Peak sport coho fishing in the Mat-Su Valley?

I was talking with Jim Pougher, Manager of the Sportsman’s Warehouse fishing department on Monday and asking what he had been hearing about sport salmon fisheries in the Mat-Su Valley. He had not heard of any very good coho salmon catches from our area yet this year, but offered the advice of peak coho salmon fishing usually occurring in some of the Mat-Su Valley’s more accessible fisheries between July 25 and August 10. Indeed, I agree coho fishing should be good by now —- only problem as I write this column on Tuesday July 30, I’ve yet to hear of any spot in the Mat-Su Valley producing coho salmon limits with any consistency. Keep in mind, in many of the more accessible parts of the Mat-Su the coho limit is only two per person per day. Exceptions where 3 coho salmon are allowed to be harvested per day include Eklutna Tailrace, the Susitna River upstream from and including the Talkeetna River drainage, and the Susitna River drainage from Deshka River downstream and also up the Yentna River drainage.

Coho salmon weir counts through Sunday July 28 showed season totals of 403 coho passing Little Susitna River weir, 142 coho passing Deshka River weir, 4 coho passing Jim Creek weir, and 0 coho passing Fish Creek weir. Local salmon anglers are hoping for much improved counts by the August 3 / 4 weekend. Below are some Mat-Su fisheries I would suggest for the coming weekend and the following week:

Youth Fishery at Fish Creek: The Fish Creek dip net fishery closed at 11:01 pm on Wednesday July 31. The Creek remains closed to salmon fishing until the Youth Only fishery on Saturday and Sunday August 3 and 4 from 5am to 10pm daily. Keep an eye on the Fish Creek weir counts after the dip net fishery closes on Wednesday. There will likely be large numbers of sockeye migrating past the weir before the weekend, but there could also be some coho salmon, that may be easier for younger kids to catch when the weekend youth fishery opens. Experienced sockeye anglers often catch them by “lining” drifting a fly or piece of yarn in an egg loop toward the salmon until the hook or line drifts into the fish's mouth, then pulling everything tight. Coho salmon, on the other hand, will often more readily bite a weighted spinner fished just fast enough to keep the blade turning or will sometimes inhale or even swallow a gob of salmon roe either anchored near the bottom with a sinker, drifted under a bobber, or free drifted on a hook without weight.

On Monday June 5 Fish Creek will open to salmon fishing for all individuals (including those over the 16 year youth limit). Once again the fishery will be open from 5 am - 10 pm daily and a total of 3 salmon (only 2 of which may be coho) may be harvested daily.

Deshka and Little Susitna Rivers: The Deshka River located about a 15 minute boat ride downstream from Deshka Landing and Little Susitna River near the Little Susitna River Public Use Facility campground and boat launch will likely attract a good number of boat anglers this weekend — regardless of how good the fishing may be. These two developed boat launches are two of the most heavily used boat launch areas by anglers looking to catch coho salmon, and especially this early in the season. In addition to the coho salmon (which may still be available in limited numbers this weekend) there have been decent numbers of chum salmon to catch in Little Susitna River, and Deshka River has been getting weir counts of thousands of pink salmon per day during the past week. Smaller lures like a #3 or #2 Mepps or Vibrax spinner or flies are often a good bet for newly arriving pink salmon. For those interested in harvesting pink salmon, a bonus limit is new for the Susitna River drainage this year that allows anglers to keep their normal 3 salmon bag limit and an additional 6 pink salmon. Bait fishing is currently allowed at Deshka River, however bait fishing is not scheduled to open at Little Susitna River (downstream of the Parks Highway bridge) until August 6.

Eklutna Tailrace has been producing some sockeye and coho salmon according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game fisheries biologist Samantha Oslund, and anglers also catch both species in the Knik River downstream from the tailrace.

Increasing numbers of sockeye salmon have passed through the Larson Lake weir up the Talkeetna River drainage, and anglers will likely be making good salmon catches in the area open to salmon fishing near Larson Creek’s confluence with the Talkeetna River. Note: this is a very limited fishing area, often fished by residents or guided anglers from the Talkeetna area. If you go to this location you may have to wait for your turn at the small prime fish-catching area.

Colton Connor told me fishing had been sporadic at Lake Creek until a good number of sockeye arrived on Thursday of last week, at which point the catching was good until the creek became high and turbid from heavy rain. Once the water drops the salmon catching should improve, again.

The first sockeye and coho salmon have migrated through Jim Creek weir and the salmon catching should already be started. Sockeye are often more abundant early in the season, but an abundance of coho salmon should be available by or soon after the weekend. Note: the drive in can be rough, muddy, or both.

So far coho salmon abundances have been quite limited at all of the locations I have listed, therefore sport anglers may want to get a jump on the fisheries this weekend or the following week. It would not surprise me to see restrictions or closures at popular Mat-Su coho salmon fisheries by mid-August if coho abundances at Mat-Su weirs remain low.

Good Luck and Fish On!