Kenai River

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game presented several reports to the Board of Fisheries in Anchorage Sunday.  After hearing staff reports, the board will consider over 300 proposals dealing with different aspects of fisheries in Cook Inlet. Tom McKinley, a Kenai River area biologist with Fish and Game, presented a report called "Kenai River King Salmon Assessment and Management. " "We're seeing a lot of fish that have spent two winters in saltwater, what we call two-ocean fish.

The Board of Fisheries will debate over 300 proposals during its 15-day meeting in Anchorage starting Sunday, from preserving the king salmon fishery on the Kenai River to bolstering salmon returns in the Matanuska Valley. One group of proposals is already stirring up controversy: the 28 proposals before the board that deal with dipnetting on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers. Some of them would eliminate the use of boats for personal-use fishing on the Kenai River, eliminate the retention of king salmon caught while dipnetting and shorten the season.

Last week in the Channel 2 Fishing Report, we came up snake-eyes in our search for silver salmon out of Seward. But in this week's report, the stench of that skunk is a thing of the past as we strike silver early and often on the Kenai River. In September on the Kenai the king season is over and the temperatures are cooling -- but the silver salmon fishing is just heating up. “It's been great since Aug. 1, we've been getting limits or almost limits every day,” said Kenai River guide Jimmie Jack.

In a season of bad news for sports fishing comes even more bad news. Starting midnight on Thursday, August 12, fishing for reds on the Russian River and   Kenai River fly fishing-only waters will close. A poor return of sockeyes is the culprit. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has set the minimum escapement for reds on the Russian River at between 30,000 and 110,000 this year. They're projecting only about 25,000 reds will return. If you have any questions contact Fish and Game.

by Channel 2 News staff Tuesday, July 27, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaska continues to maintain its status as having the cleanest waters in the country.  That's the conclusion in a new report released by the State Department of Environmental Conservation.     The 2010 integrated report shows some Alaska rivers, like the Kenai, have met water quality standards after years of being listed as polluted because of emissions from outboard motors. The DEC says a ban on two stroke engines on the lower portion of the river during peak times, along with volunteer educational efforts by area residents, have made a difference.

by Channel 2 News staff Friday, July 23, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Two water canine teams from Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs will travel to the Kenai River Saturday morning to look for a man who disappeared in the river on Wednesday. On Wednesday, dispatch received a 911 call from a boater on the Kenai River reporting an unknown male was in the river, about 100 feet above the Pillars boat launch. Witnesses reported seeing the shirtless male struggle in the water before going under.

by The Associated Press Saturday, July 17, 2010 KENAI, Alaska -- State officials are warning people of elevated bacteria levels in Kenai River water off a popular dipnetting beach. The Department of Environmental Conservation is monitoring water at North Kenai Beach because of high levels of enterococci bacteria found in water samples taken July 8-11. The bacteria can cause diarrhea, stomach aches, or ear, eye and skin infections. The department says the reason for the elevated bacteria levels is unknown.

by John Carpenter Friday, July 16, 2010 The early bird catches the worm -- it's an old adage that's especially apropos for fishing. Today, we're chasing king salmon with Jimmie Jack of Jimmie Jack Fishing. We push off early in the morning. Our method of attack is a Kenai River standard. "We're trolling with Kwik Fish with a sardine wrap," says Jimmie Jack. "We're basically just running through the channels and hoping they'll run into us. There's a lot of hope involved.

by John Carpenter Thursday, July 8, 2010 EKLUTNA, Alaska -- The king salmon season is coming to a close, so we decided to see how things were going at one of the only places in the Mat-Su Valley still open for kings: the Eklutna tailrace. The only thing more empty than the parking lot at the tailrace Wednesday were its banks. It's not supposed to be this way, not during king salmon season. "This is my second time here. Last year I fished here about four times, the year before about ten times, very successfully," said tailrace fisherman David Brown.

by The Associated Press Wednesday, July 7, 2010 COOPER LANDING, Alaska -- Alaska State Troopers say a 14-foot boat carrying six people sank in Kenai Lake but all six made it to shore. The boat riders, all in their 20s, on Monday afternoon were in the small boat loaded with camping gear on the lake that forms the headwaters of the Kenai River at Cooper Landing. Troopers took an emergency call at 1:24 p.m. Investigators say the boat sank in heavy swells.