Watching the weirs and a faithful pickup

This season just keeps getting better and better! Last week, I mentioned that all Unit 2 waters of the Susitna River Drainage were only open to weekend catch-and-release king salmon fishing (no retention allowed) for the remainder of the season and that the Little Susitna River was closed to all king salmon fishing for the rest of the year. On Monday, Fish and Game issued another emergency order restricting the Deshka River king salmon fishery.

Beginning this past Wednesday at 6 a.m. through the end of the season, no bait is allowed and only single-hook, artificial lures are legal on the Deshka. The single hook can only have one point. The Deshka passed its first returning king numbers scrutiny by barely making a minimum escapement around June 13-14, when approximately a quarter of the run historically has been counted through the weir. In order to make the minimum escapement, about 3,500 fish were needed and 3,466 fish had been counted.

According to the Monday news release, the midway count for the season’s king escapement goal generally has been counted by June 18. The escapement range for the Deshka runs between 13,000 and 28,000 king salmon. The news release uses 15,000 as the midway point. As of June 17, only 4,776 kings have been counted through the Deshka weir, less than a third of the minimum required number. Some level of restriction is definitely warranted with these dismal counts because enough data has been collected now to give a pretty fair picture of how the rest of the season will play out.

Could this be another late run scenario? Possibly. There’s still time for the necessary numbers of fish to find their way into the Deshka system to make escapement if those fish actually exist. Given what’s happening all around the state, but especially with the various king salmon runs in Cook Inlet, I would be surprised to see major numbers of kings suddenly appearing in the waters of our Northern District. For all practical purposes, this 2013 season is shaping up to be even worse than last year, when only five of 17 monitored king salmon systems made minimum escapement goals.

Let’s hope the silvers show in at least average numbers later in the year.

Transportation to our favorite hunting or fishing location is a necessary part of the outdoor lifestyle. Being able to get ourselves and our boats, ATV’s or snowmachines to the launch point is critical to the later success of the trip. That’s why most of us have pickups — to haul gear and tow the toys for our various outdoor pursuits. I’ve owned a pickup for most of my adult life and can’t imagine being without one.

My current gasoline engine truck is 15 model years old and has just under 140,000 miles on the odometer. The truck runs fine and has served well in supporting my various outdoor activities, but I have noticed some things that could be improved. For instance, when I owned my 16-foot riverboat with outboard, towing was no problem. When I was able to upgrade to my current 20-foot inboard jetboat, I’ve noticed the truck seems underpowered for towing that 5,000-pound boat and trailer package around the state.

I’ve been researching the possibility of getting a diesel engine truck to better handle the towing. However, I’m also conflicted over the higher cost of a diesel truck, diesel fuel and maintenance of the diesel engine verses the actual amount of towing I would do. Being retired and on a fixed income, I generally try to keep my truck mileage down around 5,000 miles per year. Given my age, I may only have another 10 to 15 years of time where I can physically use the riverboat and ATV or snowmachine, so does an upgrade to a diesel make sense for me?

In talking with various folks, some have suggested just buying a truck with a more powerful gasoline engine for the towing capability and living with the reduced mileage of the gas motor. I’ve looked into that as well, but I think the maker with the engine I would prefer has quit installing that big gas engine in its newer-model trucks. That’s probably fine, since I was looking at used vehicles anyway. Who can afford new nowadays?

When I figure it all out and if I make a change, I’ll let you know what happened.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.