Alaska Vacation Home: Anchorage Alaska Fishing

Anchorage Alaska Fishing

You Won't Even Have to Leave Town to Hook Into A Huge Alaskan Salmon!

Anchorage may be the largest city where you can go from your job, in a high rise building, catch a King Salmon, and be back to work by the end of your lunch hour.

I know people who actually do this!

The best Anchorage Alaska fishing centers around Ship Creek. Ship Creek is located in the downtown area, near the train depot. The fishing spot is actually located on Alaska Railroad property.

The fishing is great here! It starts in mid-May with the King Salmon run and continues strong, later in the summer, with the arrival of the Silver Salmon.

This gem of an Anchorage Alaska fishing spot always attracts a crowd and Ship Creek is no exception. When you get a lot of people fishing, side by side, we call it "combat fishing" .

I was pretty nervous the first time that I went fishing there. I watched all of these fisherman, fishing in apparent unison. If you haven't seen it before, you need to.

Here is a short video that will kind of give you an idea. It gets more crowded than the video shows and the more crowded means the more aware you need to be of your fellow fishermen.

You won't see any casting or any reeling in of fishing line. You simply pull out some slack with your left hand (if you are right-handed) as you flip your line back up stream.

Ship Creek is, due to its connection to the Cook Inlet, governed by the tide. Smart Alaskans time their fishing visits by the tidal schedule. A free tide booklet can be picked up at a nearby Fred Meyer Store.

The best times to fish, at Ship Creek, is roughly two hours before and after slack tide.

After that "slack tide" window, the salmon are content to rest and not try to swim upstream against a strong current.

During the slack tide, the water is as calm as it is going to get, and much easier for the salmon to go upstream.

The Ship Creek Fishing Derby

Ship Creek hosts the "Slam'n Salm'n Fishing Derby" The derby runs for two weeks in June and is a blast. Be sure to check out the crazy photos on their website....big King Salmon and lots of people trying to catch them!

Basic Alaska Fishing Rules and Precautions at Ship Creek

Ship Creek is a short half mile stretch of fishing area. It starts at the mouth, as it comes in from the Cook Inlet, and fishing ends at the demarcation cable.

During the King Salmon run, Ship Creek is closed to fishing from 11pm to 6am, to allow for sufficient escapement. Be sure to check for up to the minute Alaska Fishing Regulations at the Alaska Fish and Game Website.

Beware of The Mud!

When the tide is low, the whole Ship Creek area gets very muddy! I mean, "get-your-boots-stuck-in-the-mud muddy"! I remember one of the first times that I took my young sons there. They spent most of the time trying to get unstuck.

I sure wish that I could find the picture that I took of them that day. They were covered from head to toe. And they weren't too happy that day. It took some bribing to them to go back!

I thought it was pretty funny.

Anchorage Alaska Fishing is Great, But If You Don't Want To Fish....

Even if you don't want to fish, Ship Creek is still a great Anchorage Attraction. There are several vantage points to observe salmon being caught! One place is a foot bridge that crosses over the creek.

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