King season: There are more anglers seen than fish, but the salmon are out there

June 26, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - The old adage that bad weather makes for good fishing seems to be holding true for Mat-Su king salmon streams.

When air temperatures - and subsequently water temperatures - soared last weekend, fishing on area streams cooled significantly. But recent cool weather in the area again has the salmon feeling frisky.

Local area biologist Dave Rutz said Monday that the cooling trend made for red-hot fishing, at least on the Deshka River.

&#8220Today it was hotter than a pistol over there,” Rutz said.

Rutz said there's plenty of salmon to be had, with more than 1,000 kings entering the Deshka on Monday alone.

Other area hot spots include the Little Susitna River, although Rutz said the best catching on that stream may now be further up the river as salmon migrate toward their spawning beds.

&#8220Anywhere down from the Parks Highway should be good,” he said.

Another option for anglers lacking a boat is Willow Creek, which is now open on weekends. However, local experts say shore-based anglers on the Willow-area stream likely will find fishing the best early in the morning or late at night.

&#8220Early in the morning is definitely the best,” said Kyle Connor, an employee at Three Rivers Fly and Tackle, which recently opened a location near Willow Creek just off the Parks Highway.

Connor said the hottest lure for kings on the Willow has been the blue corkie, which Three Rivers had nearly sold out of by Sunday afternoon.

While there are lots of fish moving into the rivers, that also means there's plenty of competition for them. Anglers who brave the Willow should be aware that &#8220combat fishing” is in full effect, with elbow-to-elbow conditions the norm.

Three Rivers manager Steve Runyan said safety equipment is a must.

&#8220Hat and glasses,” Runyan said.

Keeping your eyes open and knowing what's going on around you is a must in such conditions, which can be extremely dangerous - as evidenced by a young boy who wound up in the emergency room Sunday with a hook in the cheek.

Anglers who don't get to the shoreline early still have a chance to catch a king, but they've got to work for them. One such fisherman whose luck held up Sunday was Wasilla's Tim Storie, who caught and released a nice 20-pounder Sunday. Despite his catch, however, Storie said he was definitely one of the lucky ones.

&#8220It's been real hit-and-miss,” he said.

Storie said a better bet for motivated anglers fishing from shore might be up the road.

&#8220Sheep Creek's booming,” he said. &#8220We're just too lazy to hike down the hill.”

As always, kings aren't the only option available to Mat-Su fishermen. Trout fishing has been reported to be steady all year, with anglers likely to have the most success fishing sculpin patterns in the same areas where kings are moving through.

&#8220A lot of people forget about them with the kings,” Three Rivers' Runyan said. &#8220But they're there.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com