Here at Becharof Lodge, we’re booking more and more coho fishermen each year. When we stop and ask ourselves why this is so, there are many possible answers.
Of course, we’d like to think it’s our remote camp, friendly staff, exceptional food and fun times that attract people to Becharof Lodge, on the Egegik River. Word of mouth, TV shows and magazine articles have, no doubt, resulted in anglers wanting to fish with us. But don’t overlook the fact Alaska’s king salmon runs have been declining in recent years. What this means is more people are searching for the perfect Alaska salmon fishing experience, and we feel we offer just that at Becharof Lodge.
Chum salmon (dog salmon) are hard-fighting fish and we get into some big ones every season. Red salmon (sockeye salmon) can be scrappy in their prime as well as good eating fresh from the river. On even numbered years pink salmon (humpies) can be a blast to catch in high numbers. But when it comes to replacing king salmon as the most popular, coho are next in line. Alaska’s former world-class king fishing can never truly be replaced, but rather than waiting for it to bounce back, explore the impressive coho fishing to be had.
From the Panhandle to the Southwest, interior rivers to streams on the Peninsula, there’s some truly magnificent silver salmon fishing to be experienced in Alaska. If king salmon fought as hard as coho salmon, you’d be hard-pressed to land one, so don’t doubt their strength and power.
Another thing that makes fishing for coho salmon so attractive is, there’s no other salmon in Alaska the can be caught in such a variety of conditions and in so many ways. From oceans to estuaries, sloughs to tidal flats, short coastal rivers to tiny streams carving their way through the tundra, even big rivers, silver salmon occupy the most diverse water of any salmon species. With this vast habitat comes multiple ways to fish coho, which is one of the allures to pursuing this great salmon in the Egegik River.
From working topwater poppers on a fly rod, to stripping bunny hair streamers, to jigs fished beneath a float as well as twitched on a bare line, this is just the beginning. Coho can be caught by tossing lures, swinging spinners, rolling eggs through driftfishing, backbouncing, bobberdogging, dragging, sidedrifting, freedrifting and plunking. Silver salmon are notorious strikers of plugs, be they flatlined behind a boat, plunked, sideplaned or casted.
On the Egegik River, we can fish bait for coho. Because of this, many anglers bring their favorite egg cures and some sealable baggies, then cure up their own eggs to fish with. These eggs can be drifted, plunked or fished beneath a float, with good success throughout the entire river we fish.
Not only are coho tenacious fighters, they’re very good eating. From the smoker to the grill to the oven, coho are some of the best eating anadromous fish out there. When fishing with us, many people comment that their favorite part is enjoying a shore lunch of their fresh-caught coho each day. It doesn’t get any better than that!
The month of August is prime time to fish coho salmon with us on the Egegik River. There are only two small lodges on the Egegik River, and we are the one farthest upstream, meaning when you fish with us you are only a short walk or a few minute’s boat ride to some of the best silver salmon fishing in all of Alaska.
While coho salmon will never truly replace the might king salmon, for now, anyway, it seems the number of people targeting silver salmon has grown to the point where it reminds us of king salmon fishing 20 years ago in Alaska. Suffice it to say, we at Becharof Lodge aren’t going anywhere, as we feel very fortunate to have a lodge on what many experienced anglers call the best coho fishing stream in Alaska.
