John Hakla from Eagle River heads back into the water while dipnetting on the North Kenai Beach on Wednesday, July 17, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

John Hakla from Eagle River heads back into the water while dipnetting on the North Kenai Beach on Wednesday, July 17, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Central Peninsula weekly fishing report

The fish have been trickling into the nets since the personal use fishery opened on July 10.

More than 225,000 late-run sockeye have gone through the weir as of July 15, doubling last year’s run — which was at just above 100,000 fish at the same time — exciting dipnetters all along the shore of Kenai’s beaches.

The fish have been trickling into the nets since the personal use fishery opened on July 10. Sockeye salmon sport fishing on the Lower Kenai River is slow due to high waters.

Anglers have still seen success in the Upper Kenai River, Russian River and the sanctuary for sockeyes, although it has slowed significantly since the boom earlier this summer. The bag limits have returned to three fish per day with six in possession.

King salmon fishing on the Lower Kenai River remains slow, with high, turbid water conditions affecting angling. King salmon of any size can be retained if caught from the mouth of the Kenai River to a marker 300 yards downstream of Slikok Creek, but only king salmon less than 36 inches in length can be kept upstream to the outlet of Skilak Lake.

A little north, the pink salmon are beginning to show up at Resurrection Creek in Hope.

More in News

A depth marker is almost entirely subsumed by the waters of the Kenai River in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
After delay, borough adopts updated flood insurance maps

The assembly had previously postponed the legislation amid outcry from the Kenai River Keys Property Owners Association.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche points to where the disconnected baler ram has bent piping at the Central Peninsula Landfill in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough approves federal request to fund recycling redesign

A large baler that was used for recycling was recently left inoperable by a catastrophic failure in its main ram.

A person is detained in Anchorage in recent days by officials from the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (FBI Anchorage Field Office photo)
Trump’s immigration raids arrive in Alaska, while Coast Guard in state help deportations at southern US border

Anchorage arrests touted by FBI, DEA; Coast Guard plane from Kodiak part of “alien expulsion flight operations.”

Jamiann S’eiltin Hasselquist asks participants to kneel as a gesture to “stay grounded in the community” during a protest in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday focused on President Donald Trump’s actions since the beginning of his second term. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Trump protest rally at Alaska State Capitol targets Nazi-like salutes, challenges to Native rights

More than 120 people show up as part of nationwide protest to actions during onset of Trump’s second term.

Borough Clerk Michele Turner administers an oath of office to Leslie Morton after Morton was appointed as the new Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly representative for Sterling and Funny River during an assembly meeting in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Morton appointed to assembly’s Sterling and Funny River seat

A vacancy on the assembly was created when Rep. Bill Elam resigned after winning election to the Alaska Legislature in November.

Co-owner Susannah Webster (right) checks in another attendee of The Porcupine Theater’s grand reopening gala on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
A night out at the theater

The Porcupine successfully held its long-awaited grand opening last weekend.

Cook Inletkeeper Energy Policy Analyst Ben Boettger presents information about retrofitting homes to be more energy efficient at the Cook Inletkeeper Community Action Studio on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Cook Inletkeeper to launch salmon solution community project

The program aims to address the impacts of pollution and warming temperatures in the Cook Inlet watershed.

Milly Hornung and Halle Blades speak in opposition to a possible closure of Nikiski Middle/High School during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
KPBSD discusses possible school closures in face of $17 million deficit

A presentation from borough administration to the board on Tuesday outlined a series of scenarios for closure of up to nine schools.

A worker paints over a wall mural featuring words such as “fairness,” “leadership,” “compassion,” “diversity” and “integrity” at the FBI Academy at Quantico on Wednesday. (Anonymous photo provided to The New York Times)
Mass deletion and alteration of federal websites includes Alaska reports and data

Forest Service climate assessment, Alaska Native education program, FEMA strategic plan among deletions.

Most Read