Red (Sockeye) Salmon Fishing

Copper River Reds, the Most Prized Stock of Alaskan Salmon

Red salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), also known as Sockeye, are hands down the best tasting of the Pacific salmon. Fishing for red salmon requires attention to detail and a very specific technique. Below is some information to help you catch more fish on your fishing trip. Read it over because the red (sockeye) salmon are also known to be the hardest salmon to catch.

The red salmon spend most of their life migrating offshore in the saltwater and return to their home rivers to spawn upon reaching maturity. Red salmon feed on really small stuff like plankton, krill and tiny shrimp. The feeding habits of red salmon make them the least aggressive of the salmon, maybe because of their inherent position in the food chain. In fact, red salmon do not usually “bite” at all. About 75% of the time they are not biting when you hook them. In most cases, we catch red salmon using a technique called flossing: the fishing line drifts into the fish’s mouth and gets pulled tight, incidentally setting the hook

Visiting the park via McCarthy? Consider Salmon Grove as your base camp. There are several shuttle services available that go into the park daily. The dirt road is unsuitable for RV’S and many people find Salmon Grove the perfect place to base camp when visiting Kennicott McCarthy. We offer special rates for the days you are not at camp but your RV is.