A silver salmon is weighed at Three Bears in Kenai, Alaska. Evelyn McCoy, customer service PIC at Three Bears, looks on. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Opinion: Will coho salmon be the next to disappear in the Kenai River?

Did we not learn anything from the disappearance of the kings from the Kenai River?

 

Hunter Kirby holds up the hatchery king salmon he bagged during the one-day youth fishery on the Ninilchik River on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 in Ninilchik, Alaska. Photo by Mike Booz

Ninilchik River closed to sport fishing

The closure is in effect from June 23 through July 15.

 

Nick Varney

Reeling ‘Em In: Old-timers cast their lines

The grizzled gentlemen have been coming down to Homer for over 35 years to ambush flats from their modest skiff in “secret holes” east of the Spit.

 

A sockeye salmon is pictured in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Fishing slow on Russian River, improving on Kenai

Northern Kenai fishing report for Tuesday, June 17.

A sockeye salmon is pictured in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
Nick Varney
Nick Varney
People dance in celebration of the Fishermen’s Totem Pole in Hoonah on Friday, May 30, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

Hoonah’s rich fishing history remembered through totem pole

The story of fishermen carved — “all of us in the past, all of us in the future, and all of us now.”

People dance in celebration of the Fishermen’s Totem Pole in Hoonah on Friday, May 30, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Nick Varney

Reeling ‘Em In: Tough times all around

The lagoon wasn’t exactly a hotspot for king-popping last week even for the couple of fish-stealing thug seals that showed up.

Nick Varney
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)

Northern Kenai fishing report: Local lakes stocked; Kenai River opens June 11

Some fishers are finding success on the Kasilof and in stocked local lakes.

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)
Boats return to the Homer Harbor at the end of the fishing period for the 30th annual Winter King Salmon Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Opinion: Funding sustainable fisheries

Spring is always a busy season for Alaska’s fishermen and fishing communities. The air is full of anticipation as we prepare for the inevitable surprises… Continue reading

Boats return to the Homer Harbor at the end of the fishing period for the 30th annual Winter King Salmon Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Nick Varney

Reeling ‘Em In: Fishing yarns and crowded shores usher in summer in Homer

The Spit resembled an Indie 500 parking lot and the road was a whack-a-mole experience.

Nick Varney
Boats gather offshore the Homer Spit in honor of the 2025 Blessing of the Fleet on Tuesday, May 20 at the Seafarer’s Memorial on the Homer Spit. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)

‘Blessing of the Fleet’ remembers, honors sacrifices of local mariners

Community members quietly gathered in somber reflection of lives lost to the sea over the past year.

Boats gather offshore the Homer Spit in honor of the 2025 Blessing of the Fleet on Tuesday, May 20 at the Seafarer’s Memorial on the Homer Spit. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Nick Varney
Nick Varney
Greg Springer delivers a presentation on sockeye fishing during A Day at the River at Centennial Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Gearing up for summer fishing

Trout Unlimited and the Kenai Watershed Forum host “A Day at the River.”

Greg Springer delivers a presentation on sockeye fishing during A Day at the River at Centennial Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A young girl digs for razor clams at the Ninilchik Beach in Ninilchik, Alaska, on Saturday, July 1, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

East Cook Inlet clamming to remain closed for 2025

The causes of these conditions remain unknown but likely include effects from habitat changes and predation, officials said.

A young girl digs for razor clams at the Ninilchik Beach in Ninilchik, Alaska, on Saturday, July 1, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Jackson Carney of Wrangell, a student in the Federal Subsistence Board Policy and Procedures class at the University of Alaska Southeast, testifies before the Federal Subsistence Board. (Photo by Ryan Morse/courtesy)

Point of View: Helping the next generation of hunters and fishermen to have a say

Ultimately, the goal is to ensure Alaskans, and young people, have a say in the decisions that affect them.

Jackson Carney of Wrangell, a student in the Federal Subsistence Board Policy and Procedures class at the University of Alaska Southeast, testifies before the Federal Subsistence Board. (Photo by Ryan Morse/courtesy)
Beach seine nets are pulled from the waters of Cook Inlet at a test site for the gear near Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Opinion: Expand the set beach seine experiment

A path forward to resolve the Upper Cook Inlet King and sockeye salmon commercial fishing and conservation crisis.

Beach seine nets are pulled from the waters of Cook Inlet at a test site for the gear near Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Greg Brush speaks during a town hall meeting hosted by three Kenai Peninsula legislators in the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Legislators hear fishing concerns at joint town hall

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman and Reps. Justin Ruffridge and Bill Elam fielded questions and addressed a number of issues during the meeting.

Greg Brush speaks during a town hall meeting hosted by three Kenai Peninsula legislators in the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Monte Roberts, left, and Greg Brush, right, raise their hands during an emergency meeting of the Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board’s guide committee at the Kenai Peninsula Region Office of Alaska State Parks near Soldotna, Alaska, on Feb. 25, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

KRSMA board pushes back on new guide stipulations, calls for public process

Stipulations 32 and 40 were included in an updated list emailed to Kenai River guides.

Monte Roberts, left, and Greg Brush, right, raise their hands during an emergency meeting of the Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board’s guide committee at the Kenai Peninsula Region Office of Alaska State Parks near Soldotna, Alaska, on Feb. 25, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Sockeye salmon are gathered together at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Days expanded for commercial dipnet fishery

The fishery will be allowed to operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Sockeye salmon are gathered together at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)