Area Sport Fishing Reports
Mat-Su

Archived Sport Fishing Report

July 13, 2022

ADF&G News

ADF&G is mobile. You can purchase and display your fishing license and king stamp, record your annual harvest (i.e. king salmon, halibut), access sport fishing regulations and locations, and so much more on your mobile device. Download the ADF&G Mobile App today.

Local Lakes

• Summit Lake in Hatcher Pass was recently stocked with rainbow trout. This is a very easily accessible lake with stunning views and great fishing. Make the drive from Palmer-Fishhook Road over the pass to Willow for amazing scenery.
• Reflections Lake is also very easily accessible, with a 1-mile walking trail all the way around the lake. It’s stocked annually with rainbow trout.

Freshwater Fishing

• King salmon fishing is closed for the season and beginning Thursday July 14^th, standard regulations will apply for all northern and western Cook Inlet waters. Any king salmon, including jacks incidentally hooked must be immediately released and may not be removed from the waters, except for the stocked fishery at the Eklutna Tailrace where king salmon fishing is year-round.
• The Susitna River personal use dipnet fishery will start today, July 13^th on the lower Susitna River. This fishery runs 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Wednesdays by regulation from July 10^th to July 31. The designated area for fishing 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. Boaters new to the Susitna River are urged to use caution when navigating to this fishery, which is only accessible by boat or plane.
  • This fishery is part of the Upper Cook Inlet Personal Use permit. An Upper Cook Inlet Personal Use permit is required in addition to a sport fishing license. Only Alaska residents may participate in this fishery. Upper Cook Inlet Personal Use permit harvest and participation must be reported online no later than August 15^th through the ADF&G harvest reporting webpage.
  • See page 15 of the 2022 Southcentral Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet for more info on this Personal Use fishery.
• Fish Creek sockeye counts are posted on our webpage under Fish Counts. The sport fishery is now closed by regulation including weekends. Stay tuned in case the personal use fishery is opened by emergency order. The department must project more than 35,000 sockeye salmon prior to opening this dip net fishery. This fishery typically opens towards the end of July.
• King salmon fishing at Eklutna Tailrace is slow and will tail off as July progresses. Coho will start to show late July.
• The first coho has been caught on the lower Little Su; this run will continue to build into August.
• A few pinks are showing up at the mouths of the Parks Highway streams. It’s still early, but fishing should improve into next week.
• Sockeye are trickling into northern Cook Inlet. Try Cottonwood Creek over the weekend. Fishing is allowed only on Saturdays and Sundays from 5am-10pm. Jim Creek is open as well.

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 and Susitna River drainage, anglers are not allowed to release live pike back into the water.
• South Rolly Lake in the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area has pike and is also stocked with catchable rainbow trout. Canoe rentals are available onsite at the state campground.
• Pike fishing in Big Lake has been good. Try fishing off the islands.

Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Grayling

• Parks Highway stream rainbow trout fishing has been excellent. Anything with green, brown, or white colors is working well right now. Try sculpins, leeches, mice, and dolly llamas.
• Grayling fishing has been good too. Try gold or yellow flies or lures, keep the sizes small. Bead head nymphs, Griffith Gnats, Elk Hair Caddis, Mayflies, or Stimulators are productive fly patterns.

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-2-48-22 closing dipnetting in the vicinity of Anderson Creek of the lower Susitna River effective 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 13^th through 11:00 p.m. Saturday, July 30^th, 2022. The area closed to dipnetting is identified by ADF&G markers located approximately 50 feet upstream and 300 feet downstream of the mouth of Anderson Creek. In addition, dipnetting is not allowed in Anderson Creek.
• Emergency Order 2-R-2-19-22 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. This emergency order is effective for the 2022 season.
• Emergency Order 2-DV-2-13-22 prohibits the retention of Arctic char/Dolly Varden in the Fish Creek (Big Lake) drainage. This emergency order is in effect through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, December 31^st, 2022.

Don’t forget to purchase your 2022 sport fishing license and king stamp! Purchase your 2022 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 order, advisory announcements, and the 2022 Southcentral Alaska 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.