First Mat-Su king salmon caught

On Tuesday May 17 Ryan Judd caught the first ocean-run king salmon I heard of this season while back trolling a Mag Lip Flatfish near the Deshka River / Susitna River confluence. Ryan was fishing with Miller’s Riverboat Service owner, Ben Allen, and the pair of them had been out check running boats and fishing several times already before this fish was caught. There is a picture of Ryan with his king salmon on the Miller’s Riverboat Service Facebook page. By emergency regulation king salmon may not be removed from the water and must be released on the Susitna River drainage and Little Susitna River. Proper fish care and adherence to this regulation can make getting a good fish picture difficult — and according to Ben the photo he took did not do they fish justice, which he estimated to weigh 25 pounds. Water is still high with a strong current at Deshka River, but should likely be lower and slower before the coming weekend.

Little Susitna River

I enjoyed the opportunity to fish for king salmon on Little Susitna River in Pete Imhoff’s boat on Tuesday of this week. We started relatively late in the morning after temperatures along the river had warmed up for the day. The water was beautiful with a solid hint of color, but very good visibility. We fished lots of holes along the river, and saw some small fish (likely salmon smolts) surfacing, but we did not see any large ocean-run salmon and we did not get any bites. Leaves were emerging, so tress along the river were starting to green up. We saw several moose (including some recently born calves), quite a few ducks, some trumpeter swans, and a single coyote along the bank. Pete commented that it was the first coyote he had seen along the Little Susitna River. We only saw two other boats during the several hours we were on the river. To both Pete and myself, conditions looked very good for finding an early season king salmon in the Little Susitna River, and even though we did not hook or catch any king salmon, the trip met our expectations. Although each of us has caught our share of Little Susitna River king salmon during the month of May we have learned that it often takes plenty of fishing to draw a few bites — and especially when fishing before May 20.

Eklutna Tailrace and Ship Creek

Hatchery enhanced king salmon may be harvested at the Eklutna Tailrace / Knik River side-channel fishery along the Old Glenn Highway and at Ship Creek in Anchorage. Often times the first king salmon of the season harvested at Ship Creek occurs raround the same time the first king salmon is caught at Deshka River or Little Susitna River. Some Mat-Su anglers try their luck for Ship Creek king salmon every year, and The Bait Shack located along lower Ship Creek where this fishery occurs is providing a tackle package prize for the first angler weighing/ checking in a Ship Creek king salmon this year. A glance a The Bait Shack Facebook page on Tuesday showed the prize was still available, however, I would expect some lucky angler will likely catch a Ship Creek king salmon and claim the tackle package before the May 21 / 22 weekend. It can be a week or more later before the first king salmon is reported caught from the Knik River / Eklutna Tailrace fishery. Bait and multiple hooks are allowed in these two fisheries, and cured salmon roe, shrimp, and herring are some of the top natural baits for catching these hatchery enhanced fish.

Rainbow Trout and Dolly Varden along the Parks Highway

AJ with 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla (907) 373-5434 told me fishing had picked up significantly at the tributary stream confluence areas with the Susitna River north along the Parks Highway since last weekend. On Tuesday a staff member at Susitna Landing (907) 495-7700 told me river conditions had improved with only an occasional ice chunk floating past out in the Susitna River. He also mentioned that most people fishing out of the landing had been catching rainbow trout and / or Dolly Varden recently.

Susitna River Hooligan

While I have not talked with anyone who has been harvesting hooligan along the lower Susitna River this year, I would expect schools of the small oily fish to stat showing up near the Deshka River /Susitna River confluence sometime between May 20 — 25, if not earlier.

Mat-Su Stocked Lakes

On Tuesday ten Mat-Su Valley lakes had already been stocked with catchable — sized fish since May 1. By the time this column publishes on Friday May 20, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game will likely have stocked more Mat-Su locations. Stocked fisheries usually provide anglers with an opportunity to harvest larger daily bag limits compared to fisheries targeting wild fish stocks.

Good Luck this weekend and Fish On.