Bears Fishing
The bears at Brooks Falls utilize different fishing techniques to gather enough summer calories to live through the winter.
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At Brooks Falls, fishing style is largely a function of a bear's rank, size, experience, and even personality, which is why watching a crowd of them reveals such variety. Experience, rank, and personality all shape individual technique. The prime fishing locations are the plunge pools just below the falls, and then the lip of the falls itself. The plunge pools are occupied by the largest males, while the lip is usually occupied by the most dominant females.
Younger bears, females with cubs, and lower-ranked males work the shallows downstream. Skill accumulates over a lifetime: cubs learn by watching their mothers and practicing with them, so the most accomplished anglers tend to be seasoned adults rather than raw instinct-driven newcomers.
See the field guide to fishing bears below for more detail.
The bears utilize various techniques. The classic crest move is the stationary wait, where a bear stands atop the falls and snatches salmon out of the air mid-leap or traps the salmon with their front paws. Others take up positions in the plunge pools below the falls to grab fish knocked back by the current. In the calmer water, bears "snorkel" by submerging their head underwater and grabbing fish by sight and feel. Some bears simply chase salmon through the shallows, lunging at them from above.
Bear Families
Female bears give birth to their cubs in the winter, in a state of winter dormancy, tucked snugly into their dens. They bring these spring cubs (COYs, or cubs of the year) down to the falls in the late spring. Sometimes they bring one cub, sometimes too, and occasionally three. One of the biggest dangers to the cubs is male bears, who will kill cubs that come into range in order to put their mothers in estrus. So mothers have three full-time jobs... eating enough fish to feed themselves and their cubs for the winter, raising their cubs and teaching them to fish, and fending off male bears. The mortality rate for COYs is high, and even warrior queen bears (like Grazier 128) are not immune to losing a cub in the current, to float downstream into the claws of an aggressive male. Some cubs are lucky enough to be cared for by their mothers for a second summer, though sometimes the mother goes into estrus and must push out the cubs to protect them from the males.
Biggie near the falls
One of the most talked-about stories at Brooks this summer is the adoption of a 2.5-year-old cub nicknamed "Biggie" (also called "128 Jr.")—the offspring of 128 "Grazer," the two-time Fat Bear Week champion—by an unrelated sow, 806. After emancipation from her famous mother, Biggie was taken in by 806, who already had a spring cub of her own, and 806 has since been observed nursing Biggie. The adoption has been treated as official by naturalist Mike Fitz and rangers Sarah Bruce and Christine Loberg. What makes this so remarkable is that adoption between unrelated brown bears is an exceptionally rare event—a genuine surprise even to longtime bear watchers. Bears are typically solitary and territorial, so a sow choosing to nurse and raise another female's yearling alongside her own cub runs against nearly everything you'd expect from the species.
Brooks Camp
Brooks Lodge is a truly unique place. The falls attract bears from around the region to feast on the sockeye salmon run. Usually, bears are solitary and territorial, but since the eating is so good, they do their best to tolerate each other. Fights do breakout, and they can be quite deadly, but usually the bears respect rank and step aside to bigger bears. Getting to Brooks on a daytrip from King Salmon or Anchorage via seaplane is expensive, but not difficult to arrange. Staying at the cabins or lodge rooms at Brooks is quite another matter. A lottery is held each winter for rooms one and half years out. In July, your odds are under 10%. The first year we tried, we were 500th on the waitlist. The second year, our number was called, and we were able to book a room for two nights.
When you arrive at Brooks, you must first attend bear orientation (Bear School) before they let you out on the trails. It is not uncommon to encounter bears on the trails (hence the pictures here), so they want to make sure you know what to do when that happens.
Kristin's Best Brooks Pics
Mother bears often "tree" their cubs in riskier places, like near the falls, where large males are present. The cubs can easily climb trees, which is much harder for the bigger heavier males.
The young mothers of COYs often stay around the estuary where the river meets the lake. As the salmon run gets into full swing, the bears at the falls pick and choose the salmon parts they eat, focusing on high calorie areas like the brain and belly fat.
They discard the rest of the carcass, which floats downstream. The mother will often scoop up the remains to give to her cub or to eat hherself, generating enough calories to nurse the cubs. This area is much safer for the cubs than the falls.
Field Guide to Fishing Bears
The picture above is a typical July day at Brooks. There are nine bears in this picture, with many more just out of frame. In all of these positions, bears are constantly looking around to make sure a larger and more dominant bear is not coming to take their space. If this happens, the smaller bear will usually move away to avoid confrontation.
Brooks Falls is a roughly six-foot waterfall that bisects the Brooks River between Brooks Lake and Naknek Lake. Each summer 200,000 to 400,000 sockeye salmon leap the falls on their way to spawn, and the pinch point of migrating fish draws a dense concentration of brown bears. During the July peak it is possible to see more than 25 bears at once from the Falls Platform.
Which bear fishes which spot is governed almost entirely by a social hierarchy. The most productive positions — the crest of the falls and the plunge pool directly below it — are claimed by the most dominant bears, which at Brooks are typically large adult males or dominant females. As one moves downstream, the bears get younger, smaller, and less experienced. Visitors have long described the view down-river from the falls as a living map of the local pecking order, with the riffles functioning as the minor leagues. The riffles is a small section of gentle rapids located approximately 100 yards downstream from the falls. The riffles and the falls have separate viewing platforms.
Salmon are not equally available at every spot. Fish are almost always present in the plunge pool (the "jacuzzi"), which is why it is the single most coveted seat; the lip and the far pool hold fish less consistently. Interestingly, dominance does not guarantee the largest catch when salmon are superabundant — at least one study found subordinate bears can do just as well in a glut — so a range of strategies succeed, and most bears use the technique they learned from their mothers.
A — The Jacuzzi (Prime Seat)
Who fishes it: The foamy plunge pool directly below the main drop — the most coveted spot on the whole falls, because salmon are almost always present in it. Held by the top-ranked adult males; it is 856’s single most preferred fishing spot, and 747 and 68 favor it as well.
Technique: Sit-and-wait: the bear sits in the churn and pins passing fish to the bottom or against its own body, occasionally diving fully under. It is a steady, low-energy, high-yield method — exactly why dominant bears defend it.
B — Base of the Falls / Head of the Jacuzzi
Who fishes it: Subadults and mid-ranking bears; the young bear shown here is typical. When the prime jacuzzi seat is occupied by a dominant animal, less dominant bears work the churning margins immediately below the lip.
Technique: Sit-and-wait at the edge of the plunge, snorkeling the froth, and opportunistic grabbing of salmon that fail the leap and wash back down. Some pirating of dropped fish occurs here.
C — The Lip (Center Crest)
Who fishes it: The prime standing position on the crest. Dominant adult males dominate it (the likes of 856, 747, and 32 Chunk), but highly skilled adult females — 402, or Grazer/128 — will take it when the big males are absent.
Technique: The classic stand-and-wait, also called the stationary wait: the bear stands at the very edge and catches salmon in mid-air, in its jaws, as they leap, or trap the fish with their paws. This is the iconic Brooks Falls image. Bears also face downstream to snatch fish sliding back over the crest.
D — Top of the Falls / Near-Side
This is generally an eating location rather than a fishing one. Once a bear at the lip catches a fish, they often take it to this bare rock to eat, out of the current and away from other bears who might steal it.
E - Keeping options open
This spot is generally used by bears who are checking out their options or are bringing their fish back to shore to eat. From here, bears can easily move to the plunge pools, the lip or the shore.
F — Far Side of the Lip / By the Downed Log
Who fishes it: The far (north) side of the crest, near the mossy downed log. A dominant bear’s position, but it also suits large bears that are somewhat less tolerant of the platform crowds and prefer the far side.
Technique: Stand-and-wait for leaping fish; the downed log provides a brace and vantage over the far channel.
G — Near the Jacuzzi
The bear in this picture is a younger bear, fishing the fringe of the jacuzzi. It will move close to the larger bar ahead of it, but warily so, and will give way when stared down by the dominant male. Occasionally bears will square off and fight over the rights to a specific location, like the Jacuzzi. These fights are usually short, but they are also violent, leaving one or both bears bleeding and scarred.
H — The Far Pool (Near Edge)
Who fishes it: The deeper, slower water below the falls on the far side. Adult females work it — it is 410’s normal spot — along with some males. The reclining posture shown is characteristic of a bear settled in for patient work.
Technique: Snorkeling (face submerged, ears up to listen for rivals), sit-and-wait in the slower current, and the occasional dive.
Behind H, under the tree branches along the shore —"The Office" (usually occupied, but not in this picture)
Who fishes it: Under the overhanging foliage at the far end, is "the office" — the late 480 Otis’s signature seat, where he watched the water for hours.
Technique: Snorkeling and sit-and-wait; the calmer water rewards methodical, unhurried fishing rather than the crest’s reflexes.
I — Lower Plunge / Tailwater (Foreground)
Who fishes it: The near foreground pool below the jacuzzi, where fish that wash downstream collect. A mixed cast works it — subadults, adult females, and mid-ranking males — especially when the falls proper is crowded. The bear shown has a caught salmon. This is also a spot where mothers and cubs can easily scrounge dead salmon remains without competition from larger bears.
Technique: Snorkeling and sit-and-wait in the pool, dash-and-grab in the adjacent shallows, and pirating of fish dropped from above.
J — The Riffles (Downstream)
Who fishes it: The shallow, braided water below the falls, watched from the separate Riffles Platform. This is the minor leagues: subadults, sows with cubs, and less dominant males that cannot compete for a spot at the falls. Because the riffles lack the topographic pinch points of the falls, salmon have many escape routes and the fishing is genuinely harder.
Technique: The dash-and-grab (chasing fish through the shallows and pinning them) and snorkeling. It burns a lot of energy for a low early-season success rate, though a few exceptionally skilled bears — Grazer among them — excel here by running salmon down.
Fishing Techniques at a Glance
Stand-and-wait (stationary wait). Stand at the lip and catch airborne salmon in the jaws as they leap. The signature falls-crest method; favored by dominant bears.
Sit-and-wait. Sit in the jacuzzi or a pool and pin passing fish to the bottom or against the body. Low energy, high yield — the reason prime pools are so contested.
Snorkeling. Submerge the eyes and muzzle to spot fish by sight, keeping the ears above water to listen for approaching rivals; grab by sight and feel. The workhorse method in the slower pools and downstream.
Diving. Fully submerge to pursue a fish. Less common; most bears prefer to snorkel.
Dash-and-grab (the chase). Chase fish through shallow water and pin them with the paws. Energetic and best early in the run when fish are plentiful; typical of younger bears and the riffles.
Pirating (stealing / kleptoparasitism). Steal caught fish from other bears — common early in the season when bears are famished. Smaller bears often run their catch into the forest to keep it away from larger ones.
Rank, Sex, and Why Position Predicts the Bear
The pattern across A–J is consistent: the crest (B, C, D, F) and the plunge pool (A, E) are the domain of large, dominant adult males, who use size and disposition to hold the spots where fish are most reliable. The far pool and calmer water (G, H) suit adult females and patient older males; the tailwater and riffles (I, J) are where subadults and sows with cubs make their living. Rank matters most when salmon are scarce — in a glut, subordinate bears can feed nearly as well, which is why you will sometimes see a young or lower-ranking bear holding a good spot when the giants have wandered off. Skilled females such as Grazer, 402, and 410, and fast-growing subadults like 503, regularly punch above the spot their rank would predict.
Expert sources (naturalists, rangers, NPS)
National Park Service, Katmai — "Being Dominant," Michael Fitz (2014); "Old Bears and New Tricks," David Kopshever (2016); Brooks Falls Platform and North & South Platforms place pages; and the Bears of Brooks River identification guide.
Mike Fitz (former Katmai ranger; explore.org resident naturalist) — "Bear 856: On Top Again" (explore.org / Medium) and the Wandering at Large blog at fitznaturalist.com, which describe the jacuzzi, lip, far pool, and individual bears’ spot preferences.
Natural Habitat Adventures — "Fat Is Good at Brooks Falls," an interview with Mike Fitz cataloguing the sit-and-wait, dash-and-grab, snorkeling, diving, and pirating techniques.
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