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The Chena is a popular catch & release grayling stream that runs through the second largest city in Alaska, Fairbanks. It's also the site of the Troutnut's Ph.D. research on juvenile Chinook salmon. There's easy access to good grayling water all along Chena Hot Springs Road for 15-20 miles in the river's upper reach.

Arctic grayling in the 16-inch range are easy to come by, and grayling above 18 are possible in a good day. The better-than-average size and numbers here can be attributed to the catch-and-release-only regulations that have been in place since the 90s. Grayling are very slow-growing fish that can live for decades, and in a river so close to town and with such easy access the population of big fish dwindles quickly if people are allowed to keep them. The maximum size here does not match the monster grayling of Alaska's west coast, but this is as good a grayling fishery as any on the Alaskan road system.

Although the Chena holds both Chinook and Chum salmon, the fishery for them does not match what outsiders picture when they think of Alaska salmon fishing. The river is only open to salmon fishing in its deep, slow, meandering lower miles, where fly fishing, sight fishing, and wading are all difficult. It's mostly the domain of bait and lure fishermen in boats, and the good fishing for them only lasts a week or two as the main pulse of salmon blows through to their spawning grounds in the upper river, which is closed for salmon.

Landscape & scenery photos from the Chena River

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This rock formation overlooks a grayling stream on the central Alaskan road system. From the Chena River Valley in Alaska.
This rock formation overlooks a grayling stream on the central Alaskan road system.
StateAlaska
LocationChena River Valley
Date TakenFeb 20, 2006
Date AddedMay 21, 2006
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 20D
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A thick layer of ice clings to the branches of low bushes over an Alaskan river in the winter. From the Chena River in Alaska.
A thick layer of ice clings to the branches of low bushes over an Alaskan river in the winter.
StateAlaska
LocationChena River
Date TakenFeb 20, 2006
Date AddedApr 15, 2006
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 20D
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This is a small, photogenic tributary of the main river I was photographing in Alaska. From the Chena River tributary in Alaska.
This is a small, photogenic tributary of the main river I was photographing in Alaska.
StateAlaska
LocationChena River tributary
Date TakenFeb 20, 2006
Date AddedApr 15, 2006
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 20D
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A tangled canopy of fir trees overhangs a small, completely frozen tributary of a grayling stream in central Alaska. From Chena Hot Springs Road in Alaska.
A tangled canopy of fir trees overhangs a small, completely frozen tributary of a grayling stream in central Alaska.
StateAlaska
LocationChena Hot Springs Road
Date TakenFeb 20, 2006
Date AddedApr 15, 2006
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 20D
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High hills in central Alaska overlook a mostly frozen river. From the Chena River in Alaska.
High hills in central Alaska overlook a mostly frozen river.
StateAlaska
LocationChena River
Date TakenFeb 20, 2006
Date AddedApr 15, 2006
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 20D
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Dusk over a frozen grayling stream in Alaska. From the Chena River in Alaska.
Dusk over a frozen grayling stream in Alaska.
StateAlaska
LocationChena River
Date TakenFeb 20, 2006
Date AddedApr 15, 2006
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 20D
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Some pretty winter scenery in Alaska. From the Chena River in Alaska.
Some pretty winter scenery in Alaska.
StateAlaska
LocationChena River
Date TakenFeb 20, 2006
Date AddedApr 15, 2006
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 20D
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Here's a panorama of the junction of the North Fork of the Chena River and Middle Fork of the Chena River, where we my dad and I spent some time fishing for Arctic grayling on this float trip. From the Chena River in Alaska.
Here's a panorama of the junction of the North Fork of the Chena River and Middle Fork of the Chena River, where we my dad and I spent some time fishing for Arctic grayling on this float trip.
StateAlaska
LocationChena River
Date TakenJun 30, 2007
Date AddedJul 4, 2007
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 20D
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From the Chena River in Alaska.
StateAlaska
LocationChena River
Date TakenJun 30, 2007
Date AddedJul 4, 2007
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 20D
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This is probably my largest grayling to date -- it's about 18 inches. From the Chena River in Alaska.
This is probably my largest grayling to date -- it's about 18 inches.
StateAlaska
LocationChena River
Date TakenJun 30, 2007
Date AddedJul 18, 2007
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 20D
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