Northwest Fishing Magazine July 2025 Volume 4 Issue 10 - Flipbook - Page 30
Back to fishing, we had
drifted by various groups
of shore anglers that were
fishing for sockeye. Seeing
these chrome-bright, hardfighting fish was too hard
to resist. After a group
conference, we decided
it was time to get some
sockeye.
Sockeye fishing in Alaska
is a different technique
from Washington State.
There are a couple of
reasons for this. First, the
fish entering the river
have a very short run to
their spawning grounds,
and as such, Washington
angling techniques of
trolling are out. Second,
the runs are massive. On
the Kasilof, for example,
the return was estimated
to be over 500,000 fish.
On the Kenai River, Alaska
is looking to have almost
a million sockeye return.
With that kind of numbers,
the biomass can easily
handle what Alaskans call
subsistence harvesting.
Which means there are
more than enough fish
to keep the runs strong
and healthy. That said,
Alaska does monitor the
run, and our current limit
would be three fish (this
was bumped up to six on
the day we left). Residents
in some communities are
given another twenty-five
fish later in the season for
subsistence.
The technique Alaskans use
is what we in Washington
call flossing. The process is
simple swing a one-ounce
weight with a six-foot
leader straight out in front
of you. The sockeye travel
within ten feet of shore, so
long casts are not needed.
Drift for five seconds and
give a good rip at the end
of that five-second drift.
The single barbed hook
slides through the sockeye’s
open mouth, and it’s fish
