Waters open, better fishing opportunities available

In last week’s column I mentioned a few early season Mat-Su open water fisheries that were starting to attract some attention and fishing pressure. Since that time snow and ice have continued to melt and additional waters are opening up to angler exploration, although I’ve heard limited reports of anglers catching fish. I expect that will change during the coming week as fishing conditions improve even more. A bit warmer and sunnier weather would also likely spur anglers into action.

Mike Hudson at 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla mentioned that Anderson Lake may now have enough open water to provide some decent fishing. Mike was also thinking the confluence areas where Parks Highway crossing tributary streams enter the Susitna River may already be producing some catches of rainbow trout or will be producing shortly. Mike had not heard any good reports from those streams yet, but the mainstream of the Susitna. River has only recently started opening up earlier this week. Mike mentioned there is shelf ice along portions of the Susitna River — and anglers should proceed with caution as shelf ice along the river can suddenly give way causing someone walking on top to suddenly fall through.

I’ve been in 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Walmart, and Frede Meyer stores and all of them have new tackle on for sale and on display in preparation for the summer fishing season. Some stores have had sale prices on select fishing gear, and have already caught some of my money.

I’ve continued my ventures to Eklutna Tailrace to cast and swing spinners in some decent current provided by the good levels of power plant water releases. The water has looked beautiful and most of the snow has melted from along the sides of the tailrace and also from the lower parking lot. Like usual for this time of year, I have yet to see any fish, and have not felt any bites while fishing this spot. It is a location where anglers can work some flowing water with little interference from snow and ice at this time.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) biologist, Samantha Oslund told me she was still hopeful the department’s hatchery tuck may be able to start stocking Mat-Su Lakes this week — although when she checked lakes before last weekend she was thinking Kepler - Bradley, Loberg, and Lucille appeared to have the best open water accessibility. Other lakes were still under winter’s spell. When I looked at a few locations on Tuesday I was surprised to find that lake ice had not melted quite as quickly as I was expecting on some of the lakes that often open fairly early. I’ve experienced some good fishing with only patches of open water along the lakes in the past. I’ve had good luck particularly toward evening — although if the weather is cool it can be a bit chilly fishing beside a still partially ice-covered lake. While wading some shallow water spots can make it easier to cast along brush-lined lake areas — it can also make fishing considerably colder this time of year. When wading in May I have never fished very long unless the fish were biting well.

King Salmon Updates

This weekend will be a last opportunity for sport anglers to target and harvest Upper Cook Inlet king salmon in saltwater north of Bluff Point before that fishery closes by emergency order on Monday May 15 at 12:01 a.m. I talked with one angler who was making a trip to the peninsula to fish for saltwater king salmon last week, but have not heard how he did.

Icy water conditions in the Mat-Su Valley will likely make catching a super early king salmon even more challenging in the valley this weekend or during the coming week. Samantha Oslund mentioned the department would be attempting to install Little Susitna River weir as soon as possible, but that poor access conditions with snow covering the road to Little Susitna River Public Use Facility was an issue needing to be dealt with.

Ship Creek King Salmon

Dustin Slinker, owner of the Bait Shack along Ship Creek has announced what has become an annual $500 fishing gear giveaway to the first angler of the season catching and reporting a king salmon from the Ship Creek fishery. If you happen to be that lucky angler check in your catch at the Bait Shack or if no one is around give Dustin a call at 907-522-3474. For updates on when the first Ship Creek king salmon is caught visit the Bait Shack’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/thebaitshack/

Copper River King Salmon

The first Copper River Flats commercial salmon opening is scheduled to occur on Monday May 15. Often the first several openings of the season attract some of the highest commercial participation of the season in this fishery. The harvesters often receive substantially better prices for salmon harvested during the first couple periods of this fishery, and other commercial salmon harvest opportunities within Prince William Sound don’t open until later in the season. On years with a late breakup (like last year) the salmon seem to school near the river mouth, but migration upstream can be delayed by a late ice breakup. This can result in large commercial harvests before any significant number of salmon are counted through the upriver Miles Lake sonar project. ADF&G has announced that waters within the expanded Chinook salmon inside closure area will be closed to commercial fishing during the first 12-hour period on Monday. It will be interesting to see how many salmon, and particularly king salmon, are harvested during this first opener.

According to genetic studies Copper River king salmon harvested from the first 2-3 Copper River Flats commercial periods are often predominately fish headed to Copper River tributaries upstream of the Gulkana River and also to the Gulkana River. The ADF&G management objective should be to allow some commercial harvest of these salmon, while still allowing enough of these early stocks to migrate upstream to provide for spawning escapement needs and to provide for reasonable harvest opportunities for upriver user groups. I am hopeful the projected king salmon return shows up, escapement needs are met, and all users have a reasonable harvest opportunity in 2023.

Fish On.

Andy Couch owns and operates Fishtale River Guides — he now is posting his 2023 website fishing reports at https://www.fish4salmon.com/alaska-fishing-reports/