Casting call

WILLOW CREEK — Ken Prouty’s been fishing for king salmon for 10 years and has yet to land one.

“I’ve never even had a fish on,” the father of two said Sunday as he cast into the Big Susitna River from the comfort of a camping chair plopped down into the icy waters next to a spare bottle of Bud. “But it’s fun and relaxing. I love fishing.”

A few yards upriver at the Willow Creek Recreational Area at about Mile 72 of the Parks Highway, about two dozen folks from Palmer, Wasilla, Eagle River and even Arizona braved combat conditions along the bank, many of them also getting skunked at the noon hour and recalling better days when salmon runs were more plentiful.

“This joint was jumpin’ at about 6 this morning,” said Joe Marquis Sr. of Wasilla as he and his family took a break on the sandy hill overlooking the action. “But it’s nothing like it was back in the day when you had to hike through the woods to get here and could fish all night.”

His 27-year-old son, Joe Marquis Jr., reminisced on those midnight fishing parties and didn’t hold back on his feelings about commercial pollock fleets ruining salmon runs with by-catch totals topping 70,000 kings in one day.

“It’s not as fun as it used to be when you could come out at midnight. That was so much more fun than this,” Joe Jr., a timber cutter, said as he readied his father’s line for another shot after releasing two kings earlier that morning. “I guess the couple of fish we’re taking are having too much of an impact on the fishing stocks. I doubt I’ll even get my five kings now because the season ends next weekend. I bet this whole area will only net about a thousand this season.”

About a half hour later, his father hooked a 50-pounder perfectly in the mouth and, like the others, let it go — to the chagrin of those who’d been out there for hours with nary a nibble.

“Some people get mad at ya because you let ‘em go,” Joe Sr. said with a grin. “They figure you should get out if you’re not serious.”

Farther upriver, Arizona transplant Tim Gardner and his 7-year-old son Cody fished around in the tackle box for just the right lure as he discovered two other fishermen hailed from his home state as well.

One of them was even in the same line of work dealing with power plants and generators.

“You never know who you’ll meet down here,” Gardner, of Palmer, said. “I’m sure these guys would agree that it’s much easier catching fish here than in Arizona. Plus, the prize is a lot bigger here — three or four times.”

He said Saturday was a bit busier at their spot, with several people getting hooked by those standing elbow-to-elbow next to them.

“A lot of people got hit yesterday, just not paying attention. They’d get hit in the head and one lady got caught in her hair,” he laughed. “My buddy had to go get stitches. He got his fish and was walking up on the bank and when he did, the knife in his hand slid down and it went all the way to the bone. It wasn’t pretty.”

As two young boys played hide-and-seek in the wild rosebushes along the hill, one Palmer couple held their French bulldog Sophie as they watched their 11-year-old daughter Alex continue to cast for her first king.

Kellie Carlton, of Palmer, said they had been camping out for the weekend and thought there was going to be a fish fight Saturday.

“We had some pretty good action here yesterday,” she said. “A guy pulled up in a boat and just anchored there close to the shore. You should have seen everybody on the bank. The guys in the boat were just being rude, calling the people on the bank Valley trash and just making fun of everyone before they even started fishing. When they threw out their line and almost caught one, the state troopers were called.”

Carlton said she remembers how much more crowded the area was when they first started fishing there several years ago.

“There were three rows of people, shoulder to shoulder,” she said. “It was insane! It seems like every year it gets less and less. It’s kind of sad.”

Eagle River management consultant John Pagan was all smiles, however, when he pulled in his fourth king of the day after failing to land the first three.

Although it was only about 12 pounds, he wasn’t complaining —much.

“I’m keeping this one,” he said. “I’m tired. I’ve been fishing all day. I lost a big one earlier, so I’m a happy camper.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.