Impressions from the Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show

I spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday talking with folks about salmon fishing in the Mat-Su Valley. Most of the show attendees knew something about emergency regulations restricting or closing all Mat-Su king salmon fisheries (except Eklutna Tailrace / Knik River), but questions about our Mat-Su Valley king salmon fisheries dominated what people were asking about. Suffice it to say, fishing the Knik River for a chance to harvest a king salmon or Little Susitna River for a chance to catch and release a king salmon were not at the top of anyone’s list that I saw at the show. I did not make a single king salmon booking for either of those locations. I feel confident, from the discussions I had, that a number of anglers will at least drive over to the tailrace themselves and try for king salmon this coming June or July.

A few people talked about what king salmon fishing was once like in the Mat-Su Valley, which makes me feel somewhat like a dinosaur, as I remember those times well. As the years turn to decades since 24-hour-a-day fishing with bait was allowed in all of our king salmon fisheries, the numbers of king salmon and liberal regulations are not even a memory for many Alaskans these days. Fortunately there are still decent numbers of silver (coho) salmon available, and three groups who had fished with me last year came looking to make reservations with me at the show. They all picked prime dates during the second week of August, which should provide each group one of the best opportunities to harvest ocean-chrome coho of the entire summer. While I had booked several new groups at last year’s show — this year I only reserved space for the 3 returning groups. Last year I believe I may have been the only Mat-Su fishing guide business with a booth at the show, while this year there were at least 4 others. Perhaps the folks looking to book a Mat-Su fishing charter were simply split amongst the greater number of Mat-Su guides. I had a feeling, however, that inflation, and worries about our local economy may have had a significant impact. As alluded to earlier, king salmon restrictions / closures will undoubtedly curb Mat-Su fishing activity during the first half of our summer.

Howard Delo mentioned in his outdoor column that admission to the show was free from 10 a.m. until 12 noon Sunday, and one of the largest pushes of attendance occurred at that time. People and especially young families must have planned their attendance around the free admission. According to show organizer, Matt Rowley, Sunday had the best attendance of the 3-day show with 4,180 people. I heard multiple times that parking spaces were limited — enough that it may have reduced attendance— and Rowley followed up the show with an announcement that the Menard Sports Center would be creating more parking spaces before next year’s show. Several Kenai Peninsula fishing charters and Kenai River Sportfishing Association participated in the show, as did Hardwire Tackle and other businesses from Anchorage. I know a fair number of people drove out from Anchorage to attend, and if I paid more attention I would know more, but suffice it to say the economic impact from this show in Wasilla is significant. It is wonderful to have a venue like the Menard Sports Center in Wasilla.

I enjoyed working the show again this year, but my wife was questioning why I even bothered purchasing a booth and spending so much time for 3 boat reservations. Fortunately I was able to point out that my nephew and I also sold a couple spinning reels, a custom fishing rod, and enough Flashtrap Spinners to more than pay for the booth, thereby clearing more room in the house as well. I'm hopeful that explanation was good enough to convince my wife I should participate again. I’m already looking forward to talking with anglers at next year’s show.

Fish On!