By and large, the handsome creek between Anchorage and Girdwood was quiet, but as increasing numbers of pink, silver and chum salmon leave Turnagain Arm for fresh water, increasing numbers of anglers will arrive to intercept them.

Not all will play fair.

In recent years, a distinct minority of Bird Creek anglers have practiced the twitchy retrieve that's a mark of snaggers hoping to latch into fish flesh.

"You know, it's a regular occurrence," said Lt. Bernard Chastain, with the wildlife investigation unit of Fish and Wildlife Protection.

"People get overly excited about catching a fish and take it one step further. We're already writing a large number citations for people attempting to snag."

Few Southcentral salmon streams lack at least the occasional snagger.

"Many fishermen think that they are above the law and so they snag fish and take way more than their limit," wrote one angler on a Southcentral fishing online chat. "Many of the true sportsmen that fish Bird do report morons who think that the law doesn't apply to them."

Ethical anglers can help protect the resource through the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Safeguard program, an independent non-profit organized in 1984. Founders of the program believed sportsmen and women, working in conjunction with Alaska Wildlife Troopers, could curb illegal fishing and hunting.

A woodsy version of Crime Stoppers, the Wildlife Safeguard program offers a toll-free hotline -- 1-800-478-3377 -- for reporting hunting and fishing violations. The Division of Alaska Wildlife Troopers, which investigates wildlife crimes, gets the information and chooses which to pursue.

Some 253 calls came in last year.

"It's an excellent system," said Chastain, "though I think it needs more attention. The information people provide may be the missing link we need to investigate a case. We can't be everywhere. The public is our eyes and ears."

What happens if you call?

• An attendant completes a tip form. Callers may remain anonymous, but are cautioned their identity can become part of an official investigation and revealed if prosecution proceeds.

• Callers are asked if they wish to be considered for a reward. Those who do, and want to remain anonymous, are given a code of colors and numbers and the tip number to refer back to. About 30 percent decline reward money.

• The tip is faxed to the trooper with jurisdiction, with the original forwarded to the Wildlife Safeguard liaison for review and then onto the Wildlife Safeguard Board, which catalogs it.

• The investigating trooper tells the Wildlife Safeguard liaison what happened and whether a reward is recommended. The board determines if it's merited.

• Response time varies depending on how many responsibilities the trooper is balancing at the time.

"They can stack up, and we sometime triage," Capt. Burke Waldron with the Division of Alaska Wildlife Troopers. "We have to do some balancing depending on the severity of the complaint, the time limit of the complaint, whether there have been multiple complaints and the likelihood of the complaint leading to a prosecution."

The B Detachment of Alaska Wildlife Troopers covers Southcentral north to Glennallen and is headquartered in Palmer, with posts in Anchorage, Big Lake, Talkeetna, Glennallen and Palmer.

Staffing consists of 10 troopers, three technicians and two clerks. An array of skiffs, riverboats, ATVs, snowmachines and aircraft patrol the region.

Anglers snagging, exceeding bag limits, fishing in closed areas and nonresidents participating in fisheries reserved for Alaskans are among the most common summer violations. Hunting season brings a whole new set.

Some callers use the hotline; others call Trooper dispatch or Alaska Wildlife Troopers offices directly.

"Most people are doing it because they consider it their public duty," Chastain said. "They're happy to get a reward, but that's not the main thing. They don't want anyone to get an unfair advantage."

Undersized kings confuse the count

Undersized king salmon swimming up the Kenai River are making Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists question numbers gleaned from its fish-counting sonar at river mile 8.6.

Fish taken in the department's test-netting program as well as kings harvested by sport and commercial anglers suggest the kings in the late run, which began July 1, are younger and smaller than normal, said Ken Marsh, a Fish and Game public information specialist.

As a result, biologists are having trouble distinguishing between small king and large red salmon.

"This results in an ... inflated estimate of the number of king salmon passing our sonar site each day," Marsh said.

Limping to the finish

The PSEA Mat-Su King Derby ended noon Tuesday amid a shutdown of most Mat-Su waterways to king fishing.

No surprise then that the top fish were landed in June.

Topping the leaderboard was Barbara LeGendre, who landed her 55-pound king June 14 in Montana Creek. The winner earns $2,000, an Apple iPad and 2,000 Alaska Airline miles.

Lloyd McDaniels was the runner-up, with a 50-pounder caught June 20. Don McKeown's 43.5-pounder caught June 11 was third; he also won the cumulative poundage category with five fish totaling 174 pounds.

Russian River sanctuary opens

The often-productive sanctuary area at the confluence of the Kenai and Russian rivers opens to anglers today for the first time this season. In past years when the Russian enjoyed a big early red run, the sanctuary often opened early. This year's early run has been moderate.

The Russian River Ferry across the Kenai River helps anglers access the area.

---

Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.