Mat-Su king salmon hotspots

Peak king salmon fishing during the next week should occur at Clear Creek and the Talkeetna River drainage. The coming weekend also provides the last opportunity to catch king salmon from most Parks Highway streams north of Willow. I am expecting these locations to provide some of the best king salmon catching opportunities in the Mat-Su Valley this week.

Note: These streams are all limited to catch and release fishing.

I talked with Jeff Boatright at Susitna Landing (495-7700) a couple times this week, and he reported that the fire north of Willow seems to be under control, with travel along the Parks Highway back to normal. Jeff is hoping to see a good group of anglers and campers show up this weekend, and reports that the Kashwitna River is at what he would call the normal level, rather than the extremely low level it was at for quite a while earlier this year. Boating conditions are good from the landing for the upcoming weekend. Now may be the best time in the next 3 weeks to experience prime salmon, trout and grayling fishing along the Parks Highway.

Eklutna Tailrace

For those looking for an easily accessible fishery where they can harvest king salmon, the tailrace provides one of the better options. Harvest is allowed seven days per week, 24 hours per day, bait is allowed, and this is the one place in the entire Mat-Su Valley where anglers are allowed to harvest five king salmon per year. With easy drive-up access close to Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley core area, expect to share this fishery with many other anglers.

Yentna Drainage

Perhaps one of the better options for those looking to harvest wild king salmon is the remote and vast Yentna River drainage, including Lake Creek. This is accessible by either airplane or requires a considerable boat ride from Deshka Landing. King salmon harvest is allowed on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from these streams, except on the Talachulitna River, where no king salmon harvest is allowed.

Deshka River

Pat Donelson of I FIsh Alaska Guide Service (357-0131) reported that water level is extremely low on the Deshka River at this time, making upstream boating difficult — there’s a good chance of hitting rocks.

Fishing wise he told me some of his guests had been catching king salmon even on afternoon trips during the cooler days. Warm water temperatures can make catching Deshka River king salmon difficult this time of year, but the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Deshka River salmon counting weir continues to pass good numbers of fish. King salmon harvest is allowed seven days per week on the Deshka River, and fishing with bait is also allowed at this time.

Little Susitna River

Although 3,894 king salmon have already passed the Little Susitna River weir and the total season count will likely exceed 4,000 fish this year, most of the king salmon seem to have swum a considerable distance upstream from where the sport fishery occurs. At this time the water level is dropping to a very low level and king salmon are spooky and difficult to catch with normal large king salmon offerings. In my more than 30 years guiding on the Little Susitna River, I can never recall a year where I saw such a large return of small male king salmon. Most of the king salmon caught in past two weeks seem to be averaging about 10 pounds or less.

The past couple days have provided a quiet time to be on the river with low angler participation, and I expect that trend to continue until good numbers of other salmon start arriving in mid or late July. Little Susitna River is now open to king salmon harvest seven days per week. Artificial lures only and 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. fishing hours remain in effect, along with the emergency seasonal harvest limit of two king salmon from the Little Susitna River and Susitna Drainage combined.

Relaxed fishing, high catch rates

For those most interested in catching smaller fish up to about 12 inches, fishing one of the Mat-Su Valley’s stocked lakes may provide one of the better options. Some of the more popular lakes have angler pressure on a regular basis, while others provide opportunities to fish the entire lake all by yourself. The next couple weeks should provide a good opportunity to explore lake fishing options while salmon numbers are limited at most Mat-Su locations.

Contact the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Palmer office at 746-6300 for information about Mat-Su Valley’s stocked lake fisheries.

Andy Couch has guided sport fishing trips in the Mat-Su Valley for over 30 years. Visit his website at fish4salmon.com.