an angler a lifetime to explore and fish, and the forest surrounding these waterways is critical to their health.
The Tongass National Forest is the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest and covers most of Southeast Alaska. The forest is home to bears, moose, wolves, eagles, salmon, steelhead, sea-run cutthroat, Dolly Varden, among other wildlife and offers abundant and prolific habitat.
Fishing the Tongass
Fishing here is incredible. Anglers can expect to catch Chinook, sockeye, coho, chum and pink salmon, steelhead, cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden. In each season, the fishing experience changes, offering anglers a multitude of fishing opportunities.
Drifting an artificial salmon egg just behind spawning salmon often works to catch Dolly Varden char, and they are especially beautiful in the fall when preparing to spawn.
Strip streamers or dead drift them in the spring through juicy runs to produce prized, wild steelhead, and cutthroat are aggressive feeders on salmon fry this time of year.
The salmon come next and can be fished for during the spring, summer and into fall seasons, depending on the species. Targeting salmon offer anglers to experiment with a variety of tactics and presentations. As always, it can be best to hire a guide when learning this extensive fishery.
While the Forest is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, they work closely with Alaska Fish & Game to manage the fisheries as well as provide anglers resources to scout the area for nearly endless fishing opportunities.
Next time you’re looking to catch numerous species in one trip, visit the Tongass. And don’t forget to hug a tree while you’re there thanking them for providing such incredible habitat.