At around 8 a.m. Monday, at the mouth of the Kasilof River, around 30 stood with nets in the water. By high tide, around 10:15 a.m., that number had ballooned to well over 80, and even more could be seen rolling up and pulling gear from trucks and ATVs. Each sought to leave with a cooler full of sockeye salmon, and the odds were certainly in their favor.
Around high tide, and for hours prior, there was rarely a moment where an angler wasn’t dragging in a salmon, clubbing it and clipping its tail fin. As many as five salmon could be seen filling nets at once. Across the beach, moods were high — anglers called out to one another, shared tools and reveled in their collective success.
The good fortune and high yield weren’t necessarily experienced by each angler with a net in the river. One man, as he dragged a salmon to a waiting cooler, said it was the first he’d caught — but his wife had already landed four. She had upped that count to seven by the time he had his second.
One angler walked up, telling those nearby that he had just restrung his net. He caught a salmon within seconds of beginning. He had a second only a couple additional minutes later. The new net was, indeed, “lucky.” The woman standing next to him felt perhaps less so.
“You’ve gotta jump in after those,” one angler said after watching a sockeye leap into the air and out of his neighbor’s net.
Coolers and buckets were filling rapidly all morning.
A young boy roamed the beach collecting tail clippings from each landed salmon. He had initially been tasked by his father with keeping an eye on their bucket — itself host to a growing number of salmon.
The tails made good eating for the legion of seagulls that made an attentive audience for the anglers, and he said he was looking to make some friends.
Dipnetting at the mouth of the Kasilof River will be open until Aug. 7. The Department of Fish and Game recently expanded the fishable area in response to a strong projected run of sockeye salmon. The department’s escapement goal has been exceeded in each of the last four years. As of Sunday, 65,000 sockeye have been counted by sonar — higher than the last four years.
More information about fishing regulations and availability can be found at adfg.alaska.gov.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
Two anglers scout out their spot in the water at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler smiles with the first salmon caught by his family at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler puts a freshly caught sockeye salmon into a cooler at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler frees a salmon from a net at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seagulls prowl the sands in search of scraps at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler puts a freshly caught sockeye salmon into a cooler at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler clips the tail of a freshly caught sockeye salmon at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler carries a fish from the water at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler pulls a net from the water, taking a sockeye salmon with it, at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler frees a fish from a net at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler carries a fish from the water at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler carries a fish from the water at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A sockeye salmon rests atop a cooler at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler stands with a fish at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A bucket of recently caught sockeye salmon rests on the sand while anglers seek to fill it further at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An angler carries a fish from the water at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An audience of seagulls waits impatiently as an angler cleans their catch at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
