No bait or multiple hooks on Kenai until Aug. 15
Limit to protect kings applies to all fishermen In an effort to protect a terribly low late run of Kenai river king salmon, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is prohibiting the use of bait and multiple hooks in the Kenai River from its mouth upstream to the…
ADF&G COVID-19 guidelines for Alaska sportfishing
With fishing fast approaching, Alaska fishing guides are frantically trying to determine what rules they’ll be working under this summer, assuming there will still be some form of mandates related to COVID-19. Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang has cautioned the sport fishing industry that state and local health mandates will get priority…
State hatcheries closed to public indefinitely
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (Department) has announced that both state-owned Fisheries Centers will remain closed to the public until further notice to protect the public and staff from the potential spread of COVID-19. These public spaces include the Tanana Valley Fisheries Center, located at the Ruth Burnett…
When will they stop?
The late sockeye salmon run on the Kenai River is so far off the charts it no longer is sufficient to use superlatives. With another 60,000 plus reds into the Kenai yesterday, the run count is poised to triple the count for same date last year. With the limit now…
Nushagak goes to catch-and-release king salmon
Alaska’s best king run falling on hard times What’s acknowledged as the best king salmon run in Alaska if not the world is running at a historic low this year, prompting state officials to limit king fishermen to catch-and-release only, and no bait, on the legendary Nushagak and all rivers…
Resurrection sockeye limit increased to 12
The gifts keep on coming from what’s certainly the most amazing start to the 2019 salmon season that most of us can remember. Limits on sockeye in the Russian River and Upper Kenai are already increasing from three to six daily this weekend, and now ADF&G is upping the limit…
2019 Slam’n Salm’n Derby kicks off Friday with Kings in the Creek
The downtown Anchorage Ship Creek Slam’n Salm’n Derby kicks off Friday at 6 a.m. and it’s shaping up to be the best Derby in many years. A big surge of big king salmon has been filling the creek for the past 10 days, with a 43-pounder the largest weighed in…
Russian, Upper Kenai sockeye limit bumped to 6
By Lee Leschper Fire up the smoker and get out the coho flies! Thanks to perhaps the best early sockeye run in a generation, ADF&G is increasing the daily and possession limits on the Upper Kenai and Russian River to 6 and 12, effective Friday. The fishery opened June 11…
Forget the bears–beware of mad Mama moose
You can almost set your calendar by Alaska’s Mama moose. If it’s mid-May, they’ll be dropping calves and picking fights. The calves, because most Southcentral cows are bred within a few weeks of each other, and so most calves are borne in the last two weeks of May. There’s a…
Bear baiting clinic Wednesday
Resident Hunters of Alaska and and the Alaska Bowhunters Assn. are sponsoring a bear baiting clinic at the 49th State Brewing Company in Anchorage Wednesday, April 17th. ADF&G biologist Sean Farley will be giving a presentation on bear habits to help pick out the right area. There will be a…