If looking to target coho near the Anchorage area, prime time is a bit earlier than on the Kenai River. Bird Creek, for instance, has its best coho fishing from mid-July through August, while Campbell Creek’s runs last from late July through September. Ship Creek sees silvers coming in from mid-July through September, while Twentymile River can find you catching plump coho from mid-August into late October.
If wanting to travel Alaska by road, mapping your trip around coho run timings is essential. For instance, if hitting the Dalton, Elliott, Steese, Taylor, Alaska or northern part of the Parks highways, coho fishing lasts from September through November, with October being the peak time.
On the Glenn, Denali and southern portion of the Parks highways, coho runs begin around mid-July and last until mid- to late October, with August being the prime time. On the Richardson Highway and Tok Cutoff, coho fishing can be good for about a month, from mid-August until the middle of September.
As for southeast Alaska, there’s a lot of land to consider here, meaning thorough research needs to be done on coho run timings once you know where you want to fish. Figure our what rivers you want to hit, then plan your trip accordingly.
Due to the extensive north-south distance occupied by the southeast Alaskan archipelago, the fresh-water run timings of fish can vary. For this reason, two run timings are necessary. The first takes in southern southeast Alaska, including the featured regions in and around Ketchikan, Prince of Wales Island, Wrangell and Petersburg. The boundary line dividing northern from southern southeast Alaska extends from Frederick Sound, west and south into the Pacific Ocean. North of this line, including all of Baranof and Admiralty islands and the mainland north of Frederick Sound, the northern southeast Alaska run timings are in effect. The featured areas covered in the northern run timings includes Sitka, Juneau, Haines, Skagway and Yakutat.
As a rule-of-thumb, southern southeast Alaska sees coho fishing lasting from mid-June through much of November, with September being the prime month. Northern southeast Alaska experiences its coho run a bit later. with fish showing up in September and running through November. In the northern part of the Panhandle, mid-September to mid-October typically marks the peak coho runs.