For the ninth year in a row, the State Department of Fish and Game has opened the Russian River Sanctuary Area to sockeye fishing early in response to strong runs.

The sanctuary, a small area of the river near Sportsman’s Landing at the confluence of the Kenai and Russian rivers, has been opened early every year since 2017. In regulation, the confluence is expected to be open from July 15 to Aug. 20. An emergency order on Monday opened the sanctuary on Tuesday morning.

During the early opening period, from Wednesday until July 14, sockeye salmon can be caught only while fly-fishing with a bag limit of three per day and six in possession for those 16 inches or greater in length. For those smaller than 16 inches, the bag limit will be 10 per day, 10 in possession.

The release says that the liberalized opening is motivated by a run of sockeye salmon that already has cleared the lower bound of the biological escapement goal. Fish counts from the department show that nearly 24,000 sockeye have been counted on the Russian River this year — a count that meets the goal of 22,000 to 42,000 fish but that falls below the counts at this time for each of the last four years.

“Given the current level of escapement at the Russian River weir, opening the Sanctuary Area early will allow anglers more time and area to target these fish,” says Area Management Biologist Phill Stacey in the release. “The Russian River early-run has been slow and steady this season, but now that we have met the goal, it is appropriate to provide more area for anglers to target the remaining sockeye in this early-run.”

The department in the announcement reminds anglers to remove fish carcasses from the waters of the Russian River. They say that anglers who intend to clean their catch at the river should do so at the mainstem Kenai River cleaning tables, where sockeye salmon carcasses can be cut into small pieces and thrown into deep flowing waters of the Kenai River.

For more information about fishing regulations and opportunities, visit adfg.alaska.gov.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.