Silvers golden, but kings in check

WASILLA — Anglers can expect more silvers than kings this summer when they head out to the Valley rivers.

Dave Rutz, area management biologist for Fish and Game, said the coho run should be strong, but the chinook returns are expected to be below-average.

Rutz, whose area includes North and West Cook Inlet sport fisheries, made his predictions to the first meeting of the Mat-Su Anglers Fishing Club on Thursday night.

Salmon populations are cyclical, Rutz said, and it’s the job of Fish and Game to keep the troughs from getting too low and the peaks from getting to high. Silvers are closer to a peak, and kings are in a trough, he said.

Last year, the number of silvers returning to the Susitna River Drainage was below average, Rutz said, but they returned to the Knik Arm in droves. The forecast for this year is much the same.

King salmon returns through out the Kink Arm and the Susitna drainage are expected to be below average. As such, fishing for kings on the Deshka River will most likely be restricted again this year, Rutz said.

Expect an announcement early next week of restrictions on the Deshka, Rutz said. It likely will only be open for sportfishing harvest three days a week — Saturday, Sunday and Monday — Rutz said. The other four days will be catch and release only, and fishing with bait will likely be prohibited.

“At least we can still fish!” shouted one angler over the angry mumblings of the audience.

“We have a weir at River Mile 7,” Rutz said. “The restriction could be lifted by June 12 if the count exceeds expectations.”

Last year’s restriction and the potential restriction this year are to avoid necessitating the complete shutdown the Deshka saw in 1994 and 1995, Rutz said.

The king fishery in Cook Inlet is still feeling the effects of the 2006 flooding, and the Bering Sea pollock fishery has had no restrictions on incidental king salmon catches for the last three years, Rutz said.

Prior to three years ago, the Bering Sea pollock fishery was limited to 45,000 incidental king salmon per season. If they went over that, fishing was shut down. Once the limit was lifted, the incidental catch has jumped to 90,000 to 120,000 king salmon per year, Rutz said.

“The Bering Sea obviously serves a huge number of fisheries,” Rutz said, “but if even a few hundred of those were headed to Cook Inlet, that makes a huge difference.”

Earlier this year, a 60,000-fish cap was put back on Bering Sea incidental catch of king salmon, Rutz said. It’s higher than he would have liked, but it is better than nothing, he said.

Commercial fishing specifically for king salmon will only be open four days this summer, Rutz said. It will begin on the last Monday of May and continue on the next three Mondays of June.

For anglers concerned the commercial operations are getting too much time on the water, the best thing to do is contact the Commercial Board of Fisheries in Soldotna, Rutz said.

“Last year, they heard a lot of voices,” Rutz said, “and they did restrict one (commercial) day.”

“Call the commercial board, and tell them you agree with the sport fishing restrictions for conservation purposes,” said Steve Runyan, manager of 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle. “But tell them you feel the commercial fisheries should share in the conservation efforts.”

Rutz reminded anglers the three years after the shutdown on the Deshka had phenomenal returns. With the restrictions last year and this year, the numbers should return to the levels of the late ‘90s, he said.