Destinations

The Togiak River: Alaska’s Fishing Paradise

April 12, 2022 By JD Leave a Comment

Southwest Alaska’s Togiak River is an epic angler’s playground. You can do it all here: From casting 4-weights to surface sipping grayling to battling big, fresh-from-the tide kings on conventional gear to stalking leopard rainbows behind spawning sockeye in clear tributaries. There are countless backwaters filled with aggressive northern pike and endless flats teeming with chums, sockeye, silvers and pinks. Throw in some jumbo dollies and the occasional laker and you have one heck of a full meal deal!

And it’s not just the different species that offer variety. The type of trip you do on the Togiak can be customized to fit just about anyone’s adventure-to-comfort matrix. There any number of self guided float trips ranging from a couple days to two weeks you can set up on the main river and some of the tributaries. You may also opt for a fly-in day of fishing on the Togiak with one of the many remote lodges just over the mountains in the Wood-Tickchik State Park area. On the lower river, there is some lodging and guiding available in the Village of Togiak and, if you like luxury in the wilderness, Togiak River Lodge is located approximately 7 miles upstream from the saltwater of Togiak Bay.

Togiak River Lodge is the only such facility on the entire river.

The Togiak system is a seemingly endless maze of tributaries, lakes and rivers that probably couldn’t all be explored in a lifetime. That’s exactly what makes it so interesting and unique — there’s always something yet to be checked out and fished. In an attempt to simplify things here, let’s break the system down into to two reaches: The “upper river” — from the mouth of the Pongopukepuk River up to the headwaters and the “lower river,” which we’ll call the section that flows from the Pongopukepuk mouth to the saltwater.

The Lower Togiak

While fresh salmon can be caught up by the Wildlife Refuge boundary near the mouth of the Pongopukepuk River, your best shot at chrome is down low — the 10 or so miles between the mouth of Gechiak Creek and the salt. The kings are the first to arrive and peak in June and July. They can push 50 pounds on occasion and there are lots of fish in the 20- to 30-plus pound class. On a few select gravel bars, fly fishing is an option but the best bet for Chinook is to fish from a boat and troll spinners, back troll plugs and bounce roe.

Kings are the stars of the Togiak lineup.

Downstream trolling size No. 6 to 13 spinners right along the bottom is a popular way to catch kings in the tidally influenced lower 5 or 6 miles. Yakima Bait’s Thumpers, Spinner Dave’s Custom Designs and Good Day Fishing spinners in red/white or chartreuse and silver are good selections. As far as plugs go, Yakima Bait Co.’s Hawg Nose and 5.5 MagLips are good lures on the Togiak, as are K16 Kwikfish. Chartreuse/silver and silver/orange are two of the best patterns. If you have them, a sardine fillet wrapped on the belly of the plug will increase the amount of strikes

Chums start making a showing in late June as well and provide a great bit of fun for anglers looking for something to do after catching bunches of kings. The doggies come in dime bright but develop their signature snaggle teeth and vertical bars pretty quickly. They absolutely flood the lower river and anywhere you find some soft water along an inside edge — or a slow flat — you’re virtually guaranteed to see large numbers of chum.

On the fly rod, chums are a blast and respond well to pink leech patterns. Spin anglers can catch plenty of fish as well on 1/8- and 1/4-ounce pink or purple marabou jigs fished on a dead drift under floats — or on 3/8-ounce hootchie jigs twitched with a hop-hop-hop stye retrieve along the bottom. Plug pullers also catch plenty of chums on metallic pink or silver/chartreuse K15 Kwikfish and Wiggle Warts.

In July, silver bullet sockeye averaging 6 pounds pour into the river in almost incomprehensible numbers. Unlike the kings, they hang very close to shore and are easy to spot along shallow inside edges of gravel bars. Though conventional wisdom says you cant get sockeye to bite, Togiak reds bite really well on small pink marabou jigs fished under a float and tipped with fresh shrimp.

August marks the beginning of the seemingly endless march of silvers into the bottom end of the Togiak. The fish push through in staggering numbers…and just keep on coming into October, with mid September being the peak. Togiak silvers can get really big too, with some bucks pushing the 20-pound mark.

So, they are big and numerous…two traits sure to make anglers excited. But what really makes these coho fun is their willingness to bite with total abandon. Stripping pink or purple leeches with an 8-weight fly rod is a total blast and spin anglers can twitch jigs or cast No. 4 spinners for non-stop action. In the lower few holes, there are also a lot of days when fresh silvers will smack the heck out of surface plugs and Wogs. Heck, you could probably catch a bunch on a hot dog too…its that good!

On even-numbered years, the Togiak also gets a big push of pink salmon which can be so numerous at times that they can be a nuisance. When the are fresh from the sea, however, they can be fun for kids and beginning anglers to play with on light spin or fly gear.

It’s not entirely a salmon-only show on the lower Togiak. There are some massive rainbows lurking down there. Fish to 30 inches and 12 or even 14 pounds occasionally show themselves. They are relatively few in number — compared to the upper river spawning zones — but the odd big trout is taken by anglers targeting other species.

In June and July, wave after wave of silver-bright dollies make their way up the river’s edges from the sea, bound for the upper tributaries where they will dine on salmon eggs and flesh.

The river gets full of dollies staring in June

The fresh char are aggressive and will smack small streamers and plugs or spinners eagerly. By August, most are well into the feeder streams, where they transform from chrome to vividly colored swimming works of art.

Side-sloughs and ponds filled with pike abound along much of the lower river’s length. Some are accessible by boat, while others require sloshy marches through the tundra to reach. The pike are completely un-fished and tend to be very willing biters. Weedless topwater plugs, frogs and flies can yield super exciting fishing, particularly on warm evenings (wear a headnet!).The pike you’ll encounter are mostly on the small side, rarely topping 10 pounds, but they can be a fun diversion when your arms are worn out from catching salmon all day.

The Upper Togiak

This section of the drainage is the best place to chase rainbows as long as your arm and salmon sized char. They myriad of braids on many of the tributaries above Togiak Lake can produce phenomenal fly fishing for char, trout and grayling when the salmon spawn is in full swing. The Izavieknik River, in the section between Upper and Lower Togiak lakes is a good option for shorter float trips. The Ongivinuk River is another one with the potential for very large rainbows. The Pongopukepuk River is another excellent selection.

You can boat up from the village of Togiak to Togiak Lake — or get dropped off by float plane on the lake and use inflatables to explore the area. The best time to visit the upper region is late summer and early fall. That’s when the salmon spawn is at its peak and the trout, grayling and char (and sometimes lake trout) will be gorging themselves on eggs and fish flesh as they gear up for the lean winter ahead. Salmon fishing isn’t much to talk about at the top end of the system — simply because the fish are generally all dark and more interested in spawning than biting.

Up here, eggs patters are often the way to go but matching the hatch with various size and color beads isn’t as important as it is on more heavily fished waters. The finned inhabitants in this general area don’t see a lot of anglers and tend to be, bless their little hearts, pretty uneducated. I’ve seen 5-pound dollies climb all over each other to eat a 14mm hot pink bead fished behind spawning sockeye. That fake egg looked nothing like the real ones which were much smaller and lighter in color, but the fish didn’t care! You can find some occasionally good mousing up in the shallows upriver as well. Dry fly fishing for trout and dollies isn’t often spectacular but you can pound on grayling to 17 or 18 inches on small dries in the evenings.

If you’ve got the itch to swing, black and purple Woolly Buggers and Egg Sucking Leeches will catch anything that swims — just watch out, you can lose a bunch of flies to big, red kings when they are around.

If it’s fresh, shiny salmon you want, head for the lower Togiak, where all 5 species pile up in mind boggling numbers…

Bears & Bugs

When fishing any portion of the Togiak drainage, it’s important to be aware of the fact that there are lots of brown bears around. The concentrations are higher on the smaller spawning streams in the late summer and fall but you can run into a bear just about anywhere along the river’s length. A few moose also wander these parts, so be on the lookout for them as well.

The amount of bugs you encounter can vary greatly from year to year — and where you are. Mosquitos can be a pain early in the season and No-See-Um’s show up later in the fall. Just be come prepared with bug spay and a head covering for those bad days and you’ll be fine.

Access

There are several flying outfits that offer drop-off service to the Togiak basin. You can also book self-guided and fully guided float trips through outfitters or day fly-in trips from lodges like Tik-Chik Narrows, Mission Lodge and Bristol Bay Loge. Togiak River Lodge is the only lodge located on the river.

Alaska Fishing Paradise: The Amazing Togiak River

July 19, 2019 By JD 2 Comments

If you have never fished Alaska, it should certainly be on your bucket list!

The state is rich in salmon fishing hot spots, and the incredible Togiak River has to considered as one of the best of the best. Here’s a little action from my most recent summer of guiding up there…

The Togiak River: Alaska’s All-Species Mecca

May 24, 2016 By JD Leave a Comment

Alaska’s Togiak River has a rich reputation for being a world-class king salmon fishery, but there’s a lot more to this Southwestern gem than meets the eye.

Blessed with excellent runs all five Pacific salmon species, it also harbors some outstanding trout, dolly and pike fishing. Even more exciting is the fact that many of the Togiak’s species run on the large side. Throw in some beautiful scenery and you have yourself one heck of a fishing destination!

While there is good multi-species fishing throughout the river’s length, the lower 15 miles is where most of the salmon fishing takes place on the Togiak. Here’s a species by species look at what the river has to offer:

Kings

Kings are the stars of the show here. And why not? They grow ‘em, big on the Togiak and the fish often return in numbers that place it among the greatest Chinook fisheries on planet earth. The river has pumped out salmon over 70 pounds and every season there’s a handful in the 50-pound range taken.

“The Togiak is a great river for nice, big fish,” says Kevin Lund, whose family owns Togiak River Lodge. “It can be cyclical, but the normal size range is around 25 to 30 pounds.”

Kings typically show in the lower river in early summer, and by June 20 the are usually enough fish around to make targeting them worthwhile. Most seasons, the peak of the run occurs right round the Fourth of July. Lund notes, however, that the fish can be a week earlier than that on low water years – and a week later in high water. The Togiak closes to king fishing on Aug. 1 and the action can hold out right through the end – especially when the water is high and cold.

In the river’s lower reaches, most of the kings that are caught are beautifully chrome. Rare indeed is the bright red “fire engine” Chinook. That changes, of course, the further the salmon swim upstream.

Togiak kings are super snappy and, when they’re around in any kind of numbers, are pretty easy to hook. Back-trolled HawgNose Flatfish, MagLip 5.0, and K16 Kwikfish will all produce in chartreuse/chrome, pink/white and chartreuse/metallic blue/chrome. A fresh sardine fillet wrapped to the belly of the plug will increase the number of bites you get, but isn’t as essential here as it is on other rivers.

Backtrolling cured eggs behind size 40-50 Jet Divers is also extremely productive, as is back-bouncing with the same bait. Many kings also fall victim to large egg clusters fished under bobbers here.

In the lower few tidally influenced miles of river, downstream trolling with spinners is a popular and effective way to tempt fresh-from-the-salt kings.

Silvers

The Togiak has few peers as a king fishey – and yet it may be an even better place to fish for silvers. Coho ascend the river is massive hordes in the late summer/early fall and can produce non-stop action for both fly and conventional anglers.

While a few silvers will poke their noses into the Togiak in early August, fishing is usually pretty inconsistent during the first ten days of August. According to Lund, the fishing is nearly always going strong by Aug. 15 and, depending on water and weather conditions, it can carry on into October — though weather becomes an issue the later you get into the season.

“The river doesn’t just have big kings in it, the silvers run large here too,” says Lund. “The biggest we’ve seen at the lodge have been right at 20 pounds, with lots of 15 to 17 pounders caught each year.”

The biggest bucks tend to show up late for the party — towards the end of August – and Lund says you have a legit shot at fish 15 pounds and up every day at that time of year.

Because of their numbers and willingness to bite, the Togiak is a phenomenal place to chuck some fluff. Anglers stripping pink streamers and leeches on intermediate sink tips can pile up ridiculous numbers here. Some of the bars just above the mouth of the river will also produce topwater action on Pink Wogs.

Twitching ½- or 3/8-ounce marabou or hootchie jigs in pink is deadly for anglers using spinning gear and No. 4 spinners with pink hootchie skirts are killers as well. There are also times when small bass poppers dyed pink will solicit some epic surface strikes.

Rainbows

The Togiak doesn’t get the press about trout fishing that some other rivers just over the hill in the Wood-Tikchik dragline receive, but don’t let that fool you. The river plays host some wonderfully large rainbows that can top the 30-inch mark. The largest any of Lund’s guests have taken is 16 pounds!

Rainbows are available year-round and seem to be more present in the lower end of the river early in the season. They are pretty snaky at that time, but fatten up quickly as they follow the salmon up into the tributaries. In June, dark leech patterns produce plenty of fish, but egg imitations become the weapons of choice for much of the summer soon thereafter. Flesh patterns also come into play at the end of August when kings, chums and pinks start dying off and rotting.

Reds

With a large lake at its headwaters, plus several lake-fed tributaries, the Togiak drainage is home to an excellent red salmon run.

“I think the sockeyes are the longest running strain of salmon in the river,” says Lund. “They are here from June 15 through the middle of September, with the peak migration happening sometime in July.”

Reds show up in prime condition, silver and full of fight. They can reach very impressive sizes here, with 12 pounders showing every season – pretty impressive when you consider the world record for the species is 15 pounds and change.

Red salmon get pretty aggressive once they get near the spawning grounds and will lash out at spinners, jigs and leeches pretty regularly, but when they are in traveling mode in the lower river, it’s pretty much a “flossing” or “lining” show (aka mouth snagging like on the Russian or Kenai).

Chums

While chums can be found well up the Togiak, the best fishing for them takes place in the bottom end of the system. They tend to spawn in the river’s lower reaches, so the closer you can get to saltwater, the better shot you’ll have at both quantity and quality. Find a gravel bar along the softer water margins of the lower 5 miles of river and you can almost guarantee there will be doggies there. Prime time to chase chums is the last two weeks of July, but first week of August can be very good too.

Togiak chums are eager biters and seem extremely receptive to the swung fly. In most cases, you can fish a dry line (some of the best chum runs are only a few feet deep) with just about any type of “leechy” pattern you like. Pink is your number one color, though there are times when they respond better to purple or black.

From a conventional standpoint, you can catch all the chums you want twitching pink 3/8-ounce marabou jigs or fishing 1/8-ounce jigs under floats. Dogs will also lash out at any plug that gets in their way and often serve as a great reminder to anglers backtrolling for kings that they have indeed wandered too far out of the meat of the run and into the soft water.

Humpies

Okay, let’s call a spade a spade here. Humpies are more of a nuisance on the Togiak than anything else. For the record, I’m not a humpy hater. I’ve spent a lot of days chasing the little buggers around with fly gear throughout the state and had a ball doing it, but on a river like the Togiak, it’s a different deal. There’s so much potential here for the “glamour species,” that pinks just don’t come into play very often. But in their defense, it can be great fun for kids or beginners if you find a big pack of bright, fresh-from-the salt humpies to play with.

Luckily, pinks only show in the Togiak in large numbers on even-numbered years. This year, therefore, should be largely humpy-free.

Dollies

Not that you’d visit the Togiak just for dolly varden, but it wouldn’t be a bad choice if you did. The river gets a big run of them and the char here can get quite big: up to 6 or even 8 pounds.

They show up fresh from the salt and chrome as can be, in the early summer and fishing is often outstanding in the lower river in June and July and then the fish migrate upstream into the tributaries to dine on salmon eggs. By late summer, the dollies will have made the transition from silver to Technicolor, prettying themselves up for a spawn of their own.

Down low or up in a shallow feeder creek, dollies are suckers for anything that loosely resembles an egg. They’ll also smash small streamers, spinners and spoons.

PIKE

Many of the back sloughs and shallow lakes connected to the Togiak are refuges for scrappy northern pike. They don’t reach Yukon-like sizes here, but the pike can provide a fun afternoon diversion from salmon fishing.

Weedless topwater lures and buzzbaits thrown in and among the weeds and lily pads will solicit some heart-stopping attacks from pike, which will generally measure three feet or less.

OTHER SPECIES

While the above species are the main ones for Togiak River anglers, there are others. Some sizeable grayling call the river home, though most are found well upstream. The occasional laker is also rumored to be seen from time to time, presumably working its way down from Togiak Lake. And then there’s the huge population of starry flounder that carpet the bottom of the river’s lower end.

GUIDES AND LODGING

The lower Togiak River is reachable by boat from the village of Togiak. There’s limited lodging and guide services available there. A few lodges have boats stashed on the river and fly customers in for day trips when weather permits. The only lodging on the river itself is Togiak River Lodge, located in a prime location 7 miles upstream from the bay.

When the real Adventure lies in simply getting to the fishing spot: A Tribute to the Journey

May 17, 2016 By JD Leave a Comment

Driftboat

So often we talk and write about the destination…but frequently the journey to the fishing grounds is the true story. Don’t believe me? Well, then just think for a moment on all the stuff you’ve done in your life to get to the fish: Some of it was probably not exactly what you’d call safe. Some was physically grueling and some of it was straight up fun.

This is a tribute to the journey: To all the rapids run and river crossings that were just at the top of your waders. To the miles hiked and rough water poundings. To the brilliant sunsets, calm waters and the epic adventures that make this sport so awesome. This is a tribute to Getting There.

morning glass
Is there anything better than blazing across glassy water at dawn? The anticipation of what the day holds is almost too much to stand, so you slam the throttle all the way open so you can get there just a bit faster. Unfortunately, these beautiful quiet moments are usually forgotten as soon as you get to where you are going and the lines are in…well, until the next morning anyway.

Floating
Perhaps more than any other method of transportation, small inflatables enhance “the journey is the adventure” concept. Man, some of the things we’ve done in these things would give the manufactures’ legal teams nightmares if they only knew. But what fun! And in some spots, personal rafts and pontoons are the only way to get there.

Alaskan backcountry jet boating in a little jonboat that could run on a wet lawn is one of my favorite things to do on this planet. Arm yourself with couple rods, a shotgun, a shovel and a chainsaw and go find the source of some creek. The “getting there” part is guaranteed to be more fun than the actual fishing!

ride home
Sometimes getting back is all you can think about. Maybe the dreaded north wind blew 35 freezing knots all day, the fish didn’t bite and now you have to beat your way right into the teeth of it to get home. It’s funny how it always seems that, after one of those long, cold, wet rides home you pull into the harbor and the wind lies
down and you think “well, that wasn’t so bad.” And that’s exactly how you end up back out on the water the very next day.

Bear
It’s something most sane people wouldn’t understand…but the allure of catching chrome far outweighs the risk of encountering something that’s higher up the food chain. Never mind that steaming pile of droppings in the middle of the path and the still flopping salmon missing its belly on the bank…there probably aren’t any grizzlies around here…right? Here, the journey involves some edgy nerves and, often, a heavily pounding heart.

waders
We all have those “I’m lucky I made it through that” moments and several of mine had to do with crossing raging rivers in chest waders and praying my next step out in the middle of the channel actually hits tierra firma before I fill up and get sucked down the deadly rapids below. And then there were those brutal hikes through the snow with felt soles…if you’ve done it you know what I’m talking about! Hiking and waders isn’t a great combination…but it usually means I’m headed somewhere cool.

raft
I’ve been on some float trips in which the portages outnumbered the fish. It’s funny how those trips seem so brutal when you’re there…but often become the most fondly remembered adventures after some time passes and the memory of the pain fades… “There we were, dragging the boat around anything Mother Nature threw at us…we couldn’t be stopped.”

backcountry
The journey is truly a thrill when you find a secret honey hole that takes a little creative driving to get to.

The Top 6 West Coast Fishing Cities

May 11, 2015 By JD 1 Comment

Each year, hundreds of thousands of Chinook salmon swim right through the heart of downtown Sacramento

On the 6 a.m. Southwest flight from Sacramento to Portland on a Monday morning, I am the odd man out. Surrounded mostly by folks in suits and briefcases – business commuters – I’m sporting fleece wading pants, a Gore-Tex parka and stained fishing cap. When we hit the tarmac at PDX, most of my spiffily dressed friends here will shuffle off to work somewhere downtown. I’m headed just a few miles southeast to do something quite the opposite – to go steelhead fishing on the Clackamas River.

This interesting contrast gets me thinking about how big cities and good fishing don’t always go hand-in-hand, but here on the West Coast, we have several major urban areas that play host to some surprisingly productive and diverse fisheries. Here now, in no particular order, are some of the best:

San Diego, CA

You could spend a lifetime sampling all the sportfishing opportunities that the greater San Diego area has to offer and never come close to doing it all. From giant tuna to record class largemouth bass and everything in between, there’s a little something for everyone here.

Long range fishing may be king in San Diego, but don’t forget about the great inshore and freshwater opportunities as well

San Diego is perhaps best known as the homeport of the extremely popular long range fleet that fishes along the Mexican coastline – and points further south. Cow yellowfin, wahoo, dorado, albacore, yellowtail and marlin are the main draws, but there are plenty of calico and sand bass, barracuda, halibut, white seabass, rockfish and bonito in the local inshore waters to keep the small boat crowd happy, too.

Get seasick? No problem – just head into San Diego or Mission bays with some ultralight gear and have a ball with sand bass, spotted bay bass and halibut. Additionally, bay anglers also catch the occasional seabass, bonito, barracuda – and even bonefish. Or, you can always prowl the beaches for small ‘butts, corbina, perch and croaker.

Then there’s the whole freshwater scene. Giant Florida strain largemouth draw record hunters to places like Lake Dixon (formerly home of “Dottie,” the mammoth bass that made so much news a couple years back), Lake Miramar, Lake Hodges and others. As if that weren’t enough, you can also catch trout in lakes like Poway and Cuyamaca.

San Francisco, CA

Of all the West’s big cities, San Francisco may just offer the most diverse collection of angling opportunities. Right outside the Golden Gate there are lings, rockfish of every size and color, albacore and Chinook salmon to chase. And who could forget the Dungeness crabbing? Inside the bay, there’s terrific striped bass, sturgeon and California halibut fishing all within sight of the city’s high rises.

Capt. Jay Lopes of Right Hook Sportfishing sticks a halibut in San Francisco Bay

Shore-bound anglers can fish San Francisco’s ocean beaches for perch and striped bass or venture to one of the region’s many freshwater lakes that kick out a wide range of fishing that should suit just about everybody’s taste. Most feature put-and-take trout fisheries, along with bass, panfish and catfish. Check out Lake Chabot, Del Valle Reservoir, San Pablo Reservoir, Shadow Cliffs Lake and many others.

Just inland lies the vast Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that pumps out all sorts of mixed bag action. Stripers and sturgeon probably get the most attention here, but the Delta also has a solid reputation for harboring good numbers of jumbo largemouth bass, along with a modest population of smallies. The place is also teeming with catfish that can go from paniszed bullheads to blues and channels that have topped the 50-pound mark in recent years.

Portland, OR

Location, location, location! Situated about an hour and a half from the coast and just minutes south of the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, Portland is an angler’s dream. Right downtown there’s some of the best sturgeon and spring-run Chinook salmon fishing to be found anywhere in the two big rivers. Smaller tribs like the Clackamas and Sandy rivers play host to seasonal runs of winter and summer steelies, springers, fall Chinook and coho salmon.

Catching steelies near Portland in the Clackamas River

An hour east is the amazing Columbia River Gorge and more epic sturgeon, steelhead and salmon action – plus smallmouth bass and walleye, too. To the west lies the fabled Tillamook Bay area, which is the epicenter of some of the West Coast’s best salmon and steelhead fishing and there’s plenty more up north across the Washington border.

Los Angeles, CA

Much like San Diego, there’s a ton of saltwater fishing to be had off LA. Near shore, you’ve got calico and sand bass, barracuda, bonito, mackerel, halibut, sheepshead, sculpin, white seabass, cabezon, lings and rockfish. Get out into the blue water and you’ve got a shot at big game species like bluefin and yellowfin tuna, dorado, albacore and billfish.

There’s an endless supply of beaches to explore with a rod and reel around LA. Surf perch are a common surf catch along with corbina, croaker and small sharks.

Newport Harbor is an exciting fishery for the light tackle aficionado and fishes a lot like a bass lake. By tossing small plastics around pilings and under boat docks, you can expect to catch sand bass, halibut and croaker. For a really interesting experience, hit the beaches around the Santa Monica Pier in July when the sand crabs are out in force. If you look closely, you should be able to see plenty of corbina working the foam line right at the feet of the scads of waders, swimmers and boogie boarders.

If coldwater species are your thing, check out the trout fishing at places like Irvine Lake and Santa River Lakes, where chasing oversized planter rainbows on featherweight tackle is almost a religion. There are big bass here, too. Though not the glory hole it once was, Lake Castaic has produced a number of monster largemouth, including a 21-pound 12 ouncer that narrowly missed the world record for the species by ounces. Other waters to check out include Piru Lake, Lake Casitias and Ojai Lake. If you’re into stripers, try Pyramid Lake near the Grapevine.

Sacramento, CA

It may be the smallest town on this list, but the Capitol City can hold its own. Flowing smack through the heart of downtown are both the American and Sacramento rivers and then you have the Feather River just north of the airport. All three play host to excellent runs of Chinook Salmon and several other species.

Some big and bright king salmon can be caught right in the shadows of the downtown high rises in Sacramento

Anglers flock to the Sac and Feather every spring for world-class striped bass fishing, while the American is more of a size over numbers game. Good shad runs also enter these streams April through June and the Feather gets a run of small fall steelhead, too. Most of the action in the winter comes courtesy of the American, where winter steelhead to 15 plus pounds are taken – or the Sacramento which yields big sturgeon to bait anglers.

To the southwest is the vast Delta system and all it has to offer, while Folsom Lake is an excellent trout, king salmon and bass fishery. Lake Natoma doesn’t produce a lot of fish, but a handful of rainbow trout over 20 pounds have been landed there. Then you have a myriad of lakes within an hour’s drive in any direction, including popular Lake Berryessa, Camanche Reservoir, Sly Park, Union Valley Reservoir, Lake Pardee and Lake Amador.

Seattle, WA

Because it’s bordered by both fresh and saltwater, the Emerald City is another urban area that features great fishing diversity. Just yards off Seattle’s western edge, you can catch king, coho, pink and chum salmon, plus rockfish, lings, halibut and crab in Elliot Bay and Puget Sound.

Pink or “humpy” salmon are extremely popular fish for Puget Sound anglers in odd-numbered years

To the east, the city is hemmed in by Lake Washington, which produces good cutthroat and rainbow trout fishing, along with yellow perch and smallmouth bass. Additionally, sockeye salmon migrate up through the Ballard Locks and into the lake in the summer months. On years when biologists determine there are enough salmon in the lake to reach escapement goals, they open it up to anglers and a zoo-like troll fishery materializes overnight.

Just over the hill from Lake Washington is Lake Sammamish, which gets seasonal runs of coho and king salmon to go along with a nice resident population of smallmouth bass.

For the river fishing enthusiast, there are several rivers that serve up nice salmon and steelhead action, including the Skykomish, Snoqualmie, Tolt, Snohomish, Wallace and Sultan to name a few.

So there you have it – there’s some pretty good fishing to be had in the concrete jungles of some of the West’s largest cities. On that next business trip, you just may want to pack a travel rod in with your laptop!