05/01/2008
Little Susitna River — I talked with a friend of mine who attempted to drive to the Little Susitna River Public Use Facility yesterday. He said Little Su Access Road was muddy with large ruts after the farm, and rather than tearing up the road more by attempting to drive in or possibly getting stuck even with 4 wheel drive, he simply turned around and went home. That is the only report I`ve heard from someone who has actually been out there — and confirms my earlier thoughts about the road. I hate to drive all the way to Little Su Access Road, only to find that I`d risk tearing up my truck, trailer, or boat if I attempted to drive further. The round trip alone is about 100 miles — so I likely will not be attempting to drive to the river until some time after the weekend. Hopefully, after the road has dried out more.
05/03/2008
With the warm weather and wind we`ve been having today, I suspect most lowland Mat-Su Valley lakes in the Palmer – Wasilla area are now ice free or will be shortly. Steve Runyan with 3 Rivers Fly & Tackle in Wasilla told me that the ice was about half gone from Lucille Lake this morning, so most of the remaining ice is likely gone now, as the wind has been blowing fairly briskly all day. The 3 local lakes that people use most for early season test runs with boats are Finger, Wasilla, and Lucille, and each of these lakes usually break up about the same time, so I`m thinking with the warm wind we are getting today they should all be ice free by Sunday evening — and perhaps they are all mostly ice free right now.
05/05/2008
Eklutna Tailrace — I casted a #4 silver and black Flashtrap Spinner for a while this morning, but did not hook or see any fish. There was a good high tide so I was hopeful this morning, but it did not seem to bring any salmon in — or at least it did not seem to bring any fish upriver as far as the tailrace. The tailrace water has a light green tint to it, but remains quite clear, so evidently the glaciers above Eklutna Lake have not started melting to any significant degree, yet.
Talkeetna River & Clear Creek — I talked with Bob Meals of Tri River Charters, and he told me the boat launch and river are both open, and that he business was available for trout fishing charters. Bob said the fishing is just getting started but some fish are available, and he expects fishing conditions will stay good as long as the weather does not get to hot. For more information about the Talkeetna River system or to book a trout fishing trip give Bob and Tri River Charters a call at 907-733-2400.
Sustina Landing — I talked with Ron and Marilyn Wilson this moring, and they said there was not even enough open water to go trout fishing around Susinta Landing. Ron said he thought it might be two weeks before things open up at this location. For more information you may talk to them at 907-495-7700 (Ron`s Riverboat Service and Susitna Landing).
Finger Lake — Dan McDonough of Lifetime Adventures, who operates the Finger Lake boat launch said the lake is now approximately 75% ice free, and that people have already been launching boats and getting out on the lake. You can reach Dan at 907-746-4644.
Little Susitna River — Ray Blodgett of Fisherman`s Choice Charters e-mailed me that he tried to drive to the lower Little Susitna River on Sunday, but Little Susitna River Access Road was extremely muddy. Ray said he walked about a mile past the farm checking out the road, and that he is planning to check the road out again on Thursday. I was hoping to check the road and river out sometime early this week, but after hearing Ray`s report, I may end up waiting a while longer. For more information you may want to give Ray a call at 907-892-8707.
The USGS water gauge on Little Susitna River currently is only showing about half the amount of water flow I look for as a sign that early king salmon may be available in the lower Little Susisnta River — so I`m thinking it may be at least another week before there is a slim chance of catching an early arriving Little Susitna River king salmon.
05/06/2008
Eklutna Tailrace — I made another trip to the tailrace this morning, hoping to capitalize on this week`s series of high tides. I fished for about an hour as the tide came all the way up, and then started back down. Like usual, I was casting a #4 silver and black Flashtrap Spinner for the entire time, but did not get any bites or see any fish.
I heard from a couple different sources that Deshka Landing is currently closed as they are waiting for the parking area to dry out and firm up before opening the boat launch. I also heard that the Deshka River itself is ice free, and that the Susitna River below Deshka Landing has been breaking up as well.
05/07/2008
Susitna River — I talked with Bruce Knowles who owns a house at Deshka Landing, and he told me the Susitna River is open down below Deshka Landing, but there is an ice jam further up the Susitna River that he expects will break loose shortly and make boating difficult until it has a chance to wash down river. Bruce also said that there are still large piles of snow at Deshka Landing, and the parking area is extremely muddy. Bruce expectst Deshka Landing will remain closed for launching boats for another week or so.
Little Susitna River — I talked with Doug Lang, the person in charge of road maintenance for the Matanuska- Susitna Borough, and he gave me the good news that the Borough has a portion of the driving route to the lower Little Susitna River scheduled for calcium chloride treatment again this year. Last year this process made the roads much smoother throughout the entire salmon fishing season, and also reduced dust significantly. This year the calcium treatment will be applied to Aryshire Road.
I`ve heard several reports that Little Su Access Road / Little Susitna River Road has been soft and muddy, and rutted from vehicle traffic. Today I`ll be driving out there to take a look at the road for the first time. Doug Lang with the Borough also said he`d take a look at the road soon to determine when it will likely dry out enough to be graded. The remains of Winter seem to be lingering a little longer than some years, but I`m figuring in a week or 10 days the route to the river may be graded, so people can drive to the river without endangering there valuable vehicles, trailers, and boats. I`ll try to update this report later today after I`ve seen Little Su Access Road, so check back in the evening if you`d like to know what I find out.
Little Susitna River — Evening update. Scott Macintosh and I drove all the way into Little Susitna River Public Use Facility and even fished for a few minutes off the bank. We did not catch or see any fish, and the water level is quite low. Little Su Access Road past the farm is quite rutted in places and also still muddy in spots as well. The road is in poor enough shape that I do not want to tow one of my boats to the river, yet. I`m thinking the road should drive out enough that I may feel comfortable dragging a boat out after the weekend. If you should happen to drive out that way, take it very slow and easy through the ruts, and it would be nice to have 4 wheel drive for the worst muddy spot — which is less than 100 yards past the farm. There was still a little snow along the road and a table – sized ice chunks along the river.
05/08/2008
Eklutna Tailrace — I fished the tailrace a couple hours this evening in order to test out a new fishing rod I received in the mail today. My new rod casted my #4 silver and black Flashtrap Spinner well, unfortunately, I did not get any chance to see how it worked at fighting a fish. Once again I failed to hook or see any fish. Since I fished late in the evening however, I did see a beaver swimming around the tailrace just before dark, and there were also some different types of ducks and geese as well. On the trip home across the Palmer Hay Flats I also spotted 5 moose that had come out to feed just before dark.
Earlier on my way to the tailrace I noticed two boat trailers behind vehicles parked at the Knik River access, and once I arrived at the tailrace there were a couple other people fishing. Not wanting to crowd them I moved off to another area, so I did not see or ask if they were having any luck. Evidently other folks are getting out and attempting to hook an early season salmon.
05/09/2008
Talkeetna River — Talked with Bob Meals of Tri River Charters and he said the Talkeetna River is running cleaner now than it was at the start of the week, and people are catching fish. If people want to get out and fish the Talkeetna before it starts getting muddy with glacial melt, now is a good time to go. You can give Bob a call at 907-733-2400. Talkeetna River Boat Launch has been open for several days now.
Susitna Landng — Ron Wilson told me this morning that the Kashwitna River is now ice free near the mouth, and that people had been out there trout fishing, but he did not know if they had been catching much. Ron also said that there was still ice upstream on the Kashwitna he expected to break up and flow down. The Susitna River is also open down stream from the landing, but Ron said there have been daily ice flows coming down the river, and the Susitna is so low that if a person was out on the river in a boat there might not be any place to go to get out of the ice flows. Currently the still water in the boat launch remains ice covered, so the boat launch remains closed. The campground and parking areas also have small ponds of meltwater that need to drain or dry up before camping will be a nice experience. Ron said it would be reasonable to expect the boat launch to open for the weekend of May 17 and 18. The annual picnic for Susitna Landing season pass holders is also scheduled for Sunday May 18. For more information contact Susitna Landing or Ron`s Riverboat Service at 907-495-7700.
Deshka Landing — I talked with folks at the Landing this morning and they told me that they are now letting people launch, but that there are still ice flows coming down the Susitna River, and there can be ice dams in between the landing and Deshka River. They also said the parking area and launch area still have some soft wet spots and if someone gets stuck they will be responsible for getting their own rigs out. Same goes for getting stuck by ice somewhere out on the river. For more information you can call Deshka Landing at 907-495-3374.
Little Susitna River — After going to the river for the first time this spring earlier in the week, I`ve decide to wait until after the weekend (giving Little Su Access Road more time to dry out and firm up) before trailering a boat to the river. Water level on the river remains low, and it`s getting to be that time of year when the first few king salmon may be starting to arrive in the river. People interested in May king salmon charters can call me at 907-746-2199.
05/12/2008
Susitna Landing — Ron Wilson said the boat launch is open, and he had one air boater launch, but the rivers remain low. In addition, Ron mentioned ice flows were still coming past Susitna Landing, so it would undoubtedly be safer to wait a few more days before launching and boating from this location.
Deshka Landing, I talked with Steve, who said the parking area has dried up considerably, people are launching boats, and the only ice coming down the Susitna near the landing was just small pieces. He also said the landing office would be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, but that they would be open on Thursday, and perhaps open everyday after that.
Little Susitna River Public Use Facility — Little Su Access Road is still deeply rutted past the farm, with at least one difficult muddy spot. I`ve been calling the Mat-Su Borough hoping to get a time line on when the road will be graded, but have not heard any good news the past couple times I`ve called. Sometimes it just takes a few more people calling and letting road maintenance supervisors know it is important to the to have the road maintained right away. If you would like to call the Borough and mention Little Su Access Road should be a priority to be graded, the road maintenance phone number is 745- 9826. It is the Borough maintained portion of the road that needs the most work.
Update on Little Su Access Road from Alaska State Parks – Finger Lake Office 745-3975 — Diane, the receptionist returned my call to the Parks and said they have scheduled to grade Little Su Access road on Tuesday May 20.
Mat-Su King Salmon Derby Kickoff Luncheon — The Wasilla Chamber of Commerce has scheduled this event at the Wasilla Sports Complex starting at 12 noon. Charge will be $15 with the Rib Shack scheduled to serve a choice of meals. The actual king salmon derby is once again scheduled to run from May 20 – July 13.
05/13/2008
Wasilla Sports Complex — As mentioned yesterday, the Mat-Su King Salmon Derby Kickoff Luncheon happens today starting at 12 noon at the Wasilla Sports Complex. I am planning to attend, and hope to come away with the latest information about the 2008 king salmon derby. Yesterday, I was asked when and where the Derby tickets will be available, so I hope to have a definite answer posted on this Alaska fishing report later today.
Mat-Su King Salmon Derby tickets went on sale today during the Derby Kickoff Luncheon, and will be available online at http://www.matsukingsalmonderby.com In addition people may purchase tickets at the the 6 derby weigh station locations: 3 Rivers Fly & Tackle (both Wasilla and Willow), Mahay`s River Boat Service in Talkeetna, Mat-Su RV Park, McDougall Lodges, and Sportsman`s Warehouse in Wasilla. Other locations that also sell tickets include Susitna Landing, Fishtale River Guides, Carr`s Grocery Store – the only 24 hour per day location, ane there may also be other places where tickets are available that I did not remember.
Prices on the Derby tickets are $10 for youth (under 16), $30 for Adult, and $50 for Pro Class. There will be no one day tickets this year.
05/14/2008
Eklutna Tailrace — I fished at the tailrace about an hour this morning casting my usual #4 silver and black Flashtrap Spinner, but did not see or hook any fish. Conditions have changed significantly, however, since the last time I fished the tailrace. While still plenty clear for catching salmon, the tailrace water is now considerably more cloudy with a dark green glacial tint to it. The water was also higher. Earlier this year each time I fished the tailrace the water seemed extremely clear and shallow to be holding king salmon, now I`m convinced king salmon would be much more willing to swim up the river channel to the tailrace and more willing to hold in the tailrace itself once they got there. There were also a couple other people fishing at the tailrace, one fishing a fly and the other fishing bait, but they did not have any luck either, and quit fishing before I did.
Yesterday, I heard two reports from people I know of May 2008 king salmon being caught in Mat-Su Valley streams. I still have plenty of work to catch up with around the house, but am planning to take my boat out and personally fish for king salmon on Thursday May 15. Check back Thursday afternoon or evening for my first report from a river boat trip in 2008.
05/15/2008
Knik River and Eklutna Tailrace — Scott McIntosoh and I drove a boat from the Parks Highway Bridge up the Knik River to the tailrace, and then fished our way back down to the sign that marks the limit of legal king salmon fishing below the tailrace. We failed to get any bites and did not see any fish. Scott fished a Vibrax Spinner, M-2 Flatfish, and a K-15 Kwikfish, while I fished a #4 silver and black Flashtrap Spinner, Fire Cured salmon roe floated under an ESB Bobber, and a Spin-n-glo and salmon roe trolled behind a jet planer. We fished for about 5 hours and since we did not see any fish, and much of the river channel was quite shallow, I`m certain there were not many king salmon in the area.
Little Susitna River — Scott had fished Little Su yesterday, and did not hook any salmon. He said there is still one bad mud hole in Little Su Access Road, and recommends anyone attempting to drive to Little Susitna River Public Use Facility to be in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. This portion of the road is mantained by the Mat-Su Borough, so if you are willing to request road maintenance on Little Su Access Road, please call the Borough`s Road Maintenance number at 907-745-9826. The sooner this mudhole is fixed, the sooner all members of the public can drive to the campground and boat launch without risk of damaging their vehicles or getting stuck in the middle of the road.
05/17/2008
Little Susitna River — I guided 3 guests on our first king salmon fishing trip of the season and while we backtrolled many prime fishing holes we did not hook or see any salmon. During the entire trip one guest had one definite bit, but I suspect the strike was likely from a trout or some other small fish. The group fished K-15 Kwikfish, K-13 Kwikfish, #2 Spin-n-glos behind a jet diver. The one bite came on a K-13 silver with chartreuse bill Kwikfish.
The water level was somewhat below normal, and quite clear for this time of year, hence we fished smaller lures than we often use. Altough we did not hook any fish, we did see plenty of shorebirds wading in the shallows and calling along the river, waterfowl flew ahead of the boat as we approached in several spots, and we spotted several beaver, and one moose during the trip.
There were not many other anglers on the river, perhaps, partially because Little Su Access Road remains rutted where the remaining mud hole is still drying out. The mud hole seems to be getting better, as I did not hear of anyone getting stuck, although it is definitely advisable to travel through this spot in a 4 -wheel drive vehicle at this time. I expect this one remaining wet spot should dry out considerably in the next few days, and then the road is scheduled to be graded on Tuesday May 20.
I generally consider May 20 the date after which we usually catch, hook, or see king salmon on most of our charter fishing trips. Although we did not see or hook any king salmon on today`s trip, plants are starting to green up along the river, and river conditions look favorable for more of the big salmon to show up soon — especially if the river water level increases significantly in the next few days. Since the weather forecast calls for warmer temperatures, I`m looking for rising water and more fish in the coming week.
Deshka River — I talked with Howard Riley, who has gjuided salmon charters on the Deshka River the past 3 days, and while Howard said his groups had not landed any salmon, yet, they had some bites and hooked a salmon during one of the trips. The Deshka is running high and cold with plenty of current — normal water conditions for this time of year, but expect the river to start dropping before Memorial Day Weekend. Like the Little Susitna River, more salmon should be arriving at the Deshka on a daily basis, with the highest numbers of fish likely located at the river mouth, as salmon headed on up the Susitna River often pull into the Deshka River mouth and mill around before continuing their migration. Deshka River is the only location on the Susitna River system where anglers are currently allowed to use bait while fishing for king salmon. My guide boat is currently availablet the entire day of May 19. If someone would like to join me on a fun May 19 king salmon charter, give us a call at 907-746-2199.
Susitna Landing — Frede and I will be attending the annual Susitna Landing picnic tomorrow, so if you try to call us while we are away, please leave your number and we will get back to you when we return.
The Mat-Su King salmon derby starts on Tuesday May 20, remember to purchase your ticket before your next fishing trip if you would like a chance at entering the Derby`s first king salmon. http://www.matuskingsalmonderby.com
05/18/2008
Susitna Landing — Frede and I took trout fishing gear when we went to Susinta Landing for their annual picnic. When we arrived people were already fishing from down below the mouth of the Kashwitna River to up past the landing, and since we did not see anyone catching fish while we were watching we did not try fishing until after some of the other anglers had either moved or quit fishing. One other angler told us his party had caught some trout, but we did not see or hook any fish, when we tried fishing an area that had already been fished over by others. Frede fished a #3 orange bladed Flashtrap Spinner, and I fished a small cluster of plastic salmon eggs which I drifted under an ESB bobber.
I asked Ron Wilson, who operates the landing if he`d had many boaters use the landing since the last time I talked with him and he said 4 boats were out today. One boater was running to a cabin on the Yentna River, a couple other boaters may have been bear hunters, and we saw the last boat return to the landing — a group who simply appeared to be out for a boat ride. Water was quite low in the Kaskwitna River and at the boat launch.
As we drove home along the Parks Highway, I noticed that both Little Willow Creek and Willow Creek looked to have relatively high water flows for this time of year, although the water also looked to be a good color for fishing. There were several rigs stopped at Little Willow Creek, but we did not stop to see if anyone was catching trout or grayling.
Little Susitna River, up where it crosses the Parks Highway, seemed to be relatively low and clear, although the USGS water level chart shows the water starting to rise again as a result of the beautiful sunny weather we`ve had the past couple days.
05/19/2008
Deshka Landing — I talked with a lady at the landing who told me a good number of people were going down to the Deshka, but they had not seen anyone stop by the landing office to show them a king, yet. Office hours at the landing are now 4 a.m. – 12 p.m. 7 days per week. For more information you may call Deshka Landing at 907-495-3374.
Mat-Su King Salmon Derby — Starts tomorrow, and I am planning to fish with a friend. If we happen to land a decent king salmon, both of us have derby tickets, and we`ll make an effort to get it to a weigh station and log it in. Check back Tuesday afternoon/ evening to learn what we catch.
While test running one of my boats at Finger Lake, I talked with a Park ranger who told me other Parks personal were taking the fee booth out to Little Susitna RIver Public Use Facility today. The ranger indicated it may take a while longer than previously planned before Little Su Access Road is graded — but I`m still hopeful the road will be graded before Memorial Day Weekend.
05/20/2008
Knik River and Eklutna Tailrace — Scott McIntosh and I went exploring again today, but did not hook or see any king salmon. We did see some small fish near the Highway bridge over the Knik River, which I thought might be hooligan. Upstream we saw wakes from something big swimming around in the river, but never could figure out exactly what we were seeing. We thought it might be some kind of porpoise as we could see it coming up and breathing. We also saw 4 Trumpeter Swans, geese, ducks, and a red fox that strolled out on a gravel bar along the river. It was quite an interesting trip from a wildlife watching standpoint.
Little Susitna River — I talked with Diane at Alaska State Parks Mat-Su office, and she told me Little Su Access Road has been improved with a couple loads of gravel filling in the mud hole. The road is still rutted in spots, but I was told to expect that people could drive all the way to the landing without incident, as long as they did not travel to fast.
I`m scheduled to guide a king salmon charter tomorrow, and am expecting we should see and or catch some king salmon. Check back tomorrow afternoon/evening to hear how we do.
05/21/2008
Little Susitna River — I guided two people who caught one nice sized rainbow trout on a K-13 black mamba pattern Kwikfish. We saw some other small fish break water, but did not see any king salmon roll or get any king salmon bites. The road is still a bit rough in places, but much improved from last weekend, as long as a person does not get in too big of a hurry. The campground host arrived today, and the campground is finally open — just in time for Memorial Day Weekend. Although the river has risen over the past few days, the water level remains low, and I think low water is keeping larger numbers of king salmon out in saltwater off the mouth of the river.
Check back tomorrow afternoon / evening to find out how my Thursday trip goes.
05/22/2008
Little Susitna River — I guided two people this morning and although we back trolled lots of nice holes with K-15 Kwikfish, an M-2 Flatfish, and a Spin-n-glo we did not get a single bite. Water continues to rise slowly. After our trip we did see some anglers return with king salmon, so stronger numbers of king salmon are now starting to show up.
I do not have a charter on Friday, but hope to get out perhaps later in the day.
05/23/2008
Since I do not have a charter scheduled today, I`m working at getting my second boat ready to fish, I am hopeful that I may get out and fish on my own later in the day.
I will be guiding fishing trips Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of Memorial Day Weekend, and expect my groups will land kings each day. I currently have additional seats available Saturday afternoon, Sunday both morning and afternoon, and Monday Morning so give us a call at 907-746-2199 if you`d like to join us for a fun Memorial Weekend king salmon trip.
05/24/2008
Little Susitna River — I guided 3 people who did not hook a king salmon. We once again backtrolled several prime holes with K-15 Kwikfish, Spin-n-glos, and a magnum Wiggle Wart. The guests had three bites on K-15 Kwikfish, but the only fish that was hooked was a trout that jumped and came off.
As I prepared my boat for today`s trip, I saw a king salmon or more than one king salmon roll several times just upstream from the boat launch before legal fishing time at 6 a.m. This area became quite busy as anglers motored off to different areas along the river in their boats.
I looked at the USGS water chart for Little Susitna River tonight, and while the river may rise slightly following today`s rain, it does not appear that any major change should occur tomorrow.
I`ll be guiding a trip tomorrow, so check back late in the day for the latest update, or give us a call at 907-746-2199 if you`d like to go ahead and make a reservation.
05/25/2008
Little Susitna River — I guided two people in the morning and two people in the afternoon, back trolling plenty of prime holes with K-15 Kwikfish and Spin-n-glos. In additon the morning group casted for a while with Flashtrap Spinners. We caught no salmon. The water level on the lower river seemed like it may have risen slightly, but the water seemed clearer than it was yesterday. The USGS chart indicates that the river water level should likely drop over the next couple days.
05/26/2008
In the morning I took my boat up to the Susitna River Drainage, but could not get it started. In the afternoon I guided a group of 4 people in my other boat on the Little Susitna River. We saw one king salmon roll, but did not hook any fish. Saw some fish come into the landing before leaving on our trip, but looked to me like everything had been worked over pretty hard in the morning. The water did seem to be a tad higher than yesterday.
05/27/2008
Knik River / Eklutna Tailrace — Frede and I took one of our jet boats up from the Knik River Bridge. We run aground soon after starting up the river channel to the tailrace. Seems like the power plant must have shut off the tail race water to do their annual cleaning. There was only a small area that provided any possibility of catching a salmon near where we were, and there was already people fishing from a boat there. Even in that area the water was only about 3 feet deep at the very most. In my humble opinion, in order to provide a viable king salmon fishery that would allow any significant harvest of Eklutna tail race bound king salmon during the month of May and early June, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game needs to seriously consider allowing anglers to fish all the way to where Knik River empties into Knik Arm or at least down to the Railroad or Parks Highway Bridges. After all, that far down the river is significantly tidal affected, as evidenced by the last two trips to the river we have seen Beluga Whales spouting within there.
I know there is a concern to avoid harvesting too many wild king salmon bound up the Knik and Matanuska Rivers, but allowing fishing in an area of an additional mile or even 3 or 4 miles in a heavy glaciated and tidal affected portion of the river seems highly unlikely to over harvest the wild kings headed to other small tributary areas.
This seems especially true considering that king salmon fishing is allowed on the Susitna River drainage all the way past the town of Talkeetna, and there are several small Susitna tributaries that continue producing small populations of king salmon even with king salmon fishing allowed for more than 80 miles along the Susitna River and at ALL of the Susitna River tributary stream mouths in that area. Another example of a hatchery king salmon fishing with much more area open to fishing is the Crooked Creek / Kasilof River fishery. Please join me in supporting the concept of expanding the Knik River / Eklutna tail race king salmon fishing area.
Check back tomorrow afternoon / evening for an update for results on our latest king salmon fishing trip. I promise to provide more of a fishing report and less of my personal opinion on current fishery regulations.
05/28/2008
Susitna River — I fished with friends off the big river system today, and I caught an 18 lb. king salmon on Fire Cured salmon roe fished under an ESB bobber. The group also had a few other bites on salmon roe, and one bite on a K-15 Kwikfish, but did not manage to hook any of the fish. Deshka River water was cool and clear, but still flowing with good current (for the Deskhka anyway). The Sustina River remains very low for this time of year, but will continue to rise as summer type temperatures get warmer.
05/29/2008
Little Susitna River — I guided 3 guests who caught one rainbow trout and one king salmon of about 30 pounds. Both fish were caught while back trolling with a purple M-2 Flatfish. The group also had two additional bites, but did not manage to hook either of them. Water level looked to have dropped slightly on the lower river today, with water quite clear.
I also attended and testified at an Legislative Task Force meeting this evening dealing gathering information on Upper Cook Inlet Salmon management, escapement, and allocation issues. Contact your local legislator if you would like to get involved with this ongoing process.
05/30/2008
Little Susitna River — I guided 4 guests in the morning who caught 3 king salmon weighing 27, 29, and 32 pounds. A jack king salmon was also caught. One king salmon was caught on a K-15 silver Kwikfish with a chartreuse bill, and the other fish were caught on M-2 purple Flatfish.
I guided an afternoon group of 3 guests who caught 1 king salmon weighing 24 pounds and one rainbow trout which was released. Both fish were caught on M-2 purple Flatfish. Water is low and clear for this time of year.
05/31/2008
Little Susitna River — I guided 5 guests in the morning, 4 of whom caught king salmon. The largest salmon weighed 31 pounds and the smallest salmon looked to be about 20 pounds. 3 salmon were caught on M-2 Flatfish, and 1 salmon was caught on a Beau Mac Spinning Flashing Cheater fished behind a jet diver. One of the guests also had some strikes on a K15 Kwikfish. The water came up and muddied a bit overnight, but I expect it will likely drop slightly before tomorrow.
Deshka River — Mike Hudson from 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle told me that fishing had been pretty good on the Deshka the past several days, and that he had heard of several boat limits being taken.