Warm weather cools king fishing; expect change soon

The unusually sunny, warm weather experienced in the Mat-Su Valley over the past week raised many streams and river levels to the high and muddy stage, resulting in poor conditions for catching king salmon attracted to the high stream flows that occur during this time of year.

On the Deshka River, king salmon anglers are starting to experience the other extreme where the warm weather has heated water temperatures to the point that salmon may be less active — especially during the warm, sunny part of the day. Water temperatures were warm enough on the Deshka over Memorial Day weekend that I saw a swimmer out paddling around near Deshka River Lodge and farther upstream an extreme water skier being towed through a shallow, narrow channel by a high-powered jet boat. A person does not see either of those situations very often on an Alaska salmon fishing charter.

Rain and forecasted cloudy weather with the possibility of additional rain could keep rivers muddy through the weekend, but should help cool waters and increase salmon activity on the Deshka. In addition, it is still early in the king salmon run timing, and the number of fish available have been low.

Within the next week, however, numbers of king salmon arriving in Mat-Su rivers and streams could increase dramatically. According to Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) data, the total number of king salmon counted through the Deshka River weir between May 24 and 31 totaled 77 king salmon. As the king salmon run starts to build, daily weir counts can top 1,000 on this popular stream. These counts are posted on the ADF&G website and can help anglers determine when they would like to plan trips to the river in efforts to capitalize on harvesting abundant salmon. The ADF&G June 1 weekly fishing report for the Northern Cook Inlet freshwater area also mentions that king salmon runs historically start building this week.

Last call for hooligans

I’ve heard some extremely good reports for those interested in catching hooligan, but would suggest anyone wanting to catch some of the little guys get going soon or the run will be over for another season. The Susitna /Yentna River system is the huge produce in the Mat-Su Valley, and large flocks of seagulls are often present, making it easier to identify some of the best dipnetting locations. Most people I know use a boat to access this fishery, but there are also locations to catch them by driving a vehicle and dipping within a short walk. Willow Creek and Susitna Landing are sometimes productive spots for those who do not have boat access.

ADF&G loaner rod

and reel combinations

Talking with fisheries biologist Samantha Oslund in the Palmer office (746-6300), I learned about a program she has started to make quality rod and reel combinations available to Alaska fishing license holders on a loaner basis. I even had a chance to inspect some of the gear — St. Croix salmon-type spinning combinations and fly combinations. Every once in a while I get a request from someone visiting Alaska interested in rental rod and reel combinations, but have not known where to send them. Now I know where to suggest they start looking, and I like the idea of the program so much that I donated a few lighter and shorter spinning combinations, and one bait-casting combination, to the program.

Mat-Su Anglers Club dates

The Mat-Su Anglers June meeting will be at the Curtis D. Mendard Memorial Sports Center at 7 p.m., June 9 with a presentation on new fishing products available for anglers. On June 18 at Finger Lake, the club will host a fishing outing, and on July 15 the club will host a kid’s casting clinic. For more information on how you can participate, contact club president Julie Busch at 892-7543 or visit matsuanglers.org.

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 Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Sportsmen’s Committee. Email this column at sports@frontiersman.com if you have Mat-Su fishing questions or information readers may find useful.