If you’re planning a summer trip to Kodiak and love to go fishing, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, you’ll find a number of tips & tricks used by guests and pros alike. Afognak Wilderness Lodge is conveniently located in Kodiak and offers all kinds of amenities to ensure that you enjoy your stay and have a successful fishing trip.

Salmon Jumping Up the Brooks Falls at Katmai National Park, Alaska

If you’re planning a summer trip to Kodiak and love to go fishing, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, you’ll find a number of tips & tricks used by guests and pros alike. Afognak Wilderness Lodge is conveniently located in Kodiak and offers all kinds of amenities to ensure that you enjoy your stay and have a successful fishing trip.

Types of Salmon

Sockeye Salmon (aka Red Salmon)

Sockeye Salmon tend to return to spawn in mid-June, where you can find them teaming in freshwater streams that feed into the Gulf of Alaska. The average Sockeye Salmon weighs about six pounds, and you don’t have to be an experienced fisherman to catch one. Therefore, we encourage all of our summer guests to buy or rent a fly rod and give it a try.

King Salmon

Unlike Sockeye Salmon, King Salmon are significantly larger and more challenging. In fact, the average King Salmon weighs 20-25 pounds! That being said, we recommend booking a charter for a saltwater fishing day trip.

Pink Salmon

Good news! After a bit of a dip in numbers last year, the Pink Salmon forecast is looking promising this year. Using pretty basic fishing equipment, you can catch Pink Salmon in both saltwater and freshwater fishing areas.

Silver Salmon (aka Coho Salmon)

The Silver or Coho Salmon make their way through the saltwater rivers and up through the freshwater streams starting in August. We recommend using a regular Spincasting Reel, and we suggest starting in the saltwater areas and working your way to the freshwater areas. There are so many river networks to explore, and the Coho or Silver Salmon runs typically last about six weeks.

Salmon Fishing Season Guide

The following salmon fishing cheat sheet shows which months are best for fishing each type of salmon. If you’re after King Salmon or Sockeye Salmon, we recommend visiting between mid-June through the end of July. For Pink Salmon, we suggest coming anytime in the month of August. But hurry! The Pink Salmon has the shortest fishing time window of the four types of salmon shown below. In contrast, the Silver Salmon has the longest fishing timeframe, and you can fish for these guys anytime from mid-August through mid-October.

Visit Kodiak & Book Your Stay at Afognak Wilderness Lodge!

For the fishing trip of a lifetime, we’d love to host you at our wilderness lodge in Kodiak, Alaska. To book your stay at Afognak Wilderness Lodge, or if you have any questions, please contact us.  We can’t wait to welcome you and introduce you to an experience you’ll never forget!