Caribou hunting and sport fishing news

The “good” news just keeps on coming. If you were thinking of hunting the Fortymile caribou hunt (RC860), your hunting area options are now half as big as they were a few days ago. Because of the reduced number of caribou available for harvest, a reduced quota was established for this year’s entire hunt.

The quotas for zones 1 and 4 have already been reached and Fish and Game has closed those two areas. They will not be reopened. Zones 2 and 3 are still open to hunting. According to the web post I saw, caribou are widely scattered through Zones 1, 2, and 4. Zones 1 and 4 have highway access, which is why their quotas have already been met. Zones 2 and 3 are harder to access. If you’re planning a trip out to try for a caribou, call the Fortymile Caribou Herd Hotline at 907-267-2310 to check for updates and possible zone closures if quotas are met.

I expect these next few items will be covered in Andy Couch’s column, so I won’t do much more than mention them, so you are aware of the situation.

The ADF&G sport fish managers have closed the Deshka River to the retention of coho salmon and are maintaining the reduced coho salmon bag limit of one fish in all other waters of the Susitna River drainage. This emergency order is effective from August 17 through September 30.

The sport fish managers have also reduced the bag and possession limit for coho salmon, sixteen inches or greater in length, from two to one fish per day and in possession in the waters of the Little Susitna River from its mouth upstream to the Parks Highway bridge. The one fish coho salmon bag limit is in combination with the current limits for pink, chum, and sockeye salmon, which is three salmon, other than king salmon, per day and in possession. This restriction goes into effect August 17 and continues through December 31.

If you’re thinking of heading out of the Valley for your coho fishing, know that Kenai River anglers are advised that, to continue protection of late-run king salmon, the ADF&G managers there are extending the prohibition of bait and multiple hooks in the Kenai River from its mouth upstream to the ADF&G marker at the outlet of Skilak Lake through August 31. Anglers may use only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure in these waters. “Single hook” means a fishhook with only one point.

There is one piece of encouraging news in all this if you don’t mind combat fishing with snagging hooks after a long drive down the Kenai Peninsula to Homer. ADF&G is liberalizing existing sport fishing regulations at the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon and adjacent waters excluding the Homer Boat Harbor by opening this area to snagging beginning August 16 through December 31. The areas open to snagging include the Lagoon and the waters from the Homer city dock (near the entrance to the Homer Boat Harbor) northwest along the east side of the Homer Spit to an ADF&G marker located approximately two hundred yards northwest of the entrance to the Lagoon, and three hundred feet from the shore. The waters open to snagging do not include the Homer Boat Harbor. The Homer Barge Basin, approximately 0.5 miles northwest of the Lagoon is closed to all sport fishing by regulation. All other regulations remain in effect.

If you have questions about any of these announcements, call the respective Fish and Game office for clarification. The caribou number is already listed. Call the Palmer office for information about the Susitna and Little Susitna River restrictions. The Soldotna office should be able to answer questions about the Kenai and the Homer ADF&G office can answer questions about the snagging opening on the Homer Spit. The phone numbers are all listed in the Southcentral Sport Fishing regulations booklet.

So far, my whole summer has been a bust concerning outdoor recreation. Oh, I’m sure I could have gotten out a few times if I was desperate, but things just never seemed to come together. Of course, not having my boat and small motorhome available because of the wait for insurance clearance and repairs didn’t make things any easier.

I don’t know if I’ll make it down on the Kenai Peninsula for any surf fishing, although I hear the fishing can still be acceptable through September. I still need to go shooting to get rifles sighted in for moose and small game. Let’s hope!