Tight Lines: Kings make an appearance, lakes heat up

Enough fish were caught during last weekend’s king opener on the southern Kenai Peninsula’s salmon streams to keep things interesting, and other options for catching a salmon are beginning to open up to anglers in the coming week.

“On the Anchor River, fishing was steady enough to keep people interested, and the same with Deep Creek,” said Carol Kerkvliet, an assistant area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Homer.

The Ninilchik River was a bit slower, Kerkvliet said.

Fishing for kings in Cook Inlet also has been good, and Kervliet said fresh schools of kings have been arriving at the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon on the Homer Spit. Kings also have been showing up across Kachemak Bay in Seldovia, she said.

Fish numbers on the Anchor River also appear to better than previous seasons, with 507 kings counted at the sonar and weir site through Tuesday.

Kerkvliet said that while the numbers are better than recent years, it’s still too early to draw any conclusions about the strength of the run. Manager will continue to see how the run develops.

On the central Kenai Peninsula, area lakes continue to be a good option.

Dave Atcheson, author of “Fishing Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula,” said he’s been exploring the lakes of the Kenai Canoe Trails on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, accessed by taking Swanson River Road to Swan Lake Road. Details on the canoe trails are available from the refuge at fws.gov/refuge/Kenai/visit/visitor_activities/canoe.html, or at refuge headquarters on Ski Hill Road in Soldotna.

“(Lakes) back in the Swan Lake, Swanson area are really hot right now, especially if you get off the road system little bit,” Atcheson said.

Atcheson, a fly-fisherman, suggested bringing along a variety of flies.

“If there’s a big hatch, some of those really small flies, chironomids, midges, and their corresponding nymphs are good to have in your arsenal. If there isn’t a hatch, try going to a leech or egg-sucking leech,” Atcheson said.

According to Fish and Game, bait fished under a bobber, or small spinners and spoons also are good options for early season lake fishing.

Opportunities to catch a salmon also are increasing.

Jason Pawluk, Fish and Game assistant area management biologist, said reports from the Kasilof River are that king fishing is still slow, but fish are being caught. The Kasilof king fishery typically starts to pick up during the first week of June.

“We’re getting close to that period,” Pawluk said.

On the Kasilof, the daily bag limit for kings is one hatchery-produced fish, except on Saturdays when an angler may retain a hatchery-produced or wild salmon. Hatchery fish are identifiable by a healed adipose fin-clip scar. The adipose fin is the small fleshy fin on the back just ahead of the tail.

Pawluk also said for anglers willing to put in some time, the early run of red salmon will be hitting the Kenai River soon. Those fishery head straight for the Russian River, but can be caught on the lower Kenai River.

“If you time it right, you can catch those reds,” Pawluk said.

Pawluk suggested finding locations conducive to fishing for reds, such as where a swift current is pushing the fish closer to shore.

Anglers should note that the opening date for sockeye salmon fishing on the Russian and upper Kenai rivers was incorrectly listed as June 1 in the printed version of the regulation booklet. The correct date for sockeye salmon 16 inches and longer is June 11. Pawluk said Fish and Game has posted signs in the area alerting anglers to the error.

Anglers should always check the regulations for the area they plan to fish before heading out on the water.

Got a fish tale to tell? Photo to share? Reach Will Morrow at 907-335-1251 or email will.morrow@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in Life

John Messick’s “Compass Lines” is displayed at the Kenai Peninsula College Bookstore in Soldotna, Alaska on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Messick reflects on path forward in ‘Compass Lines’

“Compass Lines,” a new book by John Messick, a local writer and… Continue reading

Keanu Reeves portrays John Wick in "John Wick: Chapter 4." (Photo courtesy Lionsgate)
On the Screen: ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ goes out on top

In the showstopping, approximately 40-minute long, third-act action sequence of “John Wick:… Continue reading

Will Morrow (courtesy)
Springing ahead

I’m not ready to spring ahead

Murder suspect William Dempsey is pictured shortly after he was captured on the outskirts of Seward in early September 1919. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)
A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey story — Part 8

Dempsey spent more than a decade attempting to persuade a judge to recommend him for executive clemency

Promotional image via the Performing Arts Society
Saturday concert puts jazz, attitude on stage

Lohmeyer is a former local music teacher

The author holds a copy of Greta Thunberg’s, “No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference,” inside the Peninsula Clarion building on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Off the Shelf: Thunberg speeches pack a punch

“No One Is Too Small to Make A Difference” is a compilation of 16 essays given by the climate activist

White chocolate cranberry cake is served with fresh cranberries. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Hard-to-ruin cranberry cake

This white chocolate cranberry cake is easy to make and hard to ruin — perfect for my students aged 3, 6, 7 and 7.

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
Life in the Pedestrian Lane: It’s March

March is the trickster month, probably why we see so much raven activity these days

After Pres. Woodrow Wilson commuted his death sentence to life in prison, William Dempsey (inmate #3572) was delivered from Alaska to the federal penitentiary on McNeil Island, Wash. These were his intake photos. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)
A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey story — Part 7

The opening line of Dempsey’s first letter to Bunnell — dated March 19, 1926 — got right to the point

Bella Ramsey as Ellie and Pedro Pascal as Joel in “The Last of Us.” (Photo courtesy HBO)
On the Screen: ‘The Last of Us’ perfectly adapts a masterpiece

HBO unquestionably knew they had a hit on their hands

Chocolate cake is topped with white chocolate cream cheese frosting. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
A cake topped with love (and white chocolate cream cheese)

He loved the frosting so much he said he never wants anything else on his cake

In 1914, Pres. Woodrow Wilson appointed Charles Bunnell to be the judge of the Federal District Court for the Third and Fourth divisions of the Alaska Territory. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)
A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey story — Part 6

Prosecution lawyers were fortunate to have a fallback plan: witnesses to the crime.