May green means kings?

No too long ago I and other Mat-Su king salmon anglers used to view the first sighting of new green leaves on trees in the Palmer-Wasilla area as an indication that some of the first king salmon of the season were likely arriving in two of the Mat-Su Valley’s more popular freshwater fisheries for ocean-run king salmon. On multiple years with warmer than normal temperatures leading into early May, guests in one of my guide boats have caught king salmon from Little Susitna River or Deshka River before May 15. I’ve also heard reports of early-returning Mat-Su Valley king salmon being taken at Alexander Creek and Lake Creek before the middle of May in the past.

With Eklutna Tailrace / Knik River side-channel and Ship Creek being the only two locations in Northern Cook Inlet currently open to king salmon fishing for ocean-run fish in 2025, I believe there is still a chance the first legal known sport - caught king salmon caught may be taken on or before the May 17 / 18 weekend. I heavily weigh the warmer spring and early green-up of the trees in making this suggestion. With Ship Creek located many miles further down Knik Arm, with higher water conditions, and a normally considerably larger return of hatchery king salmon, odds are heavily in favor of multiple king salmon being caught at Ship Creek before the first king salmon will be caught or even spotted at the Tailrace / Knik River fishery.

Dustin Slinker, who operates The Bait Shack at Ship Creek has been offering a package of free fishing gear for the person reporting / submitting the first Ship Creek king salmon for several years now. With such a contest he also has records of when the first reported king salmon was taken each year for the past 11 years. During the most recent 11 years the first reported Ship Creek king salmon has been taken as early as May 12 (2016) and as late as May 24 ( 2023 and 2024). Matson and the Bait Shack will be hosting the annual Ship Creek cleanup on Saturday May 17, 2025 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and I expected that event to help kick off an increased effort in king salmon fishing at Ship Creek as well. For a boatload of free information about Ship Creek salmon fishing and events see The Bait Shack on Facebook.

Eklutna Tailrace/Knik River side-channel

I drove to the tailrace on Monday to try out a new custom built fishing rod with a hope of hooking a king salmon. When I arrived at the tailrace, the water level was extremely low with no visible water flow descending through the tailrace channel. I cast and retrieved a weighted spinner from the Tailrace/Knik River confluence up to the pedestrian bridge. As I retrieved the spinner its appeared to come straight back to me WITHOUT any noticeable downstream swing as is normally experienced in a moving current. I walked up to where the tailrace channel emerges from under the Old Glenn Highway across from the Eklutna Power Plant — again there was no notable current or stream flow. The lack of current led me to suspect the Power Plant water outflow must now be shutoff or greatly reduced for the annual spring cleaning which often occurs in May for up to a week or 10 days. I have never seen a salmon at the tailrace when there is no outflow current during the month of May, and furthermore, even at the bottom end of the Knik River side-channel near its confluence with the Knik River main channel the water level is extremely low and unlikely to hold salmon under these conditions. Going on past personal experience I would not expect king salmon to be taken from the legal king salmon fishing area of the Knik River side - channel / Eklutna Tailrace until sometime around the last week of May.

Optimism for the 2025 Mat-Su King Salmon Return

While there is plenty of predictions for low Upper Cook Inlet and Northern Cook Inlet king salmon returns this year, Nick DeCovich, a biometrician with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) mentioned that the 2021 Deshka River king salmon spawning escapement was over 18,000 fish with both larger percentages of older and female fish compared to the 2022, 2023, and 2024 Deshka River King Salmon spawning escapements. Nick is, therefore, optimistic that the 2025 Deshka River king salmon return may show a considerable uptick in younger (primarily male ) king salmon. If that uptick materializes it could also indicate the likelihood of possibly seeing a significantly larger number of older age class / female king salmon during the 2026 Deshka River king salmon return. At this point, with all the Upper Cook Inlet freshwater king salmon fisheries targeting wild ocean-run king salmon closed, scientific data indicating there could be, at least, a temporary improvement in the near future comes across as good news.

Trout

ADF&G biologist Oliver Querin mentioned recent catchable-sized trout stockings at Anderson and Canoe Lake and mentioned Loberg (Junction) Lake on schedule to be stocked before long. Camping is scheduled to open for the season at both Susitna Landing (mile 82 Parks Highway) and Little Susitna River Public Use Facility on Monday May 19, 2025. Note: Fish Creek, Cottonwood Creek , Wasilla Creek, and other streams in the Palmer- Wasilla zone are currently closed to protect spawning rainbow trout—please check the new regulations booklets before fishing, as there have been several reported violations recently.

Dan Suprak told me his wife caught a northern pike over 30 inches when they were checking out their new ocean boat on Big Lake. Cory Berg also posed some pike pictures his guests caught recently on Facebook.

Good Luck and Fish On!

Andy Couch is a member of the Matanuska - Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee, however, statements / opinions expressed in this column are his own, unless noted otherwise.