Alaska Trout

Fishing Charters

Fish for Trout on the beautiful Kenai Peninsula

About Alaska Trout Fishing:

Trout fishing most typically starts when the weather turns in June, early season in Alaska is very reminiscent of Rocky Mountain rainbow trout fishing except that it’s way better!

Alaskan Rainbow Trout are true carnivores, they have a short window of time to attain the calories to last them through the winter so they eat often and they eat big!

Streamers are the name of the game in Alaska before salmon arrive.  Sculpin, lamprey, salmon smolt and leeches all make up a part of the Alaskan Trout’s diet.

When the salmon fry hatch from the gravel in the spring they become a huge part of the trout’s diet over the next couple of months.

After the salmon arrive, spawn and die, salmon flesh and eggs comprise the majority of the Alaskan rainbow trout’s diet.

An image of an alaska trout fishing adventure with Outgoing Angling
An image of an alaska trout fishing adventure with Outgoing Angling

Alaskan Trout Food:

Salmon smolt are targeted by trout as they down migrate from the freshwater into the ocean.  Salmon fry and smolt are both on the menu in the spring and summer.

Terrestrial animals aren’t safe around trout streams in Alaska, mice and other rodents fall prey to rainbow trout when they make contact with the water.

Aquatic insects vary is species, size and abundance here in Alaska but are definitely not ignored by our rainbow trout.  Stoneflies, mayflies and caddis are all present, providing us with nymphing and dry fly opportunities seasonally.

The most prolific menu item for Alaskan trout are salmon eggs and flesh.  The reason trout grow so large in this state is the abundance of high protein salmon flesh and eggs, which we match with specific beads seasonally and flesh flies.

An image of an alaska trout fishing adventure with Outgoing Angling
An image of an alaska trout fishing adventure with Outgoing Angling

Kenai River Trout Fishing:

The Kenai River offers the very best trout fishing off the road system of Alaska and has more consistent trout fishing than any other river in the state or country.

Trout fishing in the Kenai heats up in July when anglers start to catch and kill the first few sockeye salmon that enter the river.  Anglers have to return the red salmon carcasses back to the river which provides the trout with an excellent early food source.

Kenai trout are also some of the largest in the state with fish caught well over 30 inches every year.

Trout fishing the Kenai is one of the best opportunities to catch a trophy rainbow especially in the fall months, when they have attained great size from eating salmon parts and eggs.  Flesh flies and beads are the name of the game after the salmon have begun to spawn and die.

Our guides are trout fanatics and are very concerned about the wellbeing of each fish as well as the fishery as a whole.  The trout are our business partners and we treat each fish with the utmost respect, big or small.

Prime trout fishing on the Kenai River is had August through October and is some of the most consistent trout fishing in the country.

Kenai Rainbow Trout
An image of an alaska trout fishing adventure with Outgoing Angling
An image of an alaska trout fishing adventure with Outgoing Angling

Dolly Varden

(Salvelinus malma)

Often called the prettiest fish in the state the Dolly Varden posses incredible colors that become more and more vibrant all summer before they spawn in the late fall.

“Dollies” are a species of Char closely related to the arctic char and lake trout.  Dolly Varden are anadromous, meaning they live in the ocean and return to the rivers to feed and spawn.

Arctic char are also available in some bodies of water in Central Alaska, char do not return to the ocean and instead are land-locked often far removed from the sea.

An image of an alaska trout fishing adventure with Outgoing Angling
An image of an alaska trout fishing adventure with Outgoing Angling

Trout Spey is a technique that’s been growing in popularity for the last few years and typically refers to targeting trout on a two-handed rod, Spey rod, or switch rod.

“Spey” implies a two-handed means of casting and down and across “swinging” presentation.  Trout Spey is a unique way of fishing as the rods, lines and casts are much more delicate than with full-sized spey rods.

A 5 weight trout spey rod and reel is well matched for smaller Alaskan rainbow trout, while a “good one” is going to require something heavier.

Photos from our Alaska Fishing Charters

An image of fishing in the wilds of Alaska.
An image of a fisherman with a gorgeous trout in Alaska.
An image of our Alaska fishing adventures at Outgoing Angling.