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Alaska fishing: the great interiorSpecies
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Alaska’s heartland is dominated by the continent’s tallest peak, Mt. McKinley. Mountains or high rolling hills are never very far away, although river “flats” provide geographic diversity. The lowlands are covered with spruce forests, interspersed with birch and aspen. At higher altitudes, one finds wide expanses of tundra. The forests are wildlife rich in many areas, and the endless rivers and lakes provide good habitat to millions of fish. Many rivers flow through interior Alaska, from small mountain streams to the mighty Yukon River. Many are glacial fed, including one of the largest glacial rivers in the world, the Tanana, which flows hundreds of miles through the interior into the Yukon River. Interior Alaska is the land of temperature extremes with temps to dipping to -60oF (-50oC) in the winter and into the 80’s (27oC) during the extremely long days of summer.
There are few highways in the great interior of Alaska. The Alaska Highway brings many travelers from the rest of North America, and connects communities along the Tanana drainage. Our few roads, however, give anglers plenty of access to reasonable or even great fishing, especially to lakes stocked by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Most of this vast land can only be accessed by plane, boat or by foot. Nearly every village has a good all weather airport served daily by small commercial air carriers. Many villages have companies based locally offering hunting and fishing outdoor adventures. Villages on the larger rivers receive most supplies and fuel by barges during the summer months.
Interior Alaska has the greatest extremes of temperature in the state. Winters are cold and dark; summers light all night with warm temperatures the norm. Early spring can be cold, but often days warm to above freezing with brilliant sunshine, blue skies and dazzling snow -- perfect for ice fishing! Summers are the wettest time of the year, but even so, there are many long, warm days.
Summer is short in the interior and the fishing is non-stop during the endless sunshine and warm days. Salmon enter the Yukon River in early June and migrate nearly 1,500 miles (2,400 km) up the river to beyond Whitehorse, in Canada’s Yukon Territory. They enter the many tributaries to spawn along the way, with most fishing taking place in June and July for king salmon, and then in August and September for silver salmon. The Yukon system has a good run of chum salmon all summer and fall. Most other species are readily available all summer in both lakes and streams. Mid to late summer seems to be the peak for the fabulous sheefish, especially in the Kobuk River, where they can grow to 60 pounds. Lake trout and Arctic char provide hot action soon after ice-out in May and early June.
Winter does not mean fishing stops in the interior. Ice fishing enthusiasts enjoy good fishing for burbot through the river ice and many local lakes sport small cities of ice fishing shanties for trout and land-locked salmon. The interior is a land of extremes and provides great fishing!
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Links
Current fishing report from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Magazine articles about Interior Alaska fishing
Representative Alaska fishing forum threads about Interior Alaska
Tanana River fishing
Nenana burbot fishing
Interior/Denali Trout
Alaska Outdoors Forums threads on Interior Alaska
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