Early June Fishing Report
Fishing Report: A few Trout Landed and Salmon Anticipation on the Naknek River and Katmai Area
Date: 06/20/2023
Hey there, everyone! It's that time of the year again as we spin up for another fantastic year on the Naknek River and the vast fishing playground of the Katmai Area. As avid fishing enthusiasts ourselves, it brings us great pleasure to share the latest fishing report with you. So grab your gear, enjoy the fresh air, and let's dive into the details!
Trout Fishing so far
21.5” inch rainbow trout on the Naknek River.
This season, trout fishing in the Naknek River has been better than usual for this time of year. Typically before the opener, most of the larger trout have migrated back to the lake, but my guess is the colder-than-usual temperatures kept the fish in the river longer. Anglers have been experiencing better-than-usual catches, with some landing impressive trout ranging from 20 to 30 inches in length, including our recent guest Brody!
These magnificent fish have been hooked using various techniques, including swinging and trolling flies and even conventional tackle.
For the first time in 5 years, we actually hooked into a few large 25” trout on large kwikfish in the lower river, which we would consider to be a rare occurrence, and we will be keeping this in mind as the season progresses. We were originally targeting Kings.
King Fishing: In early June
Jack King on the lower Naknek River.
Currently, the King fishing I would consider slow, but that's not stopping the anticipation from building. As we move closer to the beginning of July, we can expect the King salmon activity to pick up until commercial fishing begins. Then, we will see a drop in King fishing productivity until the end of July, and we will switch to sockeye salmon accordingly.
Our guests have been averaging 1-2 King salmon per 8 hours of fishing. We recommend the use of spinners and Kwikfish once again. These lures have proven effective in enticing a few early Jack Kings. We would avoid trolling at this point, find a good King hole, and let the fish come to you. There aren’t enough fish in the river to justify searching all over.
If you are thinking about heading out to do some King fishing, keep an eye out for our upcoming video and blog post on how to fish for Kings in rivers.
See you next week! Until then, Tight lines!
Steven Benjamin
About the Author
Steven J. Benjamin is a highly regarded, Fishing guide, USCG Capitan, Save Bristol Bay Guide Ambassador, Fly Fishing Instructor, and Rainbow trout and Arctic grayling record holder. He has successfully guided guests from around the world, helping them catch wild salmon & trophy Rainbow trout. Together with his wife Tiara, all of their guests’ expectations are met.
