Episode Details
Back to Episodes
Bristol Bay Fishing Report November 13, 2025 - Late Season Salmon & Trout Bonanza
Published 5 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
Good morning from Bristol Bay, Alaska, it’s Artificial Lure bringing you today’s fishing report for Thursday, November 13th, 2025, at 8:30 AM sharp.
Sunrise hit at 9:23 this morning and sunset’s coming early at 4:16 PM, so that leaves you with a tight window—make sure you’re maximizing every hour.
Let’s talk tides. Nikiski in Cook Inlet, just west of Bristol Bay, showed a low tide this morning at 4:17 AM sitting at about 1.2 feet. The first high tide rolls in around 10:52 AM pushing up to 17.65 feet, so right now through the late morning you’ll have solid movement, and we all know those incoming tides get the fish biting best out on the flats and river mouths, especially if you want to intercept moving salmon or feisty trout. Later in the day, look out for the afternoon drop.
Checking the weather, it’s classic Alaska late fall—near freezing temps, clouds, and even a touch of wind coming in from the north. No heavy storms in the forecast, but layers are your friend and a waterproof shell will keep you comfortable wherever you’re casting from. There’s a little winter advisory further southeast but nothing cooking up for Bristol Bay itself at the moment.
Now, fish activity. The Nushagak River, always the gem of Bristol Bay, continues to produce some of the healthiest stocks of king, sockeye, and coho salmon in the state, even this late in the year. According to Fish the Nush’s latest update, anglers are still seeing action—especially on chrome-bright coho pushing upstream, and a few dollies hanging below the weirs picking off eggs. The big king runs are all but wrapped, but you can still pick up some salmon stragglers along the deep bends or tributary mouths.
For catches, it’s clear numbers aren’t what they were a decade ago, owing to lower permits fished and overall declines in commercial activity—this season was over a hundred permits shy in Bristol Bay compared to last, noted by the Alaska Department of Labor. Still, those sustainable regulations are paying off for sport anglers: multiple reports from this week show healthy returns of silvers across the Nush, bright enough to put a real bend in your rod. Rainbow trout are putting on some late-season weight and have been particularly aggressive right at first light and just before dark.
Best lures and baits—here’s what’s working now:
- For silvers: Chartreuse or pink spinners (#4 or #5), Vibrax or Mepps, and bright spoons like the trusty Kastmaster.
- If you’re drifting: Egg clusters or cured roe under a float are money, and shrimp-tipped jigs are picking up bonus fish.
- For trout: Go with flesh flies, bead rigs in 8–10 mm to match the late-run eggs, or classic leech patterns. If you’re on spinning gear, the smallest silver and gold spoons or little Cleos are drawing out the feisty bows.
Hot spots this week:
- The lower Nushagak River near Portage Creek—steady schools of coho are holding here in the softer water.
- The Wood River Lakes system up near Dillingham—great for rainbows and dollies between the lake outlets and river mouths.
- If you’ve got a boat, the mouth of the Kvichak out by Igiugig is putting out some late sockeye and a surprising number of trout hunting eggs.
Anglers heading out are reminded to follow catch-and-release best practices and keep it sustainable. Local guides are still running trips on the main rivers and reporting a strong mix of silvers and bruiser rainbow trout, with bonus pike if you poke around the grassy sloughs.
That wraps up your Thursday, November thirteenth Bristol Bay report. Thanks for tuning in with Artificial Lure. Be sure to subscribe for tomorrow’s on-the-water scoop and remember, 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 c
Sunrise hit at 9:23 this morning and sunset’s coming early at 4:16 PM, so that leaves you with a tight window—make sure you’re maximizing every hour.
Let’s talk tides. Nikiski in Cook Inlet, just west of Bristol Bay, showed a low tide this morning at 4:17 AM sitting at about 1.2 feet. The first high tide rolls in around 10:52 AM pushing up to 17.65 feet, so right now through the late morning you’ll have solid movement, and we all know those incoming tides get the fish biting best out on the flats and river mouths, especially if you want to intercept moving salmon or feisty trout. Later in the day, look out for the afternoon drop.
Checking the weather, it’s classic Alaska late fall—near freezing temps, clouds, and even a touch of wind coming in from the north. No heavy storms in the forecast, but layers are your friend and a waterproof shell will keep you comfortable wherever you’re casting from. There’s a little winter advisory further southeast but nothing cooking up for Bristol Bay itself at the moment.
Now, fish activity. The Nushagak River, always the gem of Bristol Bay, continues to produce some of the healthiest stocks of king, sockeye, and coho salmon in the state, even this late in the year. According to Fish the Nush’s latest update, anglers are still seeing action—especially on chrome-bright coho pushing upstream, and a few dollies hanging below the weirs picking off eggs. The big king runs are all but wrapped, but you can still pick up some salmon stragglers along the deep bends or tributary mouths.
For catches, it’s clear numbers aren’t what they were a decade ago, owing to lower permits fished and overall declines in commercial activity—this season was over a hundred permits shy in Bristol Bay compared to last, noted by the Alaska Department of Labor. Still, those sustainable regulations are paying off for sport anglers: multiple reports from this week show healthy returns of silvers across the Nush, bright enough to put a real bend in your rod. Rainbow trout are putting on some late-season weight and have been particularly aggressive right at first light and just before dark.
Best lures and baits—here’s what’s working now:
- For silvers: Chartreuse or pink spinners (#4 or #5), Vibrax or Mepps, and bright spoons like the trusty Kastmaster.
- If you’re drifting: Egg clusters or cured roe under a float are money, and shrimp-tipped jigs are picking up bonus fish.
- For trout: Go with flesh flies, bead rigs in 8–10 mm to match the late-run eggs, or classic leech patterns. If you’re on spinning gear, the smallest silver and gold spoons or little Cleos are drawing out the feisty bows.
Hot spots this week:
- The lower Nushagak River near Portage Creek—steady schools of coho are holding here in the softer water.
- The Wood River Lakes system up near Dillingham—great for rainbows and dollies between the lake outlets and river mouths.
- If you’ve got a boat, the mouth of the Kvichak out by Igiugig is putting out some late sockeye and a surprising number of trout hunting eggs.
Anglers heading out are reminded to follow catch-and-release best practices and keep it sustainable. Local guides are still running trips on the main rivers and reporting a strong mix of silvers and bruiser rainbow trout, with bonus pike if you poke around the grassy sloughs.
That wraps up your Thursday, November thirteenth Bristol Bay report. Thanks for tuning in with Artificial Lure. Be sure to subscribe for tomorrow’s on-the-water scoop and remember, 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 c