Mat-Su open water explorers start angling

With ice in the Knik River and snow on the bank I made my first trek to Eklutna Tailrace to cast spinners with some new fishing rods I had built during the off season. I also checked out a new spinning reel I had purchased. The wintery conditions had delayed my trip until Sunday evening — April 30. Ever since catching an ocean-run salmon at the tailrace on April 27 back in 2006 I’ve been attempting to catch another ocean-run salmon from a Mat-Su Valley stream in April — so I had to at least make an attempt before the month ended.

When I arrived at the road off the Old Glenn Highway leading to the lower Eklutna Tailrace parking lot it was gated closed, and beyond the gate the road was covered in a layer of snow. I parked and started walking down the road on a partially packed trail where others had made the trek ahead of me. In addition to watching my steps in the snow I also had to dodge several doggy dump piles on my walk to where the tailrace entered the Knik River side-channel. It caused me to wonder why people would walk their dogs into a public park type setting and have them do their business on the main access. OR why the owners did not bother to pick pup their mess?

It was a bit cleaner down by the water, but there was plenty of snow so I did not venture up and down the tailrace near as much as I normally do. I mostly casted from only a couple different spots along the bank. My new rods and the new reel worked fine. I could cast all the way across the tailrace and both upstream and downstream a considerable distance from my spots along the bank. The rods were sensitive enough to feel the spinners even with a slow presentation on an upstream cast. The water was quite clear, but with a good amount of volume as the power plant often releases increased flow in the evenings. I did not see any fish or detect any bites —- but that is often par for the course when fishing the tailrace before June. A trip to this location this time of year is more about casting and working a lure in open water —- open water where fishing is legal this time of year is somewhat of a rare commodity in the Mat-Su Valley.

As I was driving to the tailrace I noticed that there was a small section of open water along the Glenn Highway at the west end of Bradley Lake. There were also a couple people walking around and checking it out. When I drove by the same location on Tuesday of this week there were a couple people with fishing rods working a bit larger area of open water in the same location. I also drove by Loberg (Junction) Lake on Tuesday and noticed a couple vehicles with people checking out a small section of open water at the access / boat launch site.

Open water in the lakes was quite limited on Tuesday, but I am sure more and larger patches of open water will be available before this column is published. Eager anglers will be searching out open water spots and trying their luck — even in small amounts of open water. This is primarily a celebration of spring and the coming summer — rather than a significant fish catching opportunity — although conditions will change quickly.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) fisheries biologist, Samantha Oslund, told me on Tuesday, if there is enough open water, the department could be stocking fish at select Mat-Su Valley locations next week. Some anglers, and particularly those with kids, like to welcome these arrivals to their new homes, and often bring special treats for the newcomers to snack on like jarred salmon eggs or earthworms. Others try to fool the newcomers into eating artificial foods often made of feathers — with hook(s) attached.

When I talked with A. J. Hayes at 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle on Tuesday, he asked me if there was any open water at Finger Lake near the Alaska State Parks Boat Launch. I did not know at the time, however, it is one of the earlier parts of Finger Lake to become ice free, and a popular spot for both anglers attempting to catch some of the first open water fish of the season, and for boaters wanting to make check runs with their boats. The fishing can be decent before there is enough open water to boat very far from the dock. For those interested in exploring for open water this might be a good, but also popular spot to check.

Many streams in the Mat-Su Valley are now closed to fishing to protect spawning rainbow trout, however, several streams up the Parks Highway starting at Willow Creek and going north are open to fishing. These are popular locations for early season catch and release fishing targeting rainbow trout. Early in May most of the catching occurs near where tributary streams flow into the Susitna River. A. J. Hayes told me he had talked with a few people who had fished Willow Creek near its confluence with the Susitna River, however, there was only a sliver of open water along the Susitna River at that time. There is also considerably more snow still on the ground as one travels north from Wasilla.

There you have it, there are a few patches of open water — although one might need to explore or do some research to find the spots with more fishable water. A limited number of fish will be caught in the coming week. If exploring and fishing small areas with the hopes of finding a few catchable fish has appeal to you, you may want to get out and explore the Mat-Su this weekend or coming week.

Good Luck and Fish On!

Andy Couch owns and operates Fishtale River Guides — even though open water fishing opportunities are currently limited in the Mat-Su Valley he has started posted his website fishing reports at https://www.fish4salmon.com/alaska-fishing-reports/