Director of commercial fisheries assures management according to plan

Last week I reported that Alaska Department of Fish and Game Management jeopardized coho salmon escapement goals and sport harvest opportunities in Northern Cook Inlet. Intent language within the Central District Drift Gillet Fishery Management Plan requires the department to ensure adequate escapement of salmon into Northern District Drainages, and to minimize the commercial harvest of Northern District coho salmon in order to provide a reasonable harvest opportunity for sport and guided sport fishermen over the entire run.

On Aug. 2 I received an emailed letter from Scott Kelly, ADF&G Director of Commercial Fisheries stating that the department was managing according to the plan, and assuring me that the Deshka River and Little Susitna River coho salmon escapement goals would be met. Later that same day, the department provided another commercial drift fishery open for the entire Central District to occur on August 3.

The Aug. 3 commercial drift harvest exceeded 49,000 coho salmon and the following day (Aug. 4) the department issued an emergency order closing the Little Susitna River to bait fishing because of inadequate escapement of coho salmon.

Alaskans and visitors alike make travel and vacation plans months in advance for the opportunity to use bait while attempting to catch a daily limit of just two coho salmon per person on the Little Susitna River. This is a time when young kids and handicapped anglers should have a reasonable opportunity to harvest one or two coho salmon. By standard regulation the Little Susitna River coho salmon fishery is restricted to artificial lures only for approximately half of the time coho salmon run— but those same standard regulations schedule the sport bait fishery to open on Aug. 6.

Something is wrong when there are so few remaining coho salmon that a Little Susitna River sport angler is not even allowed to put a single salmon egg on a hook.

The Fish Creek youth fishery targets coho salmon and occurs each year for two days during the first weekend in August. Something is wrong when less than 100 coho salmon have passed the department’s Fish Creek weir leading up to the youth fishery.

Something is wrong when less than 100 coho salmon have passed the Jim Creek weir, and the sport fishery is best described as dismal.

Little Susitna River, Fish Creek, and McRoberts Creek (a Jim Creek tributary) are three of only four ADF&G coho salmon escapement goals for all of Northern Cook Inlet.

Coho escapements appear better at Deshka River, where 7,000 coho have already passed the Department’s weir. Most of those fish migrated past the weir in a three-day period of higher stream flows, and instream numbers of coho salmon below the weir have seemed to drop off since then, still Deshka River point has been providing one of the better Mat-Su Valley coho salmon harvest opportunities to those who own or have access to a boat or airplane.

Along the Parks Highway tributary streams of the Susitna River “peak” coho salmon sport catches will likely occur during the next couple weeks. Marilynn Rouswell at Susitna Landing mentioned that boat anglers were starting to make more consistent coho catches at that location despite muddy water conditions. Bait fishing is providing nearly all of the action at Susitna Landing, while flies and lures also produce well in some of the clearer Susitna River tributary streams.

This Saturday and Sunday will mark the opening of salmon fishing for people of all ages at Fish Creek off of Knik-Goose Bay Road. As mentioned earlier in this column, coho salmon escapement numbers have been low, but fishing in the time period around the high tides should provide the greatest opportunity for success at this location. Note: only a small portion of the stream is open to salmon fishing.

Good luck and fish on!

Andy Couch is a member of the Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee and Matanuska Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission. The views presented in this column are his own, and not those of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman or its parent company, Wick Communications.