King salmon fishing closures for sport, commercial and personal use

Since the last Mat-Su Anglers fishing column was written the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has issued:

Emergency Order 2-KS-2-32-22 closing the Deshka River to sport fishing for king salmon from June 20 — July 13. Sport fishing at Deshka River for other fish species remains restricted to single-hook artificial lures through July 13.

Emergency Order 2-KS-2-33-22 closing the Little Susitna River to all sport king salmon fishing (including catch and release) from June 20 — July13. In addition Little Susitna River sport fishing for other species will remain restricted to single-hook artificial lures through July 13.

Emergency Order 2S-03-22 closing one Northern District commercial fishing period in Upper Cook Inlet on July 20 from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Emergency Order 3-KS-I-11-22 prohibiting retention of king salmon in the sport fishery and restricting specific waters of the Upper Cooper River drainage to single hook artificial lures only from June 20 —August 10.

Emergency Order 3-RS-I-10-22 Increasing June 20 — 26 fishing hours allowed in the Chitina personal use dip net fishery, and closing the personal use fishery to retention of king salmon from June 20 — August 31.

To me a pattern of increasing emergency inseason fishery closures is one of the strongest indicators that more conservative fishery management is needed. Without more conservative management the state’s already depressed wild king salmon stocks only seem fated to a more rapid demise. Which bring up some interesting thoughts:

King salmon are Alaska’s largest salmon, but also the least abundant. A 97 pound 4 ounce king salmon caught by Les Anderson back in the 1980s from the Kenai River is still recognized as the official sport caught world record fish. King salmon are prized by enough Alaskan’s that they have been designated as our official state fish.

Starting in 2007 there was a dramatic statewide downturn in king salmon production. After spending millions of dollars on king salmon research ADF&G concluded that the downturn in king salmon production appears to primarily be occurring in the saltwater environment after young salmon migrate to sea and before they return to spawn in freshwater. Some scientists have started questioning whether the release of over 1 billion Alaska hatchery salmon per year (primarily pink salmon) may be overgrazing ocean resources and at least partially causing some of the dramatic declines in longer-lived salmon species (including king salmon).

There can be no doubt that harvests of hatchery-produced pink salmon have financially benefitted some local parts of Alaska, but is that really what most Alaskans would want, if those same hatchery pink salmon are causing declines in wild king, wild coho, and wild chum salmon stocks? Many of Alaska’s hatcheries were built or financed by the state to rebuild specific salmon stocks, once those stocks have been rebuilt to or beyond historical numbers, how long should “Enhancement” be allowed to continue? and specifically if there is a correlating drop in production of wild salmon stocks?

Weekend Fishing Opportunities

Talking with Wesley at 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla, he knew about 1 king salmon that was caught this past weekend on a flu rod at Little Willow Creek, and also mentioned that although the water was still a bit high it had cleared at Willow Creek and he was hearing reports of people catching some trout.

Further north along the Parks Highway, Eric Holm told me they had no boat launches from fishermen this past weekend, but one bank angler new to fly fishing put in lots of hours and caught a couple rainbow trout.

For those looking for a significant fishing catching opportunity for the weekend or coming week, the personal use dip net fishery at Chitina might be one of the best options as sockeye salmon numbers are currently at high level —- remember however, that any king salmon caught in the personal use fishery must be released. IT takes several hours to drive to Chitina, so be careful and safe both on the road and on the river, and wear a personal floatation device (PFD) while on the river.

Good luck and Fish On!

Andy Couch is a Mat-Su Valley fishing guide who primarily targets ocean-run salmon. With the king salmon closures now in effect he is anticipating several days without fishing trips. You can read fishing reports on his Fishtale River Guides website: https://www.fish4salmon.com