SOLDOTNA -- One of Alaska's most popular places to fish is now open to anglers. KSRM reports fishing opened Monday on the Russian River.

One of the perennial problems associated with fishing on the Kenai Peninsula river is bear encounters. Bobbie Jo Skibo with the Chugach National Forest says it happens when fish waste accumulates on the river bank.

She says from the start, fishermen should be managing fish waste responsibly. She says fish should be taken out whole and processed off-site.

Any fish waste that is deposited into trash cans should be double-bagged.