Area Sport Fishing Reports
Upper Copper/Upper Susitna
August 14, 2019
Personal Use
Copper River Chitina Subdistrict is currently open and will remain open through the end of the season on Monday September 30. Parking remains extremely limited at O’Brien Creek and there is no boat launching there. The Copper River water levels are fluctuating a lot with recent warm weather and now rain. Overall fishing reports indicate good fishing still.
ADF&G encourages and advises all dipnetters to exercise caution and safety when accessing the Copper River and to wear life jackets whether fishing from a boat or shore.
Sport Fishing
Lake trout fishing continues to be productive in area lakes.
The king salmon season in the Copper River drainage is now closed for the season. Time to clean up and service that gear in preparation for next year’s season.
The bag and possession limit for sockeye salmon is 6 fish per day. The Klutina River run is pretty much done for the season. The Gulkana River late run is still building and should continue to build well into the 1st week of September. So if you’re still looking to fill the sockeye section of your freezer, hit the Gulkana River.
As most waterways cool Dolly Varden and Arctic grayling are starting to disperse from their summer cold water refuges into more main stem waters and lakes in the area. That means fishing on themain stem of the Gulkana River should start showing some larger fish and there should be good fishing in most places while fish move through.
Check our roadside guide for fishing in the Upper Copper Upper Susitna Management Area. It lists nearly every sport fishery in the area, species present and milepost location.
Stocked Lakes
The second stocking of catchable rainbow trout is occurring now in many of our area lakes. These fish are meant to replace the fish stocked in June that have probably been caught through the summer. So fishing should be good for these newly stocked fish in Pippin, Two Mile, Sourdough Pit, and Tex Smith lakes and some lakes along the Lake Louise Road. What isn’t caught now will fuel the winter ice fisheries on these lakes.
