Fish Species & Seasons

The Bristol Bay drainage of Southwest Alaska offers a fantastic variety of sportfishing.  During the season Rainbow Bay Lodge will fish for the following 10 species: Rainbow,  Arctic Char,  Arctic Grayling and Northern Pike. All five species of Salmon i.e. King,   Sockeye,  Pink,  Chum and Silver.  We also offer a Halibut, Ling Cod, and Rock Fish trip on our 56' sport fishing trawler, The Rainbow Warrior.
	Rainbow Trout of Southwest Alaska are all wild and acrobatic fish that have never been contaminated by the genes of stocked fish. Fly fishing and spinning are the most popular and effective methods of deceiving Rainbows. Rainbow fishing is available the entire season with late August and September being the prime time to catch the huge rainbows the Bristol Bay area is noted for. By late August, the rainbows have been feasting on salmon eggs for over 6 weeks. There are not as many drifting salmon eggs by late August so the competition for the available food supply is greater. The fish average 2 to 6 pounds and measure 18 to 24 inches during the summer. In late August and September, ten pound plus fish, over 30 inches are not uncommon.
	Arctic Char are relatives of the Dolly Varden, Brook and Lake Trout. They are available throughout the summer with September being the best as spawning colors are extremely brilliant and colorful. The fish are strong fighters, and can be taken on fly or spinning tackle. Like the Rainbow they average 2-6 pounds ( 16 to 25 inches ) with trophy fish weighing 10 pounds and more and achieving a length upwards of 30 inches.
	Arctic Grayling are often referred to as the sailfish of the north.  This sportfish is plentiful and eagerly takes small dry fly patterns and spinners. They average 1 to 2 pounds and are 14 to 18 inches long with an occasional 3 to 4 pounder that can grow to a length of 24 inches. Grayling are available throughout the season .
	Northern Pike is a sportfish in a class by itself, a true predator that will eat anything that doesn't eat it first. Whether you're using a popping cork bug or streamer on a fly rod or a spoon on a spinning rod, it's a thrill of a lifetime to see the water parting as a big pike streaks in for the kill. The fish average 5 to 10 pounds with the bigger fish reaching 20 to 30 pounds. Pike are not what most people come to Alaska for, but it's a great day trip for those who want a variety of fishing opportunities.
	Halibut are considered, by a lot of fisherman, to be the best eating fish in Alaska. We fish for Halibut on the west side of Cook Inlet and around the Kodiak Island Archipeligo in 20 to 60 ft. of water as opposed to 200 to 300 ft. of water.  The state record for Halibut is nearly 500 pounds but the fish we catch average 20 to 60 pounds with an occasional 100 plus pound fish. If you want to take home some good eating fish and see some great country, you may want to choose this as one of your day trips.
	King Salmon is the biggest of the 5 Pacific Salmon and one of the most popular.The average fish will weigh 15 to 30 pounds with the bigger fish exceeding 50 pounds. We fish for Kings from our 56' Rainbow Warrior yacht in the ocean around Kodiak Island. In this area, the King run starts in mid May and continues through June. Fishing for the bright silver, hard fighting King Salmon is done by trolling in close proximity to Kodiak Island. For shear brute strength and raw power, there is nothing that matches the King.
	Sockeye Salmon begin their spawning run late in June and are available through August. They are the most plentiful of the Bristol Bay Salmon with as many as 6,000,000 fish entering the Iliamna drainage yearly. Sockeyes are great fighters that can take you right down to your backing on the first run and are acrobatic jumpers. Once you develop the fly presentation, the action can be fantastic. These fish average 5 to 8 pounds with the bigger fish weighing 10 to 12 pounds.
	Pink Salmon start their run in mid July and taper off in mid August. Historically these fish run in cycles of two years, but in the lower Cook Inlet area we have fishable runs every year. It is not uncommon to catch 100 fish a day, averaging 3-5 pounds apiece. We fish for the Pinks in the freshwater streams, right where they flow into saltwater. This insures the strongest fish available. The Pinks are extremely aggressive on light tackle, whether it be spinning or fly.
	Chum Salmon runs coincide with the Pinks in our area. We fish in the freshwater streams where they flow into the saltwater. Next to the King, they are the biggest and strongest of all the Salmon. Fish from 15 to 18 pounds are common with the average weighing in between 8 to 10 pounds. Chum like shallow, fast moving water and can give you all the fight you can handle on spin tackle. They can be a great starter for the novice fly fisherperson because of their eagerness to take a fly.
	Silver Salmon are the salmon of choice by most of the avid fly fisherman. These fish run from early August through September and average 8 to 12 pounds with the larger fish weighing in at 15 pounds or more. We fish the freshwater streams within 200 yards of the ocean and the fish are so fresh that they still have sea lice on them. These areas are a short 20 minute flight from the lodge or can be accessed utilizing our 56' yacht, The Rainbow Warrior, as a mobile home base. Whether you use a fly rod or spinning rod, the Silver will live up to his fighting reputation.

Fish Seasons

© Rainbow Bay Resort 1999-2003
P O Box 47011, Pedro Bay, AK  USA  99647
(907) 850-2234,   E-mail: jspippen@aol.com 
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