April fishing plans?

When I talked with Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) fisheries biologist, Samantha Oslund, on Tuesday this week, she came across loud and clear that it is time for anglers to stay off the ice. I agree. Ice conditions are changing rapidly with the warmer than usual temperatures we have been experiencing in the last week, and especially on the Palmer-Wasilla core area lakes.

I also talked with my friend Ben Allen who lives in the Willow area on Tuesday, and he mentioned the Susitna River was still locked in ice and there was snow on the ground in the Willow area. So it may be a couple weeks before stream conditions are conducive for fishing flowing water locations from Willow Creek north along the Parks Highway.

I’m sure many Mat-Su anglers have observed people fishing off the small bridge between Bradley and Kepler Lake along the Glenn Highway west of Palmer in the past week. There is a small section of shallow open water at that location where people catch some early season fish every spring, however, the open water area at this time is only a few feet deep and very small. It is an option (but very limited one ) for those who would like to fish in the next week or two. Once the open water expands significantly this is one of the first Mat-Su Valley locations stocked with catchable rainbow trout by ADF&G each year.

Some anglers may try Palmer Wasilla area streams, but many of them close to protect spawning populations of rainbow trout around mid-April. If you want to try the flowing water option be sure to read both area fishing regulations, while also looking for specific regulations that may cover the flowing water you intend to fish.

A.J. Hoffman with 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle told me that anglers were still fishing and catching some rainbow trout in the Kenai River below Skilak Lake, so that could still be a good option, but once again I would suggest becoming familiar with the regulation on the specific area of the Kenai River you intend to fish, before going.

I cast lures/test rods in open water at Eklutna Tailrace this time of year. If the lower parking area near the Knik River is gated, there is another parking area across the Glenn highway from the Eklutna Power Plant. I have not been to this location yet this year, but may go before long simply to cast and swing lures with some new fishing rods I have built over the winter. The tailrace is open to fishing year round and 24 hours per day — just don’t expect many fish at the location this time of year.

Let’s admit that good April fishing options can be quite limited in the Mat-Su Valley, and especially in the Palmer-Wasilla core area.

Little Susitna River Weir/Sonar 2025

Samantha Oslund told me that ADF&G intends to use a sonar counter to track the upstream return of king salmon at Little Susitna River this year.

The weir project will be moved upstream several miles for counting other salmon species later in the summer, but not used for assessing the Little Susitna River king salmon return during the 2025 season. The department also intends to count Little Susitna River king salmon escapement from the air, and already has an established aerial count goal that can be used to assess the king salmon spawning escapement.

Since the Department has not used sonar on the Little Susitna for king salmon enumeration previously, and is not familiar with what the data may indicate from both a new method of enumerating the king salmon return / and a new counting location very close to the Little Susitna River Public Use Facility that data will NOT be shared publicly (like weir counts are currently shared from several counting locations around the state) at least until the department may have a better understanding of how the sonar is working.

Good Luck and Fish On!