FISHING REPORT FOR LOWER BASE CAMP AUGUST 15th to 22nd , 2026

WATER TEMPERATURE AND CLARITY

The clarity of the river was great most of the week. It also was much clearer in the lower river for bow fishing! The water temp was mid to high 50’s.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

We had it all this week, from sunny days to windy and wet.

HOT FLY OF THE WEEK

Black & White Dolly Llama

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

We’ve been fishing this river for a long time—47 years, to be exact—and it’s not often something happens up here that we haven’t seen before.

Chrome sockeye on a mouse? Rare, but it happens.

Lake Trout in the river? Even rarer, but we’ve seen it before.

Pike? Yep, we’ve caught plenty of those over the years.

But never, in all the time we’ve spent up here, have we seen or even heard of someone catching a sheefish in the Kanektok.

That changed this week.

Cutler, Daryl, and Seth were fishing Silvers in the lower river when Seth decided to bomb a cast out into the middle of the river. He hooked a fish that immediately started peeling line off his drag and jumping. Cutler didn’t realize Seth had a fish on as he was tying a knot until it was right beside the boat.

When Cutler jumped up to release it, his eyes got really big.

A Tarpon of the North had just been caught on the Kanektok!

After 47 seasons it’s still possible to have some firsts!

WILDLIFE SPOTTED

Lots of Ducks and Geese migrating!!

COMMENTS FOR THE WEEK

Final Week on the Kanektok

The final week on the Kanektok is always bittersweet. It’s the last chance to walk that side channel you’ve been eyeing all season or try that Silver spot you haven’t fished yet.

It’s flesh season, when we catch some of our biggest Rainbows of the year, and the river is absolutely loaded with Silvers. We may be packing our bags and getting ready to take off, but it’s certainly not because the fishing is slowing down.

This week, the fishing was fantastic. Silvers were caught on topwater, and big Rainbows were found fishing flesh.

The Trout fishing in the lower river really picked up in a big way. When the weather aligned, multiple 20+ inch rainbows were landed, and all of our guests got to experience some of the biggest trout we’ve seen all season.

The bigger Dollies in the upper river are now in their full spawning colors. We took advantage of the sunny weather when we had it and spent some time targeting them. There’s not much prettier than a mature Dolly in late August.

With another great season behind us, we want to mention how grateful we are for all of our guests. Without you guys, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.

Thank you for another incredible summer.

See you next season on the Kanektok!