Knik River king salmon sport fishery expansion

On Wednesday May 1, 2024 the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) expanded the Knik River area where king salmon may be targeted and harvested downstream of Eklutna Tailrace to the upstream end of the Alaska Railroad Bridge through December 31, 2024. This will allow anglers (primarily with boat access) to fish a few hundred additional yards of the mainstem Knik River below the Knik River side-channel which had previously been open to king salmon fishing.. I have often wondered how productive this additional section of the Knik River might be for king salmon fishing, as portions of it have more depth than the side-channel, which could encourage larger salmon to rest and mill in this area during their upstream migration. Boating through this new open area, I’ve noticed wood and brush have fallen in from the bank, so some portion of the area may be difficult to fish without loosing fishing gear or having fish tangle around snags. I have not launched a boat in the Knik River this year, but when I do, I plan on exploratory fishing through this section.

Mat-Su Open Water Fishing Limited, but Expanding Rapidly

As I reported last week, people have been fishing some of the first locations to become ice free. The staff at 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla told me earlier this week they had heard of anglers catching some fish at Lucille Lake in Wasilla, Bradley Lake along the glenn Highway near Palmer, and the Willow Creek and Kashwitna River confluences with the Susitna River north of Willow. In addition, Finger Lake usually has some open water near the Alaska State Parks campground and boat launch that is often productive for rainbow trout and landlocked salmon this time of year. While limited open water has kept most boaters off the lakes — On Monday I saw a couple with a small v-bottom equipped with an electric trolling motor boating around and fishing on Loberg (Junction) Lake near the Parks and Glenn Highway junction. Nearby Matanuska Lake was still ice-covered, but the ice looked extremely rotten and may likely melt or break up by this first weekend in May.

Boat Launches

Lucille Lake and (depending upon the amount of open water) Finger Lake near the campground may both have boaters launching and running boats this weekend. Note: both of these sites are pay to use boat launches. The Knik River Access off of the Parks Highway looked like it might be possibly to launch and retrieve a boat — however I would examine the area closely beforehand, as bank conditions may be soft tor have abrupt drops his early in the season at this undeveloped launch site. We are still in early season mode, but addition Palmer-Wasilla core area lake and stream launch sites for canoes and small boats may already be available or will be available soon. The web cam at Deshka Landing has been showing the Susitna River open and flowing — with ice starting to melt out / break up in the boat launch. The boat launch needs some repair, however and will not be open this weekend. The gate to Little Susitna River Public Use Facility campground and boat launch has been closed and locked at the entrance to the Susitna Flats State Game Refuge, according to local fishing guide,Corey Berg, and ADF&G staff told him this location may not open until the second week of May — perhaps later depending upon road conditions.

Eklutna Tailrace

After mentioning this location in last week’s column I’ve been out multiple times fishing some new rods (I built this winter) during the past week. The lower parking lot has still been gated as snow melts from the access road and parking lot, but there has been plenty of available parking space across the highway from Eklutna Powerplant. I’ve seen wildlife each trip, but I have not seen any fish at this location this spring. It is a bit of a drive, but I enjoy casting in some flowing water this time of year. If a person was fishing with small pieces of salmon roe, rather than a salmon-sized spinner, I suspect some Dolly Crden maybe available and possibly willing biters.

Northern Pike

Two of my nephews drove out Point MacKenzie Road to Goose Creek this past weekend in hopes of bow and arrowing some northern pike (a new fishing opportunity open this year for the first time. Unfortunately, when they arrive the creek was much higher than normal with runoff, and they did not see any pike. They did however talk to a couple kids fishing the same location who mention getting a few bites, but not catching the fish. Perhaps success may improve at this location as the early season run off subsides.

Kenai River Trout Closure: May 1 to June 10

Last week I reported about some of the better open-water trout fishing being available at the Kenai River — the section of river upstream from the lower Killey River confluence closed to protect spawning rainbow trout and will remain closed through June 10.

Fish, Boat, or Plan On!