ANGLER’S CORNER: The Susitna River Ice Classic: A Mat-Su fishing tradition

Many Alaskans are familiar with the Nenana Ice Classic, an Alaskan fundraiser, where participants predict the annual ice out event on the Nenana River in central Alaska. Another less known, but more important event to many Mat-Su anglers is ice out on the Susitna River drainage. As unusually beautiful and warm April weather turns anglers thoughts to open water fishing the Susitna River drainage will provide some of the earliest flowing water fishing opportunities in the Mat-Su Valley. Since an earlier ice out date provides more annual days of open water fishing opportunity many anglers and Mat-Su fishing related businesses hope for the earliest ice out date each spring. Ice out on the lower portions of the Susitna drainage often occurs during the last week of April or first week of May.

In a conversation on Wednesday. April 19, Mike Hudson, owner of 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla, predicted Susitna River ice out date in approximately 10 days. That would be around April 29. Mike spent the previous weekend up at his Clear Creek cabin near Talkeetna, and reported while driving back from his cabin that Montana Creek and Little Willow Creek were already ice free as far as he could see from the Parks Highway. He also mentioned that fishing in these and other Susitna River tributary streams would likely not be much good until the ice had gone out on the Susitna. (907) 373-5434.

Rhett Nealis, owner of Phantom Tri River Charters in Talkeetna figures people may be able to launch boats at the Talkeetna River boat launch sometime around mid-May. If breakup follows a normal timeframe he plans to be running fishing charters at that time. The Talkeetna River and Clear Creek tributary are frequently one of the earliest trout and Dolly Varden stream fisheries that produces good numbers of catchable fish in the Susitna drainage. Rhett and his wife Margo will be working an outdoor show in Fairbanks this weekend, but after the show you can talk with them about Talkeetna area river and fishing conditions at (907) 733-2400.

Joe and Marilynn Rouswell, operators of Susitna Landing, report people have been driving to the campground and boat launch for several days now to check on water and ice conditions. So far there are small patches of open water, but not enough that anyone has attempted to fish at this location yet this spring. Joe mentioned that there is still snow covering most of the campground, but a few people have already been out camping with RVs and other campers have told him they will be traveling out the April 22-23 weekend.

At this point there are limited campsites available, but that will change soon as the spring melt progresses. Joe and Marilynn also have a weather cam available at Susitna Landing — providing people an opportunity to see what weather and water conditions are like without driving all the way to the landing. Visit the Susitna Landing website and view the latest weather cam results at http:// www.susitnalanding.net You may also call Susitna Landing at (907) 495-7700.

Deshka Landing is the most used boat launch on the Susitna River drainage and also provides a weather cam where people can view river conditions without traveling all the way to Willow. Earlier this week the most recent images from the Deshka Landing web cam were from April 7, but I would expect this to be updated before long. Visit http://www.deshkalanding.com/weather-cam/ or call (907) 495- 3374.

Although March temperatures were colder than normal in many portions of the Mat -Su Valley, warmer April temperatures likely have more than made up for it. Starting Friday, March 21, online weather reports have been calling for a solid week of temperatures staying above the freezing point for 24 hours per day all the way north to Talkeetna. If those weather predictions come true I figure Mike Hudson is likely correct and ice should be off the Susitna River drainage by April 29 -- if not earlier.

Mat-Su lake fishing

Small areas of open water are starting to appear around the shore, inlet, or outlet areas of some ice-covered Mat-Su lakes. On Wednesday evening I saw people fishing off the bridge between Kepler and Bradley Lake, and Mike Hudson told me he had already seen some pictures of rainbow trout that were caught a this small open water location. At present there is only a very limited amount of open water at this location — so little that a person could not make much of a cast at without it falling on the ice. During a previous conversation Mike also mentioned that people had been catching some rainbow trout in the open water near the inlet to Wasilla Lake.

NOTE: Most of the flowing waters in the Mat-Su Core area all the way up to Willow Creek are currently closed to protect spawning rainbow trout, so be sure to keep your fishing in the non flowing water areas or know the regulations for the flowing waters you are fishing.

Fishing regulations and licenses

Remember to obtain and bring your fishing license, especially on the first few trips of the year, as it is easy to get out to the habit of carrying a current fishing license — especially if a person has not been fishing all winter. New this year — Alaska resident youth will not need to obtain an Alaska fishing license if under the age of 18 years and nonresident youth will still be required to purchase a fishing license starting at the age of 16 years. In a Wednesday phone conversation with Tracy at the Alaska Department of FIsh and Game office in Palmer (907) 746-6300 I learned the Department did not yet have the 2017 fishing regulation booklets, but expects them sometime in mid-April.

They should be available any day — possibly even before this article is published.

Ice fishing

Some people are still venturing out onto Mat-Su lakes to catch fish through the ice. My words of advice — proceed with caution and at your own risk! If you go check the ice conditions before going too far out on the lake — this would include drilling or cutting through the ice in a shallow area near shore. Ice thickness may still seem adequate — but another issue is ice condition. As snow and ice melt the resulting moisture seeps through the ice changing the ice structure into a series of slightly connected long needles. Cutting through such ice is extremely quick and easy and an indication that it may be wiser to get back on shore and come back after they ice has melted. If ice you are standing on starts to sag get off as quickly as possible — sagging ice is an indication that the needle-like structure is about to separate. Avoid walking on extremely dark-colored ice.

I decided long ago that a few fish are not worth the risk of falling through questionable spring time ice.

Andy Couch is a member of the Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee, Mat-Su Fish and Wildlife Commission, and owner of Fishtale River Guides.