Naknek River Alaska 2022

I spent a couple of weeks this summer at Naknek River Camp. July 2-15.
The 2022 sockeye run was early and light. We're still waiting on the official numbers as well as what the commercial fishermen's report. Sean Guffy is just finishing up his drift boat stint so I'll talk to him in a couple of weeks. But the fish count on the Naknek was lagging according to the F&G people. Jim said they had a pretty big early run but while I was there I'd put the run at below average at best. But even if a few are coming up, we can catch them and fill our fish boxes - and we did.
The rainbows however were off on my trip. Again, the smolt came out of the lake early and I guess the rainbow hammered them in June. But when I was there, I didn't see many smaller rainbows like last year. They were in the usual places - in the boulder fields waiting to ambush the small bait fish as they schooled down the river - but the smolt were few and far between.
You usually anchor in the area and wait for the boils, casting while you wait. I drift and cast around the areas and usually pick some up but not this time. I figured it out late in the game, at least with my "4-pound circuit" as the guides call it. I've taken my trout rods up there and throw jigs like I do here. I anchored over the boulder fields, casted an 1/8 ounce jig up and let it sink to the bottom, working it threw the big rocks. I caught and landed this 28 inch rainbow. I have my usual expression... I don't like holding a big fish out of the water so I'm concentrating on the fish and not the camera.
#alaska #naknekrivercamp #alaskarainbows #sockeye #salmon