(Palmer) - Five lakes - Leech, Summit, Zero, Kings, and Anderson lakes - were added to the stocking program in the Northern Cook Inlet management area in June 2020. Leech Lake is part of the Matanuska Lakes Complex and is accessible by foot from the Matanuska Lake trailhead and is stocked with 500 catchable rainbow trout. Summit Lake is in Hatcher Pass and is stocked with 500 catchable rainbow trout. Zero Lake is in the Houston area and is stocked with 4,000 fingerling rainbow trout. Northern pike was eradicated from Kings and Anderson lakes in 2020. Both lakes were stocked the following year, with 11,000 rainbow trout fingerling stocked into Anderson Lake and 3,000 rainbow trout catchables stocked into Kings Lake, and this stocking practice is scheduled in the Statewide Stocking Plan on an annual basis.

The bag and possession limit for rainbow trout in these stocked lakes is five fish, of which only one fish may be 20 inches or greater in length.

The stocking program provides alternative opportunities for anglers that might otherwise direct their efforts toward native fish that are vulnerable to overfishing. As sport fishing effort continues to increase in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, hatchery fish are becoming a more important management tool to satisfy recreational demands.

For additional information, please review pages 39, 88, and 89 of the 2022 Southcentral Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet or contact the ADF&G Palmer office at
(907) 746-6300.

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