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Unalakleet River Float For Silver Salmon
by Mark Wade ©(Editor's note: we've had requests from subscribers who have fished Bristol Bay silvers long enough, and want to explore a new, remote fishery. You owe it to yourself to explore the Unalakleet River for silver, pike, char and grayling. The Unalakleet offers perhaps some of the best mixed bag fishing in this portion of Alaska, with only a fraction of the fishing pressure you'll find in similar streams in Bristol Bay. We assigned Field Editor Mark Wade to investigate this fishery for us.--Chris Batin).
The Unalakleet River begins in the Kaltag Mountains and flows 90 miles in a southwesterly direction to Norton Sound, just south of the village of Unalakleet. Access to this float trip is gained by taking a scheduled airline to Nome and chartering a Supercub to drop you off up river on a gravel bar by Tenmile Creek. You could also take a scheduled airline from Nome to Unalakleet and hire a local resident to take you up river by motorboat to Tenmile Creek. Takeout for this float is the village of Unalakleet.
The Unalakleet has been designated as a National Wild and Scenic River. This clear, quiet, braided river is rated class 1. There are no rapids and the water consists of fast-moving riffles and pools with slow, meandering sections of water. Many snags and sweepers and sharp turns can be experienced in the section of the river that is above Old Woman River and below the North Fork, so be prepared if the river is running high. Log jams in the section by the Chiroskey River can be a hazard if you are an inexperienced rafter and don't watch what you are doing. Just use common sense when floating this river and you shouldn't have a problem.
Allow six days to float the 65 miles from Tenmile Creek to Unalakleet. The Iditarod Trail passes along sections of the river where it is possible to hike if you so desire. Several cabins and historic mail sites can be seen along the way.
Silver salmon start to return to this river system beginning in the first week of August through September. The peak time to fish is in the middle of August. King and chum salmon are also abundant in the Unalakleet River. This year a massive run of pinks is expected to return based on the number of smolts migrating out in 1992.
Dolly Varden and arctic grayling can be caught in this area as well. It is a commercial arctic char fishery and is used by commercial fisherman fishing for silvers. The average take has been between 30,000 and 40,000 silver salmon with the average size being eight pounds. The silver run has been strong the past few years. The fish are dispersed throughout the river system, but one of the best places to fish will be at the mouth of the North Fork of the Unalakleet River where the fish will be concentrated prior to moving up the North Fork. If the water level is down, fishing will be excellent. Ten silver salmon per day with no size limit is allowed.
Make sure that you bring suitable clothing for your trip because the weather can change very fast. When flyfishing for coho you should bring along an 8-weight flyrod with both sink tip and floating lines.
Fly patterns to have include but are not limited to: Flash Fly, Las Vegas Showgirl, Popsicle and Baker Buster in both weighted and unweighted versions and in various sizes. Cohos will mangle flies, so have enough flies to last your trip. If you run out of flies on the third day, your fishing trip will be cut short.
Wildlife viewing opportunities in the area are excellent. Caribou, grizzly bear, wolf, wolverine, fox, beaver, marten, bald eagle and various waterfowl abound.
The Bureau of Land Management is the land manager for Unalakleet River. -- Mark Wade.
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This page last updated: July 31, 2001