Use of bait banned on Deshka

MAT-SU — Shine up those spinners, Valley anglers; the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has decided to pull bait from the Deshka River.

According to a press release issued by the department Thursday, the new restrictions will go into effect at 6 a.m. Saturday and remain in place until 11 p.m., July 13. The new regulation includes all waters of the Deshka River from its mouth upstream to a regulatory marker near Chijuk Creek, which is located at approximately river mile 17. The bait closure also includes all waters within a one-half mile radius of the Deshka’s confluence with the Little Susitna River.

Alaska Fish and Game biologist Dave Rutz said the bait restriction was put in place due to an unusually late return of fish to the Deshka.

“It’s a slow, probably low return,” Rutz said.

As of Thursday, just 234 kings had been counted past an Alaska Fish and Game weir located seven miles upstream. At this point during a normal run, Rutz said approximately 7,000 fish would have passed the weir.

Rutz said the numbers don’t necessarily mean the run is poor. He noted that king salmon returns across Southcentral — with the exception of the Kenai River — have been late this year.

“We’re seeing a lot of late returns this year,” he said.

Fishing guide Silvia Willis, who owns the Deshka River Lodge with her husband, Andy, said fishing has been slow on the Deshka, but guides are holding out hope that the cold spring temperatures are to blame.

“I’m just hoping that they’re late,” Willis said from her lodge Thursday.

Willis said water levels on the river have been lower than average, as have temperatures. But she also noted that fishing on Thursday had been decent, and fish are still getting caught on a regular basis.

“Actually, today it’s been pretty good,” she said.

Rutz said the bait restriction is likely to mean about a 30 percent reduction in angler success. However, Willis said she believes the loss of bait won’t be too much of an obstacle to hooking fish because many of the popular lures on the river are fished without bait already.

Three Rivers Fly and Tackle employee Logan Perala said the best bet for hooking kings without bait are usually flashy lures (Pixie spoons and Vibrax- or Mepps-type spinners) for casting anglers and divers (including Wiggle Warts, Kwikfish) for those fishing from a stationary position.

“What I’d use is like Magnum wigglers or Kwikfish,” he said.

The other option, Perala said, is for anglers to abandon the Deshka and try the Little Susitna, where fishing has reportedly been a bit better.

“That’s where I’d go,” he said.

However, Rutz cautioned that even the Little Susitna has been seeing lower-than-expected returns this summer.

“Next week, if things don’t look up, especially on the Deshka and Little Su, we’ll probably look at more restrictions,” he said.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

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