Fishing

We didn't fish much during our trip, so we are not experts on fishing on the Dalton. There are some excellent books about fishing in Alaska and in the Dalton area in particular that we would highly recommend you to read if you are planning a fishing trip (see References).

To avoid wasting time in Alaska, we purchased our fishing licenses online on the ADF&G website.

You can find fish in almost any stream along the Dalton. The most abundant species is grayling, and this was the only fish species that we caught. However, you can also find pike, burbot, trout and some others. The Jim River where we fished is considered to be one of the most productive fishing spots near the highway.

For grayling we used spinners #0-2, and they worked very well for us.

You can also have good fishing in some lakes along the highway. However, most lakes in the immediate proximity of the highway are pretty shallow, so in general you have a better chance to catch good fish in the rivers or creeks.

As I mentioned before, if you are planning to fish north of Atigun Pass, keep in mind the following:

1. There are many lakes in tundra that look very attractive for fishing. However, they are shallow and freeze to the bottom in winter, so there is no fish there.

2. Plan to arrive after the middle of July when the snow in the Brooks Range has been melted down. When we were there the snow was still melting and the water was muddy, so we had no fishing there.

In general, fishing in the Dalton area is great. We saw the fishermen coming there from the other parts of Alaska. The best fishing is usually to the south of the Atigun Pass. However, at some times of the year it is great farther north as well.