Trout, pike, grayling provide top Mat-Su fishing

Stocked trout in Mat-Su Valley lakes continue to provide one of the best fishing opportunities in the area, regardless of whether you just want to catch them or have them for dinner. The rainbow trout limit for most stocked lakes is five fish, but there are some exceptions.

According to Tom Hilty, with 3 Rivers Fly & Tackle in Wasilla, stocked trout and pike provide some of the most consistent Mat-Su catches in late May. Tom mentioned that pike often go into a feeding frenzy after they spawn in the spring, and the good time to catch them is right now.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game encourages pike harvest at all times from Mat-Su Valley waters, with an unlimited bag limit.

According to Margo Nealis, with Phantom Tri River Charters in Talkeetna, 2014 has already provided some of the best trout, Dolly Varden and grayling fishing in the Talkeetna River system in several years. Although the Talkeetna River system water level has started to rise recently, she reported the water had maintained a good amount of clarity and guests were still catching good numbers of fish.

Margo said rainbow fishing in the Talkeetna had fallen off from what it was earlier, but some rainbows are still being caught. Phantom Tri River Charters plans to continue guiding Talkeetna River trips as long as stream conditions and catches remain favorable.

Jeff Boatright, at Susitna Landing, mentioned anglers had a good time fishing for, and catching, still abundant grayling at that location over the Memorial Day weekend, and grayling were still available near the landing this week. Now is the time to take advantage of this opportunity before local fish abundances or fishing conditions change.

Note that limits for wild native fish like Dolly Varden and Arctic grayling are low in order to maintain quality fish-catching opportunities on most Mat-Su Valley streams. Stream fishing is primarily catch-and-release or limited harvest opportunities for trout, char and grayling on tributary streams of the Susitna River.

Be sure to become familiar with regulations for specific waters you intend to fish before fishing and note that most Mat-Su streams south of Willow Creek are currently closed to all fishing to protect spawning rainbow trout through June 14.

Hooligan abundant, then gone

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game weekly fishing report for the week of May 28 to June 3, hooligan remain abundant in the lower Susitna River. While that may indeed be the case, as of May 28, I’ve already noticed a sharp drop off in hooligan abundance along the Susitna River between Deshka Landing and the Deshka River confluence.

Areas where I had previously been seeing large schools of hooligan in shallow water along specific stretches of water during the last six days now appear barren of hooligan. In addition, the abundance of gulls and bald eagles adjacent to these areas fell off sharply on May 28 as well.

This was a relatively short abundance and harvest opportunity. But in this specific stretch of river, I’m thinking most hooligan harvesting is now over for the season.

My advice for anyone looking to harvest Susitna River hooligan is get out and find an abundance of hooligan soon, or your harvest opportunity may be over for the season, as the remaining hooligan in other stretches of river spawn and die off.

Anglers still anticipating king salmon abundance

I’ve been guiding king salmon charters every day since May 22 and talking with other guides and ADF&G staff on a regular basis concerning king salmon fishing and abundances. King salmon fishing catches have remained low for both Deshka River and Little Susitna River. A

DF&G weir counts as of Wednesday are 82 king salmon passing the Deshka River weir, and one king salmon passing the Little Susitna River weir. Those are low numbers, but in most years not many king salmon are available in Mat-Su Valley streams before the first week of June.

Many anglers who’ve struck up a conversation with me maintain a positive attitude that considerably stronger abundances of king salmon should show up in early June. Like usual, I intend to test that thought by guiding or fishing for king salmon as much as possible over the coming weekend and following week.

Check back next week to learn more about the 2014 Mat-Su king salmon run.

Andy Couch is a member of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission. He owns and operates Fishtale River Guides (www.fish4salmon.com), 2014 Best of the Valley winner for fishing charters.