Summer fishing winding down

When I talked with Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) area fisheries management biologist, Samantha Oslund on Tuesday, she commented that most people visiting the Palmer ADF&G office were now asking hunting questions or interested in hunting opportunities, rather than asking fishing questions or expressing interest in Mat-Su Valley fishing opportunities.

For the most part the summer salmon fishing in the Mat-Su is over and has been over since the entire Susitna River drainage, Little Susitna River, Fish Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Wasilla Creek / Rabbit Slough, Jim Creek, and the entire Knik River drainage (except the Eklutna Tailrace / side channel fishery) was closed to the use of bait and all coho salmon fishing starting August 15. Oslund mentioned that Mat-Su stocked lakes will continue to provide fishing and harvest opportunities year-round. The public interest in catching much smaller fish from lakes, however, is not as intense as a harvest fishery focussed on much larger, ocean-run salmon. Lakes and the Parks Highway tributary streams to the Susitna River north of Willow (including the Talkeetna River drainage) for rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, and Arctic grayling will provide most of the fish catching opportunities until ocean-run salmon start returning again in the spring / summer of 2025. Oslund expected a full slate of ice fishing harvest opportunities in Mat-Su stocked lakes for the coming winter.

Partner / Owner Mike Hudson with 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle had a similar message for Mat-Su Valley fishing. Adding that Big Lake has been producing northern pike, rainbow trout and Arctic char. Mike said the Parks Highway streams would be good for the remainder of the fall, before freeze up, as long as water conditions remained good. He added, however, that the Parks Highway streams were currently high and dark-colored with run off from recent rainfall. Some coho and sockeye salmon are continuing to be caught at the Eklutna Tailrace / Knik River side-channel fishery. Mike mentioned hearing several reports about people catching coho salmon from the Kenai River, but also said that fishing might be somewhat spotty. Hudson relayed that neither he nor his wife had caught a coho salmon in the Mat-Su Valley this year — a notable non-occurrence.

With those stable Mat-Su fishing options mentioned once again, but not likely to change in the foreseeable future, this may be the last time I mention them until conditions start to change with ice formation likely in late November.

Positive Change For Mat-Su Salmon - Agenda Change Requests (ACRs)

Recent conversations I’ve had with Representative Kevin McCabe and his Chief of Staff, Angie Stephl, have revealed they (along with additional Mat-Su legislators) are planning to submit an Agenda Change Request (ACR) to the Alaska Board of Fisheries asking that Little Susitna River coho salmon be designated a Stock of Yield Concern. Such a designation would also require the development of an action plan to guide rebuilding that particular salmon stock to provide a more sustainable harvest level. In addition to some of the lowest inriver harvest estimates on record for 2023 and 2024, Little Susitna River Coho salmon escapements / projections for the 2023 and 2024 seasons have been some of the lowest levels recorded in a quarter of a century. ADF&G has long used Little Susitna River coho salmon escapements as an inseason indicator for the likely production of all Knik Arm coho salmon stocks.

Last week, the Mat-Su Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) submitted an ACR to the Alaska Board of Fisheries asking that Susitna River Chinook salmon (on a drainage-wide basis) be designated a Stock of Yield Concern. Sport Chinook harvest for the most recent 5-year period with in the Susitna River drainage has declined by over 99% ( with no sport harvest allowed 5 of the past 7 years) compared to the 5-year period of 2000 - 2004 when the average annual Susitna River drainage inriver Chinook harvest was 25,448 fish. During the past 2 years (2023 and 2024) zero chinook salmon spawning escapement goals have been met in the entire Susitna River drainage. If designated a Stock of Yield concern on a drainage-wide basis, an action plan would also be required to rebuild Susitna River drainage Chinook salmon stock(s) and a harvest opportunity to some level of what the stock(s) provided in the past.

The Alaska Board of Fisheries will determine if submitted ACRs meet the board’s criteria for considering them at their Oct. 29 & 30 work session at the Egan Convention Center in Anchorage. If meeting the criteria (for emergency in these cases) the board will schedule the ACRs to be heard / considered at one of the 2024 / 2025 scheduled board meetings. The public comment deadline for ACRs is October 15 — although I do not know if comments are being accepted — yet. More details to follow in an additional column.

Good Luck and Fish / Comment On!