UT, there is lots to do around that time. The Silvers will be running heavily in Ship Creek, just down the hill from downtown Anchorage. You can wear most anything to fish in at ship creek, but the mud is horrible in spots, especially near the mouth. Many folks have gotten stuck and left hip waders stuck in the mud. Locals will laugh when they see someone walking out minus one or both boots
. I prefer chest waders myself. The Silver Salmon Derby is in mid August in Seward, AK, about a 3-hour drive south (you can win good prize money for the largest Salmon caught), plus the limit is 6 Silvers when fishing the bays out of Seward. If this interests you, contact charters now to see if anything is open and try to reserve your rooms. There are a lot of folks who fish this derby. An added plus is the drive south towards Seward is amongst the most beautiful drives in the U.S./world. You can see Moose, Sheep, Whales (if you're lucky) and Bears (again if you're lucky near the road). Make sure you bring your binos. The Kenai has some great Trout fishing (BIG) on the upper river and Silvers throughout. The Haul road, north of Fairbanks, is open to bow hunting for Caribou 400 yds off the road and to rifle hunting 5 miles off the road. Here is an inforamtion link to check out:
http://fairbanks-alaska.com/dalton-highway.htm Check with the rental car companies as there may be some restrictions on where you can take their vehicles in Alaska. There is good black bear hunting within 2 hours of Anchorage, south on the Seward highway. It is a bit early for great hides, but...You can fish for Silvers, Trout, and Grayling north of Anchorage on the Parks highway. The State Fair is in August, 45 miles west of Anchorage in the Palmer/Wasilla area. See some of the largest vegetables in the world there. There are many good flyouts to see the surrounding area, Bears, and do some Silver/other fishing as well. Go North, up the Parks highway to Denali Park and see the colors, the animals, and more animals, Moose, Sheep, Caribou, Wolf, and others.
August is the transition month for some folks as the focus changes from fishing to hunting. Residents and guided non-residents start sheep hunting around the 10th of August. Lots of hiking trails off the roads to get out and see the country. Try taking an ATV tour of some of the surrounding areas or try a sled dog ride out of Seward or north along the Parks highway.
For a B&B, try the Lynx Crossing B&B in Anchorage. Tracey Harmon owns it and is a great guy. $75/night if I recall correctly. Here is the web site:
http://www.lynxcrossing.com/
He also works at Alaska Raft & Kayak and give you more things to do if this isn't enough.
If you are interested in bow hunting/rifle hunting the Haul Road, check out the Alaska Hunting Forum @
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/forumdisplay.php?f=22 There is so much information in the archives on this hunt, plus you can ask the local folks questions as well.
I hope I've primed you a bit so that you are ready to take your trip. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Take care,
Dave