Area Sport Fishing Reports
Mat-Su

Archived Sport Fishing Report

July 28, 2021

* Just a reminder to all our anglers, please do your part to help slow the spread of Covid-19 by practicing social distancing while sport and personal use fishing, and wearing a face covering when social distancing is not possible and if you are needing fishing supplies from your local store.

Local Lakes

  • If you would like a nice quiet fishery all to yourself, try fishing one of our stocked lakes off the beaten path. We stock many with rainbow trout fingerling. These fish adapt well early on in life and tend to grow to large size fish after only a few years. The lakes near Talkeetna are prime examples. Try X, Y, or North and South Friend Lakes. In the Meadow Lakes/Big Lake area, try Loon, Kalmbach, Beverly, and Seymour lakes.

Freshwater Fishing

Salmon

  • The last two openers for the Susitna Personal Use fishery will be Wednesday, July 28 and Saturday, July 31 from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. this week. The designated area for dipnetting is between regulatory markers posted approximately one mile downstream of Susitna Station (just below the Yentna River mouth) down to markers posted just below the Alexander Creek cut-off/northern tip of Bell Island. This fishery is part of the Upper Cook Inlet Personal Use permit. Boaters new to the Susitna are urged to use caution when navigating to this fishery, which is only accessible by boat or planes landing on gravel bars. Dipping success should only improve with each new opener until the end of July.
  • Fish Creek dipnet fishery is open each day through Saturday, July 31 from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Try fishing the incoming tides and please be considerate of private property postings. Please take heed of the 30-foot tides, strong tidal currents, and the mud.
  • Sockeye salmon are beginning to show in the Knik Arm. Fishing opportunities for sockeye are limited. Cottonwood and Wasilla creeks are weekend-only fishery open on Saturdays and Sundays from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
  • You could also try Jim Creek for sockeye, which is open to fishing for salmon of all species except king salmon seven days a week until August 1.
  • Anglers are reminded that bait is not allowed on the Little Susitna River until August 6, and the daily bag and possession limit for coho salmon is two fish. Fishing for coho has been slow but slowly improving. Chum numbers are building each day.
  • Eklutna coho salmon fishing has been poor. Coho will start to show in larger numbers in early August.
  • A few early season coho and pinks have been caught at the Deshka. The pink numbers are building.
  • Pinks are arriving in the Parks Highway streams; fishing should be great this weekend.
  • West Cook Inlet coho fishing should improve into the end of July. Once you take your limit of coho you must stop fishing for the day.

Rainbow Trout

  • ‘Tis the season for the egg sucking leeches on the Parks Highway, rainbow trout fishing has been excellent. Willow, Montana, Sheep, and Kashwitna have all been productive and should improve into August.
  • Streams north of Talkeetna have actively spawning King salmon. Try beads the further north you travel.

Northern Pike

  • Anglers may retain as many pike as they catch – there is no bag or possession limit. In the freshwaters of West Cook Inlet, Knik, and Susitna River drainage, anglers are not allowed to release live pike back into the water.
  • Some good roadside lakes to try are Nancy, Big, Horseshoe, and Rainbow lakes. Or if you have access to a plane try a fly-in trip to Trapper, Shell, Alexander, or Sucker lakes.

Emergency Orders

Please review the Emergency Orders and Advisory Announcements below in their entirety before heading out on your next fishing trip.

  • Emergency Order 2-RS-2-49-21 opens Fish Creek to dipnetting on Saturday, July 24 at 6:00am through Saturday July 31, 2021, at 11:00pm. Dipnetting for salmon, except king salmon, will be allowed only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. each day. Dipnetters may harvest salmon off the shore or a boat from the ADF&G markers located on both sides of the terminus of Fish Creek, upstream to ADF&G regulatory markers located approximately one-quarter mile upstream from Knik-Goose Bay Road.
  • Emergency Order 2-RS-2-38-21 closes dipnetting in the vicinity of Anderson Creek as designated by markers posted approximately 300 feet downstream and 50 feet upstream of the mouth through 11:00 p.m. Saturday, July 31, 2021.
  • Emergency Order 2-R-2-03-21 adds Leech, Summit, Zero, Kings, and Anderson Lakes to the list of lakes stocked with hatchery fish. The bag and possession limit for rainbow trout in these lakes is five fish, of which only one may be 20 inches or greater in length. The bag and possession limit for Arctic grayling is five fish, no size limit.

Don’t forget to purchase your 2021 sport fishing license and king stamp! Help maximize social distancing and purchase your 2021 sport fishing license and king stamp through the ADF&G online store and print it off from the comfort of your own home. Also, make sure to review Emergency Orders and the 2021 Southcentral Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet for the area you are fishing before you head out.

For additional information, please contact the ADF&G Palmer Area Office at (907) 746-6300.

Archives

Mat-Su Area Archives for:
Aug 18, 2021 Aug 12, 2021 Aug 04, 2021 Jul 28, 2021 Jul 21, 2021 Jul 14, 2021 Jul 07, 2021 Jun 30, 2021
Jun 22, 2021 Jun 16, 2021 Jun 10, 2021 Jun 03, 2021 May 25, 2021 May 19, 2021 May 11, 2021 May 05, 2021