King salmon opportunities move upstream

As the last weekend in June approaches many of the better king salmon catching opportunities has moved further up in the Susitna River drainage, however, high and muddy water could reduce catch rates over the weekend. On Wednesday afternoon I talked with Margo Nealis of Phantom Tri River Charters in Talkeetna (733-2400), and she reported that their guided charters had been doing quite well for catch and release king salmon fishing in the main stem Talkeetna River. She said that Wednesday afternoon were the last charters they expected to have such good visibility in the Talkeetna River for a while as Wednesday rains were already raising and clouding the water. Margo said there was a flood warning issued for rivers in the Talkeetna Area — and when I looked a the NOAA website Susitna River gauge it was showing a predicted rise in water level of nearly three feet through Friday.

Such a rise in water level on the Susitna River should make for difficult fishing conditions in some locations, but could produce good king salmon fishing locations in specific areas where water clarity remains good. I know some Parks Highway tributaries to the Susitna River that will likely have high muddy water and other tributaries that I would expect to provide good fishing this coming weekend. Rather than direct everyone to the same specific spots I will let any interested anglers do their own prospecting to find the better locations. One thing is for certain, the main runs of Susitna River king salmon are now further up in the river drainage.

Deshka River king salmon

I’ve been guiding king salmon trips on the Deshka River and plan to continue at that location, perhaps for the remainder of the king salmon season (through July 13). The number of king salmon available for harvest at the Deshka, however, has been declining ever since the peak weir count back on June 10. The most recent Alaska Department of Fish and Game count was 92 king salmon passing the weir on June 24 compared to the peak count of 2,279 king salmon on June 10. Fishing pressure is dropping off at the Deshka River and especially near the river’s confluence with the Susitna River. The past few days there have been seals cruising around the confluence area — perhaps moving up the Susitna River drainage hoping to catch up with the migrating salmon. Even with number of fish dropping, the Deshka River still provides the opportunity to harvest wild king salmon on a seven-day per week basis through July 13, and the use of bait and multiple hooks is now allowed through August 30.

Little Susitna River king salmon

The Little Susitna River remains closed to all king salmon fishing (including catch & release fishing), however king salmon counts through ADF&G’s Little Susitna River weir have topped 100 king salmon per day for each of the five days from June 20 -24. The good news is that king salmon passage has responded positively to the sport fishing closure with a season total of 1,377 king salmon now upstream of the Little Susitna River weir. I have not received a specific figure of king salmon passing the weir at which ADF&G would reopen this sport king salmon fishery, however, a ballpark figure of somewhere greater than 2,000 king salmon seems likely. It is questionable that such king salmon passage would occur at Little Susitna River weir before the weekend of June 28-29, however, the same rain and high water predicted for the Susitna River drainage is already raising water levels on Little Susitna River as of June 25, and could possibly trigger king salmon passage of another 600 kings before the weekend. Check with the Palmer ADF&G office for updates.

Eklutna Tailrace Youth Fishery

I talked with Jehnifer and Butch Ehmann who submitted the Board of Fisheries proposals two youth day fisheries. The King Salmon Youth Day fishery occurred last Saturday at a portion of the Tailrace with the remainder of the area open to all anglers. Jehnifer said she figured they had between 120 and 150 youth participants throughout the day — at some point they simply did not keep up with the youth angler count. Sam Ivey and Ben Mulligan with ADF&G showed up and helped along with Rep. Bill Stoltze. Kevin Weeks (Cabela’s Anchorage Store Manager) showed up with some loaner fishing rods, bait, and tackle. Three Alaska State Troopers participated and helped kids with their fishing and answered regulation questions. Jehnifer and Butch Ehmann both described the event as very successful with some kids getting an opportunity to fish for the very first time. Some of the participants learned to cast and tie knots during the trip — and even though it was a wet and windy day it was close enough to the parking lot where kids could warm up in a vehicle and come back to fish a bit later. A total of four king salmon were harvested by the youth anglers, but the main thing was it provided an opportunity to introduce kids to fishing.

Youth anglers and adults both left talking about the opportunity to participate in the Youth Day SIlver Salmon Fishery Day Scheduled for the third Saturday in August at Eklutna Tailrace. A big thank you for all who helped make these Youth Fishery Days possible and gave of their time to participate.

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