Last weekend of bait fishing on Susitna River Drainage

Mike Hudson of 3 Rivers Fly & Tackle in Wasilla told me people are still catching some nice chrome silver salmon from Susitna River tributary streams along the Parks Highway north of Willow. Mike also mentioned that silver salmon fishing at Clear Creek along the Talkeetna River has been good lately.

For all anglers hoping to catch a few more Mat-Su silver salmon before the summer ends these streams could prove to be some of the better options. Generally there is less fishing pressure north along the Parks Highway streams and with school, hunting seasons, and the Alaska State Fair all underway at this time. The last weekend of August should provide plenty of room to fish the better streams with little competition for the better fishing spots. Keep in mind that by regulation Susitna River drainage fishing regulations require a switch to artificial lures only starting on Sept. 1.

Anglers will continue catching salmon after September 1, but success rates generally drop without the use of bait.

Fish Creek salmon

Fish Creek along Knik-Goose Bay Road continues to have strong numbers of salmon swimming past the Alaska Department of Fish and Game weir. According to Samantha Oslund, ADF&G Assistant Area Fisheries Biologist, sockeye salmon escapement up Fish Creek has now exceeded 100,000 fish. This is far past the upper end of Fish Creek’s sockeye salmon escapement goal range of 20,000-70,000 fish. In addition as of Aug. 24 the silver salmon escapement of 3,358 fish seems certain to pass the upper end of ADF&G’s Fish Creek goal range of 1,200-4,400 fish for this species.

Earlier in August the Fish Creek fishery was liberalized to allow the harvest of three salmon per day (all of which may be silver salmon) and the number of days when salmon fishing is allowed was increased from two to seven days per week. With the continued harvestable surplus of both sockeye and silver salmon since those liberalizations — it seems to me — at this point there is no longer any biological reason to only allow salmon fishing between the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. I’m sure there are working folks who would benefit if legal fishing hours were expanded so they could participate without taking time off from work.

Eklutna Tailrace silver salmon

I had a day off from guiding fishing trips this week, so I drove to the tailrace to see how that sport fishery for stocked silver salmon was going. When I arrived there was about a dozen vehicles in the parking area and several anglers doing their best to catch some salmon. I observed and fished for a couple hours, but did not see a single salmon hooked while I was at the tailrace. I did see a few salmon rolling, but much fewer than I’d seen in the past at this time or even later in the season. I talked with several other anglers — only two of whom saw a couple salmon get caught that day. While some additional salmon will likely continue to show up at the tailrace, this fishery has slowed considerably from what it was earlier in August.

Jim Creek silvers

Oslund told me that silver (coho) salmon escapement numbers through the Jim Creek weir had recently picked up and the department was expecting more fish to show up at this location. While I expect the bulk of the Jim Creek silver salmon may have already passed the weir, this location has produced bright ocean-fresh silver salmon into September in the past, and is often one of the better later season Mat-Su Valley silver salmon fisheries.

Little Susitna River silvers

I am currently guiding salmon fishing trips at this location out of the Little Susitna River Public Use Facility boat launch. While silver salmon escapement numbers through the weir have dropped off considerably we continue to find some nice fish on most trips by fishing several locations during our trips. Many river users now seemed to be focused on moose hunting rather than fishing. There are more silver salmon available (although not in as nice of condition) downstream from the Parks Highway bridge near Houston.

Good luck and fish on!

Andy Couch has guided Mat-Su Valley salmon fishing trips for over 30 years and is a member of the Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee and Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission.