King runs improving, restrictions may be lifted

June 14, 2010|by Lori Tipton

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Despite restrictions on multiple popular rivers in Southcentral Alaska, there is some good news for anglers.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says the king salmon counts in the Mat-Su Valley and on the Kenai Peninsula are improving.

The Kenai River early-run king salmon sport fishery will reopen to harvest of more king salmon.

Starting at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, June 15, the fishery will be open to harvest of king salmon less than 46 inches in length or 55 inches in length or greater.

The Kenai River was closed June 4, after officials counted alarmingly low numbers of king salmon in the river. It re-opened this past Saturday to largely catch-and-release only fishing, but the agency says the run is looking better every day.

At other popular fishing spots throughout Southcentral Alaska, Fish and Game is closely monitoring the kings. Most fish runs have been slow so far this year, but there are signs that the numbers are on the upswing.

Fish and Game says restrictions on the Deshka River in Willow may change as well. Last week, Fish and Game issued a bait restriction there, but the numbers have slightly improved. Fish and Game says it now projects the river will make the escapement goal, and if the numbers continue to rise, the bait restriction could be lifted.

Fish and Game says it will have a better idea of how the run will likely turn out at the end of this week.

"Right now we're going to be at the 50th percentile of the run on Friday, so we're going to look at it real carefully on Friday," said Fish and Game biologist Dave Rutz. "We're projected to make the escapement goal now, which is really good."

If you have a fishing picture you're proud of, e-mail it to us at web@ktuu.com. We'll post them on our GoToAK.com website, and John Carpenter will pick the week's best shot and share it with everybody each Thursday night as part of the Fishing Report.

Contact Lori Tipton at ltipton@ktuu.com

|

|

|