With most king fishing closed, other salmon species begin to show in inlet

Since king salmon fishing closed in the Susitna River drainage and Little Susitna River, I’ve been passing some time over at the Eklutna Tailrace attempting to catch and harvest a king salmon.

So far I’ve seen several fish rolling (or a few fish rolling several times) however, I’ve yet to hook one of them. I’ve watched a couple other people catch some decent-sized king salmon from the Tailrace, however, mostly it is a patience and persistence game. And if you are lucky enough to get a bite, you don’t want to miss it. You simply don’t know when or if you might get another chance.

While fishing with Ben Allen, his wife, a couple of their relatives, and my wife, we watched Amber Allen haul in an unusually fat 18-inch jack king salmon. I suspect this jack was larger and fatter than what I normally see in wild Alaska king salmon populations because it was likely raised to a heavier than wild fish smolt size before being released to migrate to the ocean, feed, and return to the hatchery-enhanced Eklutna Tailrace fishery.

We also saw several of the 5- to 10-pound king salmon rolling at the tailrace that matched the predominate wild king salmon size at Deshka River earlier when catch and release king salmon fishing was allowed at Deshka. Each member of our group was casting salmon roe and drifting the bait under bobbers. We saw salmon swirl or surface close to where the baits were drifting several times, but it seemed like most of the fish had already seen such a barrage of bait and lures in this 24-hour fishery that they simply were not interested.

There was one more bite for our group, however, when Amber’s aunt, Tresa Nevill’s bobber disappeared into the mildly green water. It was game on, as Ben ran to get the net, and it took a while to tire a good-sized king salmon before it could be led to the net. Ben waited until he got a good shot, and landed the fish with one clean scoop. That is the closest I’ve been to a king salmon landed at the Tailrace, and it inspired me to try again after the weekend, however, on the second trip I saw kings rolling once again, but did not see any one get hooked up.

Talking with people who have fished the Knik River below Eklutna Tailrace, I’ve heard of several groups of boaters catching nothing. With our recent heavy rains and increased flows in both the Knik River and Matanuska River, the water below the outflow of Eklutna Tailrace quickly turns into a nearly opaque cloud of silt.

The number of boats launched at the Glenn Highway bridge to participate in this fishery has dropped off accordingly, although there are still some boaters trying their luck. The Eklutna Tailrace/Knik River fishery remains the only Mat-Su Valley fishery where king salmon can be targeted and also the only Mat-Su Valley fishery where they can be harvested.

With the run winding down at Deshka River it is doubtful the minimum king salmon spawning escapement of 13,000 fish will be achieved. As of Tuesday only 6,588 king salmon had passed the Deshka River Weir. The king salmon count for Little Susitna River weir passage remains at 70 fish, however, the weir has been underwater, then clogged with logs and brush, and buried in sand. The department is hopeful to get the Little Susitna River Weir operation again sometime this week, however the Little Susitna River king salmon escapement for 2018 will need to be evaluated by an aerial survey (if water conditions are good enough in mid to late July.

Although I talked with Margo Nealis of Tri River Charters in Talkeetna, A. J. at 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla, Marilynn Rouswell at Susitna Landing, and both Sam Ivey and Samantha Oslund with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, I have yet to hear of any ocean-run salmon, other than king salmon, being caught from Mat-Su waters this year. The they are on their way however, as evidenced by a search of Upper Cook Inlet commercial harvest this past Monday.

Even in the Inlet, most salmon migrations are just getting started, on June 25 the commercial fleet caught 19,072 sockeye salmon, 377 chum salmon, 22 pink salmon, and 12 silver salmon. Some king salmon were also caught. The good news is that all five species of salmon were caught, and before long some of them should make it to Northern Cook Inlet and then Mat-Su Valley rivers and streams.

Sam Ivey went fishing at Alexander Lake with his dad this past week and they caught about 100 northern pike according to Samantha Oslund with ADF&G. Oslund also listed other spots Mat-Su anglers may want to try for pike the coming week: Anderson and King Lakes, Memory Lake, Prator Lake, Big Lake, the Nancy Lake system, sloughs of the Deshka River and Flatiron Lake draining into the lower Susitna River below Alexander Creek. There are other pike locations as well, and the ones with little fishing pressure can have some of the larger fish.

As has been the case all season, the Mat-Su Valley stocked lakes continue to provide some of the better fish catching opportunities. Some lakes often only have little fishing effort as well. The best way to find some of the better spots is to examine ADF&G stocking records, ask questions, and do some exploring. According to Jason Perrego of Alaska Lakes Guide Service, even some of the more popular lakes can provide good catching opportunities for large fish, particularly if one can fish early in the day and on a weekday.

Have a safe Fourth of July Holiday, good luck, and fish on!

Andy Couch is a Mat-Su Valley fishing guide and also a member of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commision. You can read his daily fishing reports at http://www.fish4salmon.com