Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion  In this July 1, 2014 file photo four anglers and a dog spent a leisurely morning fishing during the opening day of king salmon fishing on the Kenai River near Poacher's Cove in Soldotna, Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers have again restricted fishing on the late run of Kenai River king salmon in an effort to conserve the fish.

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion In this July 1, 2014 file photo four anglers and a dog spent a leisurely morning fishing during the opening day of king salmon fishing on the Kenai River near Poacher's Cove in Soldotna, Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers have again restricted fishing on the late run of Kenai River king salmon in an effort to conserve the fish.

Kenai River to open for limited king salmon fishing

  • By Rashah McChesney
  • Thursday, June 25, 2015 1:23pm
  • News

Anglers will soon be able to target Kenai River king salmon, but with restrictions.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Thursday released a batch of emergency orders designed to allow limited king salmon fishing on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers.

In July, anglers must fish no-bait and on a single hook.

The restriction is in place on the Kenai River from its mouth upstream to the Fish and Game marker at the outlet of Skilak Lake. While the river is restricted to no bait from Skilak Lake down, fishing for late run king salmon will only be allowed from a Fish and Game regulatory marker downstream of Slikok Creek to the river mouth. This is the fifth consecutive year that Fish and Game area managers have closed king salmon fishing on 32 miles of river downstream of Skilak Lake. The closure is from river mile 50 to river mile 18, or about 60 percent of the river that’s open to king salmon fishing in regulation.

To justify the restrictions, sportfishing managers cited the 2015 preseason forecast of 22,000 fish in the late run of Kenai River king salmon.

The escapement goal range that managers attempt to reach with the late run of Kenai king salmon is 15,000-30,000 fish.

Soldotna area sportfish management biologist Robert Begich said a total run of 22,000 fish leaves just 7,000 Kenai River king salmon available for harvest between all commercial, sport and personal-use fishermen in the Cook Inlet who could conceivably catch the fish.

“If (the run) is realized, it would be really hard to make the escapement with unrestricted harvest,” he said.

Typically, when Kenai River king salmon anglers are restricted to no-bait and a single hook, it cuts their effectiveness in half, Begich said. However, with the additional restrictions on the area of the river available for fishing, that number is likely to be much higher.

Also in the Kenai River, personal-use dipnetters will be prohibited from keeping any king salmon that they catch. That fishery opens July 10 and runs through the end of the month.

On the Kasilof River, anglers will not be able to use bait or multiple hooks from the river’s mouth upstream to the Sterling Highway Bridge for the entire month of July.

During the Kasilof River’s early run of king salmon, managers aim to hit a target of between 650-1,700 naturally-produced king salmon in the river. As of June 24, just 289 non-hatchery king salmon had been counted at the river’s weir on Crooked Creek, according to a Fish and Game media release. That low number may prevent hatchery managers from being able to take eggs for brood stock in 2015.

Managers justified the restrictions with the assertion that restricted king salmon fishing on the nearby Kenai River would likely cause more fishing pressure on the Kasilof River, according to the release. Begich a conservative start on the late run king salmon fishing may avoid further restrictions later in the month.

“Since it’s going to be a low run, we’ve forecasted a low run, we’re giving the best chance that we have to have a fishery for the whole month of July,” he said.

The restrictions to sportfishing for king salmon on the Kenai River triggers restrictions in the commercial setnet fishery on the east side of Cook Inlet. Setnetters will be capped at 36 hours per week of fishing time beginning July 1. If the in-river fishery is further restricted to catch and release, setnetters will be limited to one 12-hour period per week.

Reach Rashah McChesney at rashah.mcchesney@peninsulaclarion.com or follow her on Twitter @litmuslens.

More in News

An 86 pound Kenai River king salmon is measured in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 29, 1995. (M. Scott Moon/Peninsula Clarion File)
Kenai River king salmon fishing closed entirely for 3rd year

Kenai River king salmon were designated a stock of management concern in 2023.

The Kenai Peninsula College Main Entrance on Aug. 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
University of Alaska Board of Regents to meet in Soldotna

The last time the board met on the Kenai Peninsula was April 2012.

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education member Penny Vadla and student representative Emerson Kapp speak to the joint Alaska House and Senate education committees in Juneau, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy Gavel Alaska/KTOO)
KPBSD among dozens of districts to deliver in-person testimony to Alaska Legislature

Districts spotlighted programs already lost over years of stagnant funding that hasn’t met inflationary pressure.

Rep. Bill Elam, R-Nikiski, speaks during a town hall meeting hosted by his office at the Nikiski Community Recreation Center in Nikiski, Alaska, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Education dominates Elam’s 1st town hall as state rep

Education funding dominated much of the conversation.

Kenai Middle School Principal Vaughn Dosko points out elements of a redesign plan for the front of the school on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Work soon to begin on Kenai Middle security upgrades

The security upgrades are among several key KPBSD maintenance projects included in a bond approved by borough voters in October 2022.

The Kenai Fire Department headquarters are photographed on Feb. 13, 2018, in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Kenai adds funds, authorizes contract for study of emergency services facility

The building shared by Kenai’s police and fire departments hasn’t kept up with the needs of both departments, chief says.

Kenai Parks and Recreation Director Tyler Best shows off a new inclusive seesaw at Kenai Municipal Park in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai awards contract to develop Parks and Rec master plan

The document is expected to guide the next 20 years of outdoors and recreation development in the city.

Balancing Act’s homepage for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget. (Screenshot)
KPBSD launches ‘Balancing Act’ software, calls for public to balance $17 million deficit

The district and other education advocates have said that the base student allocation has failed to keep up with inflation.

Natural gas processing equipment is seen at Furie Operating Alaska’s central processing facility in Nikiski, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Harvest Alaska announces proposed redevelopment of Kenai LNG terminal

The project could deliver additional natural gas supplies to the Southcentral market as early as 2026, developers said.

Most Read