King salmon management in the Valley

With the emergency order issued to close king salmon fishing on the Little Susitna River starting today, all road accessible sport king salmon fisheries targeting wild king salmon are now closed to harvest.

The Little Susitna River king salmon fishery is now also closed to catch and release king salmon fishing as well, but remains open to fishing for other species. Even before the Little Susinta River emergency closure the 2014 Mat-Su Valley fisheries had been operating under emergency regulations designed to restrict the harvest of wild king salmon on Little Susitna River and non road tributaries of the Susitna River system.

With a weir-counted king salmon escapement of only 63 king salmon through June 18 on Little Susitna River there is little doubt it was time for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) to take action in order to have a reasonable chance of attaining the post-season aerial count goal range of 900-1800 spawning king salmon. Since the aerial count is less efficient than the weir count, considerably more than 900 fish will need to swim past the weir in order to attain even the minimum of the goal range. Using normal run timing more than 225 king salmon should have already passed the weir.

Good Sport Harvest, Low water, catch and Release Issues

The 2014 sport king salmon harvests (only previously allowed on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays) from Little Susitna River had been good, however, possibly because of low water conditions on the river the king salmon seemed to be holding more in the lower river and not migrating out of the area where most of the sport effort occurs. Such a trend would likely make king salmon more vulnerable to sport harvest. In addition to 2014 Little Susitna River king salmon sport harvests, catch and release king salmon fishing had also previously been allowed for the remaining four days of the week. No one has ever studied how much catch and release fishing could possibly retard Little Susitna River king salmon migration during a low water year.

In 2013 Little Susitna River king salmon escapement timing through the weir was also much later than normal with only 71 king salmon counted past the weir through June 18. The water was much higher than normal, and there was some concern that king salmon may be passing the weir during periods of higher water flows undetected.

With no such periods of high water submerging the weir in 2014, ADF&G staff is more confident king salmon passage through the weir has been accurately counted.

ADF&G’s weekly fishing report for June 18 -24 indicates the Little Susinta River king salmon fishery will remain closed for the remainder of the season or until weir counts indicate the escapement goal will be achieved. A logical question anglers may have is how many king salmon must pass or be projected to pass the weir before the fishery could be re-opened? Remember, there is a discrepancy between the weir count and the aerial goal measurement.

Mat-Su King Salmon Bright Spots

Deshka River and Eklutna Tailrace remain bright spots for anglers seeking to harvest king salmon. Bait and multiple hooks are both allowed at these fisheries and the Deshak River king salmon escapement goal minimum of 13,000 fish has already been counted past the Deshka River weir.

In addition, all tributary streams of the remote Yentna River drainage (except Talachulitna River) remain open to king salmon harvest on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday basis. Israel Payton told me that king salmon fishing had been better at Lake Creek this season in comparison to 2013. Rhett Nealis with Phantom Tri River Charters in Talkeetna told me they had been catching king salmon in the Talkeetna River drainage for a week now.

Most of the fish at this location are early season bright fish in the 5 to 20-pound class, but a few large male salmon are also available. Clearing water conditions should once again allow king salmon catches in the Talkeetna River itself. On the Talkeetna River drainage king salmon fishing is strictly on a catch and release basis for 7 days per week during 2014.

For those who love king salmon this week is a peak week at many Mat-Su Valley fishing locations. See you on the water.

Andy Couch owns and operates Fishtale River Guides www.fish4salmon.com and is a member of the Matanuska - Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission.