The year of king salmon restrictions

On Wednesday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game restricted king salmon fishing on the Deshka River to use of one single-hook artificial lure, and further restricted the area where king salmon could be fished for to the river below the Deshka RIver salmon counting weir at about river Mile 7.

On Friday, Fish and Game announced any type of fishing for king salmon in the Susitna River drainage, including the Deshka River, will close as of Monday at 6 a.m.

Since the single-hook restrictions started on Wednesday, water temperatures on the lower river have risen, and legal sport catching of king salmon has nearly come to a standstill. During my three charter trips to the Deshka since the restriction, my guests have only managed to hook two king salmon, one that was landed and released and another that was lost.

Talking with other guides and anglers along the river has revealed similar or lower success for others at catching king salmon. In the first two days since the restriction, it can readily be seen that the number of king salmon being caught has been greatly reduced. I would estimate the catch reduction by 75 percent or more.

King salmon escapement swimming past the Deshka River weir may have started to rise as well, with 708 kings passing the weir on June 20 (the second highest daily king salmon number passed for the entire season). With a total of 6,450 king past the weir, more than twice that number is need to attain the minimum Deshka River king salmon escapement of 13,000 kings.

With earlier restrictions of the Unit 2 tributary streams along the Parks Highway to catch-and-release king salmon fishing only, the recent announcement of the closure of the Susitna River drainage to king salmon fishing — and with the total closure of the Little Susitna River to king salmon sport fishing on June 15 — marks the most restricted king salmon fishery in the Mat-Su Valley during my career as a sport fishing guide dating back to 1983 or 1984.

I’ve heard many concerned opinions about what the state of Alaska or the Alaska Department of Fish and Game should be doing about the situation. One thing is clear; having a sport fishery based mostly on one river (the Deshka) or having a sport fishery so restricted as we’ve seen in recent years is far from most Mat-Su Valley anglers’ preferred option.

During the past week, I talked with two Mat-Su outdoors people who feel very strongly that the department’s policy of depending almost entirely upon wild king salmon to support the Mat-Su’s king salmon sport fisheries may be flawed. Mat-Su Angler’s Club President Steve Totten expressed amazement with a policy that has so restricted angler participation and king salmon harvest during the past few years. From his past residence in Michigan, sport anglers were allowed a bag limit of five salmon daily on streams, where before the state’s stocking program began, Michigan had no wild salmon populations.

Leonard Haire also believes the Department of Fish and Game needs to seriously consider what the public wants and desires of its sport fisheries. To Leonard’s point of view, there is no way that the wild king salmon populations are sustaining what the public would like to see from its fisheries, and it is about time the Department of Fish and Game admits that and does something about this issue in Mat-Su Valley streams. No doubt, building or beefing up hatchery king salmon production would take years to develop.

Another thought expressed by Deshka River fishing guide Pat Donelson, and other concerned anglers, is that if the problem with low king salmon production throughout Alaska is ocean survival, as often suggested by ADF&G biologists, what is the department doing to learn about and address this situation? Are there any ADF&G management professionals willing to step forward with suggestions to address the issue?

The Alaska Legislature has provided funding for ADF&G to collect new data on Mat-Su and Kenai River king salmon populations during this past legislative session. Currently, ADF&G is measuring abundance of Sustina River main stem king salmon with a fish wheel enumeration and tagging program located just upstream of the Yentna River confluence. In addition, during the 2013 season and beyond, the Legislature has provided funding to once again operate the Little Susina River weir to count king salmon from a lower river location. An acoustical tagging study has also been funded to better understand Kenai River king salmon population numbers and track them more accurately through Cook Inlet and into the lower Kenai River.

Sport anglers should do their part and report any tagged king salmon they catch to ADF&G officials. Contact a Mat-Su ADF&G sport fish biologist with such information at their Palmer office at 746-6300.

When salmon population numbers are good, ADF&G is often given credit for the situation. When they are poor, the department comes under increased scrutiny and may get undue blame. One thought to consider is that we can all benefit from better communication on what each of us would like to see from our Mat-Su Valley fisheries, and any thoughts we may have concerning how such goals could be accomplished should be shared.

Andy Couch owns and operates Fishtale River Guides (fish4salmon.com) is a Mat-Su Anglers Club member (matsuanglers.org) and member of the Mat-Su Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission.