I have a friend that is going to go salmon fishing in Alaska. He said the name of the river was the Situk, or something similar to that. He was wondering what he needs to bring for a fishing rod, hooks, line weight, leader lengths and weight, lures, corkies, flys, etc. Sounds like there will be sockeye and kings to fish for. It showed humpies there too but he didnt know if they ran odd years like they do here too. Most of his fishing is for trout so he asked me because he knows I fish for salmon and steelhead. I told him what I know for down here but I dont have a clue for up north. Anything you guys could suggest would be greatly appreciated.

I haven't fished that river yet, if it is the one I am thinking of it is down near Yakutat. The best thing I can tellyou is to have him bring lots of bug repellant and plenty of warm/ dry clothing. Weather here can be 70-80 one day and 20 degrees cooler the next. He should bring a little of everything. Basically if he fishes for salmon the same way you do down there there he will be successfull. I have noticed when I moved up here everyone uses huge spin n glows and corkies but the small stuff we are used works just as good if the water clarity supports it. I have never seen that river so I don't know how the clarity is but if he brings a little of everything he should be ok. Hope this helps.

Situk, Just a great little river. I used to guide there in the early 80's. We floated the river, a very long float of about 15 miles, for Silvers and we used Flash Glos. Not sure there was Vibraxs' back then but they will work too!

Lotsa guys fished the lower end where we took out from the bank and it is in tide water. Can't remember the name of the area. Man, we pounded them there.

Lotsa Brown Bears and they like to steal your fish. Seen it happen a few times. Saw a Brownie walk out onto a gravel bar and a guy fishing there had to run up on a downed tree and it was only about 5 feet off the gravel. Bear took his fish and left. Bet that guy also had a brownie after that.

It can rain tons and the river never went out back then. No clue these days.

AH, the good ol' days, like to be able to fish it again.

fp

Situk is about steelhead on the fly. Be subtle though, those fish can be spooky. And yes, prepare for rain and lots of it. And better not be a gaper from the city, you won't cut it out there

Sounds like you looked at a chart to know what will be in the river, which tells me he'll be there in June. The best thing to do is monitor the ADFW website and see how the counts are coming for the river. When it gets near their escapement goals, they will open it for bait. The kings up there love good eggs drifted through the big, slow holes. If he is going down in a drift boat and they open it for bait, he will be able to use it once he is below the cabins. Its just a few miles down river from nine mile bridge. Using a drift boat gets you away from some of the goofs that are in the low river below the wier. Don't get me wrong, there are some good folks that fish this area as well, but solitude will not be your friend down there. If it is closed for bait, then Vibrax in size 5 or spin-n-glows are the go to lures. For fly rodding, try the standard king flys (fat freddie, etc.).

The sockeye are pretty much all lined on this river. If he has an 8wt fly rod with a sink tip, that is a deadly combo. The confluence of the old situk and the current stem is a great holding area, accessible only by boat. There will also be a bunch in the lower river below the wier. They come in with each tide so if it is sparse when he is there, just wait for the next high and there will be fish. There is a couple of real good holding areas just below the wier, and a few more spread out down to the parking lot (~ 1 mile).

This is a fun little stream to fish. It is gin clear and you are usually site fishing. There is plenty of LARGE brownies in the area and you certainly need to be very careful. Over the years there has been plenty of bad encounters with them. There is also a decent amount of uptight moose to watch out for. If he is walking in from the lower parking lot towards the wier, the indians now charge for you to walk on land, but walking in the river is free. You can do it during low tides but when the tide is all the way in, it is to deep to walk out so you'll need to time it or use one of the guys that run folks up and back.

Good luck, I've always enjoyed it up there.