OPEN SEASON: Dipnetters hit Fish Creek

WASILLA — Fish Creek is open to dipnetters for the sockeye run from 6:00 a.m. through 11:00 p.m. daily until July 31, and anglers can net up to two sockeye. A total of 25 fish are available for each head of household, with another 10 per person in the household. As of Thursday afternoon, reports were coming in of double-digit fish totals within a half hour during the early morning run.

The Alaska Department of Fish and game sets an escapement range for Fish Creek at 15,000 to 45,000 red salmon. Having already reached minimum escapement goal, the count of fish through the weir on Wednesday was 21,737. Adam St. Savior, a regional research biologist for the Sport Fish Division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said that some 22 percen of the run will come after the fishery closes on July 31 at 11:00 p.m. St. Savior said that at this point, it is unlikely that the fishery would close due to lack of escapement, and that from what he has heard, the fishing has been pretty hot.

“The fishery itself is effective in reducing escapement substantially. With the 25th being the average midpoint of the run, it seems if the run is on time, then it should stay pretty similar to whatever the past three or four days have been,” said St. Savior.

Dipnetters are advised to use extreme caution as high tides and muddy waters have made lower Fish Creek dangerous. Any king salmon that are caught must be released immediately, and there is no trailered boat launch north of the Ship Creek boat launch in Anchorage.

“I think if you’re going to go downstream, if you plan to go that direction be aware of all the mud and the dangers. People have gotten stuck and as tide comes in it can become real dangerous real fast, especially with little kids. Wear life jackets,” Samantha Oslund, assistant area management biologist, said.

The total salmon household limit for anglers is combined with the dipnetting in the Kenai and Kasilof fisheries. On July 27 of 2017, the count through the weir was only 18,935 with 61,469 fish through the weir at the end of the run. 25,297 fish had escaped at this point in 2016, but 41,763 had escaped in 2015. St. Savior says this is not only due to the opening of the fishery, but the timing of the run.

“It was one of the highest forecasts we’ve had. If that comes to be then it should continue to be strong,” said St. Savior.

Fish Creek is set to close for dipnetters on July 31 and open for a week of a youth-only fishery before it reopens after the first week of august for rod and reel fishing. Oslund said that it is too early to tell what the final escapement numbers may look like, but that the initially high projections put out by the commercial fish division may come a little bit short. Oslund expects, with such a high success rate from anglers, that the escapement may end up just over 40,000 fish, on the lower end of the higher numbers at the end of the run over the past three years.

A total of 61,469 passed through the weir last year in 2017, 46,202 passed in 2016, and a whopping 102,309 passed through in 2015. This year’s projections would wind up on the low end of the numbers over the last three years. Overnight counts through the weir went from thousands to hundreds to just 56 on Wednesday night, proving that the fishery is effective at preventing escapement.

Fish Creek is not the only Valley body of water to see large amounts of fish pulled out in short amounts of time. Coho salmon have been going through Jim Creek.

“When they come in that provides real reliable fishing opportunities for anglers,” said Oslund.

During Fish and Game king salmon surveys recently, Oslund said that every stream mouth had King Salmon in it, which is a good sign. Pinks are arriving in the Deshka, along with Coho, Chum, and Sockeye moving through Willow Creek.

“We’ve got real widespread fishing opportunities,” said Oslund.

The hottest fishing may very well be found at Fish Creek. Fish and Game staff spent Thursday morning on the river, and Olsund reported that with the incoming tide in the morning, folks were catching all they could handle.

“Fish Creek runs very different than other systems. The fish come screaming in at the end of July,” said Oslund.