Tips Catching Sockeye Salmon

sockeye salmon fishing

Fishing For The Sockeye Salmon In Alaska

While the mighty Chinook and Coho salmon are the most sought after sport caught salmon in. Alaska it would be for their willingness to bight a lure or bait. Sockeye are plankton feeders. Sockeye salmon are not impressed by a plug. Or those delicious egg sacks that trigger strikes from the other salmon. The King salmon and Silver salmon are great fighters. They both put up a different type of fight. The King with its hard runs and massive head shakes to the Coho’s rolls and aerial acrobats. These salmon are great fighters but the Sockeye arguably puts on the best fight of them all. The blazing runs and instant attempts to take flight. The sockeye loves to fight to the very end.

The Sockeye salmon are found throughout Alaska and is pursued intently for their delicious fillets that can be prepared so many different ways. From the grill to the smoker Sockeye salmon are delicious and with the run seeing plenty of fish the limits are liberal leaving the Sockeye as a great part of the subsistence lifestyle in Alaska. One of the big seasons in Alaska for Alaska residents is the dip netting season. Dip netting allows the whole family to use specially built nets that they set in the river waiting for a Sockeye to swim into the dip net. The this is a great way to catch a good number of Sockeye and many people take advantage of the opportunity.

The Sockeye salmon is also a great sport fish but needs special techniques to catch them. A technique called lining or flossing is used to hook the Sockeye in the mouth. As the line drifts downstream it will go into the Sockeye’s mouth and the fly slides into the side of the mouth. The Sockeye must be hooked in the mouth to be able to keep it. It can be hooked on the outside as long as it is outside the mouth. Snagging Sockeye is not a legal way to catch Sockeye salmon. Here is a photo of the favorite Sockeye fly in Alaska.

Russian or Coho flies are most common for fishing for Sockeye or Red salmon. 
  • FISHING METHODS: LINING OR FLOSSING
  • SOCKEYE AVERAGE SIZE: 8 TO 12 LBS.
  • SOCKEYE WORLD RECORD: 16 LBS. KENAI RIVER, 1974