Southeast Alaska has myriad opportunities for fly fishing, but since it is comprised of 1700 islands, it is a little different than the king salmon and 30-inch rainbow paradise of areas such as Bristol Bay. Since islands drain smaller acreage, the rivers are not as broad as those of the interior. As a result, rainbow trout and Dolly Varden, while plentiful, are smaller. Salmon runs are robust and much easier to access than fly out operations elsewhere and much less crowded than the flows on the river system.Many of the rivers benefit from the salmon enhancement program which uses hatcheries to increase populations. This is not at all like the truck that pulls up and dumps a bunch of pellet-fed trout into lakes or rivers. These salmon are reared in the protection of net pens and released to complete their life style. Thanks to massive returns in 2019, the coho limit was increased from 6 to 12 in the Juneau area, and more than 20,000 fish passed through the weir at the Klawock Hatchery on Prince of Wales Island. (The hatchery only needs 4,500 for their stock).There are also terminal runs of kings in Craig, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg and Skagway. Check local listings as limits vary and most, if not all, are salt water fisheries. Below are links to Alaska Fly Fishing Goods, the fly shop in Juneau.
Regions
Flies for Situk Steelhead
Flies for Prince of Wales