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Late Fall Trout, Dollies, and the Tail End of Coho in Bristol Bay
Published 5 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
Artificial Lure here, bringing you the Bristol Bay fishing report for today, November 11, 2025. We’re off to a damp, chilly start this morning, typical for mid-November on the bay. Temps hover in the mid-30s, with a light south wind kicking up a touch of chop on the water. Expect overcast skies all day and scattered rain squalls rolling in off the Bering Sea.
First, the **tide report** for Nushagak Bay entrance shows a low tide around 2:56 am at 5.1 feet, pushing up to a high tide at about 8:12 am, peaking near 14.9 feet. It'll ebb back down to a very low -2.0 feet at 2:49 pm, then flood back to a high at 9:43 pm, climbing to a robust 19.5 feet. Tidal swings like this stir up the estuaries and river mouths—this kind of movement often cues active feeding from salmonids, char, and the odd sea-run dolly varden.
**Sunrise hit at 9:24 am, with sunset tonight at 5:12 pm.** We've got about 7 hours and 48 minutes of fishing light today, so make ‘em count.
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Bristol Bay’s forecast for 2025 sockeye salmon is shaping up to be another strong run. Officials are projecting a run somewhere between 51.3 million and 65.6 million, with about 34.8 million potentially harvestable in the bay. While the height of the salmon madness has passed for the year, **late fall fishing still offers opportunities for residual silver (coho) salmon, big rainbows lingering at river mouths gorging on eggs, and the last of the sea-run dollies**.
Reports from Naknek and Kvichak river guides last week (as shared by travelers to Naknek River Camp) confirm anglers are still finding good numbers of **rainbow trout, dolly varden, and the tail end of coho runs**. Rainbows have been fat and feisty, some pushing 28 inches, feeding heavily on late-drifting salmon eggs and flesh.
**Hot spots right now:**
- The lower stretches of the Naknek and Kvichak Rivers, especially near tributary mouths, are holding chunky trout and dollies.
- Egegik River mouth and adjacent sloughs—look for deeper holding pools at tide change, especially at first light.
For lures and baits, local guides at Golden Fly Shop and other outfitters are unanimous: **egg patterns, flesh flies, and streamers in “cotton-candy” pinks and oranges are money** this time of year. If you’re spinning, try a ¼ oz pink or chartreuse Pixee spoon or size 3-4 Vibrax spinner swung low and slow at the drop-off from tidal flats.
For fly anglers, make sure to pack bead rigs imitating sockeye eggs (6-8mm, pale orange, with a touch of milky white), and drift them under indicators on 10-12lb leader. Flesh flies in “ginger” or “white rabbit” fished on a sink-tip line will clean up in the swirling seams where salmon carcasses stack up. For the dollies, a gaudy streamer like a Dolly Llama in black-and-white or olive-and-white always seems to turn their heads.
Bait is less of a player here, but if you’re dead-set on dunkin’, a gob of fresh salmon roe on a barbless hook is about as classic as it gets—just be sure to mind the local retention regs if you’re keeping anything.
Just a heads up: water temps are right around 38°F, and fish are sulking a bit deeper or holding in softer seams. Slow your retrieve, get your presentation down, and be patient—there are still some monsters lurking before freeze-up really sets in.
That’s the latest from Bristol Bay. Good luck out there today and fish safe. Thanks for tuning in! Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a Bristol Bay update. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
First, the **tide report** for Nushagak Bay entrance shows a low tide around 2:56 am at 5.1 feet, pushing up to a high tide at about 8:12 am, peaking near 14.9 feet. It'll ebb back down to a very low -2.0 feet at 2:49 pm, then flood back to a high at 9:43 pm, climbing to a robust 19.5 feet. Tidal swings like this stir up the estuaries and river mouths—this kind of movement often cues active feeding from salmonids, char, and the odd sea-run dolly varden.
**Sunrise hit at 9:24 am, with sunset tonight at 5:12 pm.** We've got about 7 hours and 48 minutes of fishing light today, so make ‘em count.
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Bristol Bay’s forecast for 2025 sockeye salmon is shaping up to be another strong run. Officials are projecting a run somewhere between 51.3 million and 65.6 million, with about 34.8 million potentially harvestable in the bay. While the height of the salmon madness has passed for the year, **late fall fishing still offers opportunities for residual silver (coho) salmon, big rainbows lingering at river mouths gorging on eggs, and the last of the sea-run dollies**.
Reports from Naknek and Kvichak river guides last week (as shared by travelers to Naknek River Camp) confirm anglers are still finding good numbers of **rainbow trout, dolly varden, and the tail end of coho runs**. Rainbows have been fat and feisty, some pushing 28 inches, feeding heavily on late-drifting salmon eggs and flesh.
**Hot spots right now:**
- The lower stretches of the Naknek and Kvichak Rivers, especially near tributary mouths, are holding chunky trout and dollies.
- Egegik River mouth and adjacent sloughs—look for deeper holding pools at tide change, especially at first light.
For lures and baits, local guides at Golden Fly Shop and other outfitters are unanimous: **egg patterns, flesh flies, and streamers in “cotton-candy” pinks and oranges are money** this time of year. If you’re spinning, try a ¼ oz pink or chartreuse Pixee spoon or size 3-4 Vibrax spinner swung low and slow at the drop-off from tidal flats.
For fly anglers, make sure to pack bead rigs imitating sockeye eggs (6-8mm, pale orange, with a touch of milky white), and drift them under indicators on 10-12lb leader. Flesh flies in “ginger” or “white rabbit” fished on a sink-tip line will clean up in the swirling seams where salmon carcasses stack up. For the dollies, a gaudy streamer like a Dolly Llama in black-and-white or olive-and-white always seems to turn their heads.
Bait is less of a player here, but if you’re dead-set on dunkin’, a gob of fresh salmon roe on a barbless hook is about as classic as it gets—just be sure to mind the local retention regs if you’re keeping anything.
Just a heads up: water temps are right around 38°F, and fish are sulking a bit deeper or holding in softer seams. Slow your retrieve, get your presentation down, and be patient—there are still some monsters lurking before freeze-up really sets in.
That’s the latest from Bristol Bay. Good luck out there today and fish safe. Thanks for tuning in! Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a Bristol Bay update. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI