Alaska Steelhead Fishing matches or beats some of the best steelheading around the globe. For the longest time, opportunities to fish for steelhead in Alaska have been kept secret.

Most guides and hardcore anglers have kept these fisheries to themselves for good reason. There are some great rivers and streams to catch steelhead on the Kenai Peninsula, but loading the rivers up with a bunch of guides and anglers takes away from the magic of steelhead fishing.

We at Cooper Landing Fishing Guide, LLC offer very limited guided fishing trips for Steelhead on the Kenai Peninsula. We fill up very fast. The reason we do this is to limit our impact on the fishery.

Other steelhead outfitterss don’t mind sending boats loaded with 3 or 4 anglers down the river one after another. They also don’t mind trampling the riparian zones on the shore and molesting every fish they can get their hands on. This is what happens when “secrets” get out.

We are different. A quick chat with us on the phone about our steelhead fishing methods and approach to steelhead fishing in Alaska will guarantee that you found the right outfit for your trip.

*Alaska Steelhead fly fishing is always catch and release and Steelhead can not be removed from the water, per Kenai Peninsula fishing regulations.

STEELHEAD RATES: $885/PER DAY
*FOR 1 OR 2 ANGLERS ONLY

The road system in Alaska (South of Anchorage) on the Kenai Peninsula has a handful of rivers and creeks that have nice runs of Steelhead.

A quick google search or a flip through any Alaska fishing book will shed some light on where to fish fish for steelhead on foot. Those creeks and rivers have been exposed already and we do very limited guiding on them.

Other locations for Alaska Steelhead fly fishing are not as well known and are harder to access. That’s where we like to fish for steelhead on the Kenai Peninsula.

If you’re a hardcore steelhead angler and want to check out these spots and learn when the best time for Steelhead fishing in Alaska is, definitely give us a shout!

The steelhead of the Kenai Peninsula are unique in that there is only one run that occurs. A fall run of fish starting in August, usually peaks in October and is fishable until the end of the month.

Fall steelhead are hearty fish. They spend most of their time in the river waiting to spawn in the spring. Steelhead can spend 6-8 months in the river before they spawn and return to the ocean.

Though there are opportunities to target steelhead in the spring, we feel it is unethical to fish for them. Steelhead are vulnerable during this period as they need all the energy they have to spawn and dodge predators on the way back to the pacific ocean. Many Steelhead die of natural causes during this time of year and adding pressure by harassing them does not help with future returns to our local rivers.

Alaska steelhead fishing is best done in the fall when the fish are healthiest and fiesty! The best months for steelhead fishing in Alaska are August - October.

Fly fishing for steelhead in Alaska offers anglers many options:

• Two-handed Spey Fishing

• Indicator Fishing (Single Hand Rod)

• Single Hand Spey

• Czech Nymphing

We generally fish for steelhead with single-hand indicators from the drift boat for most of our charters.

One of our more preferred method to fly fish for Steelhead in Alaska is with switch and spey rods. We really enjoy swinging intruders and other flies for Steelhead from the bank when available.

Though it is not the easiest angling method for steelhead, and you probably won’t catch a ton of fish, it is a very relaxing and rewarding technique for steelhead fly fishing. They don’t call steelhead “the fish of 1000 casts” for nothing!

We offer spey casting instruction and have all the gear you’ll need. If you’ve never tried two-handed spey casting, you’ll find it’s easy to learn.

Many traditional steelhead flies work well for fly fishing for Alaska Steelhead. One big thing to take into consideration when choosing fly patterns for Alaska Steelhead is our rivers and creeks. Smaller flies can work really well, even trout spey flies and similar patterns can catch steelhead.

Flies like intruders, traditional spey flies, black leeches, Alaska flies for trout etc. are great for our fish. We really like black and blue as well as black and purple flies. Keeping your steelhead flies between 3-5” will work great. We also recommend you have a selection of both weighted and unweighted flies.