Fishing The Knik Arm
The Knik River region includes the Knik, Matanuska, and Little Susitna Rivers. This area offers a wide variety of fishing for both natural and stocked fish. The Little Susitna offers big natural kings and silvers, while the Knik offers a stocked fishery. Jim’s Creek offers the closest red salmon fishing to Anchorage, while the Nancy Lake Recreation area offers the region’s best pike fishing. Numerous lakes stocked with rainbows, char and grayling also litter this region.
Download area fishing regulations.
Available species: King Salmon, Silver Salmon, Red Salmon, Pink Salmon, Chum Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Arctic Grayling, Northern Pike
Hot Spots: Eklutna Tailrace, Jim’s Creek, Little Susitna Boat Launch, Kepler - Bradley Lakes, Nancy Lake, South Rolly Lake
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Eklutna Tailrace
This unique fishery, about 25 miles north of Anchorage, is comprised of a small, artificial eddy of water that comes down from a power plant and connects to the main stem, Knik River. The glacial-fed water looks murky and blue-gray, and there’s very little current. While you won’t find much solitude here, you can usually find a spot to set up a lawn chair for some lazy fishing. There’s abundant parking, too, as well as restrooms.
Susitna River (MP 79.5)
The Susitna River is a major drainage system in the Denali region. The river flows south from the Susitna Glacier and the Alaska Range and eventually turns west to flow through the Talkeetna Mountains and then south to Cook Inlet. The Susitna is not floatable because of Devil’s Canyon downstream. Access to the historic Valdez Creek Mine is on the More...
Lake Fishing & Secluded Camping
A good dirt road, with plenty of pull-outs, leaves the main highway on the south side of the road. The “Alascom Road” runs four miles across the valley floor. There are several lakes, stocked with trout and grayling, for fishermen, and plenty of camping spots. It’s quiet, and there’s great canoeing and bird watching on the lakes. It’s a popular weekend More...
River Access
On the north side of the bridge is a turn out with good access to Caribou Creek Bridge. It’s a good spot to stretch your legs, let the kids skip rocks, or contemplate flow. As Thoreau said “He who hears the rippling of rivers utterly despairs of nothing!” If you’re a river runner, this is the launch for the Lion’s Head whitewater run. Class III and Class More...