Alaska News

First silver salmon of '09 makes appearance

Days are getting shorter. Evening temperatures dipped into the low-40s Tuesday night. And now this?

The first silver salmon of the season has been yanked out of Pony Cove outside of Resurrection Bay, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Can snowfall be far off?

"There's a few, but it's not really hot and heavy yet," said Leslie Pemberton, one of the owners of Puffin Fishing Charters in Seward. "I'm going to send a boat out tomorrow to check it out."

Silvers often begin trickling back to Pony Cove, Sunny Cove and Eldorado Narrows in late June, building toward the opening of the Seward Silver Salmon Derby on Aug. 8. Once fishing heats up, the area can quickly turn into a zoo of competing boats mooching and trolling for fish.

KINGS FOR THE FUTURE: On Tuesday, the number of king salmon past the Deshka River weir exceeded the 7,533 total of last year.

While the prospect of attaining state biologists' minimum escapement goal of 13,000 fish is dim, who knows? Just weeks ago, biologists were projecting 5,600 kings would reach the spawning grounds but already thousands more than that have returned.

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Last year, the final king swam past the weir on Aug. 20.

This year, Fish and Game closed the Deshka to sportfishing on June 13, earlier than it did in 2008. Kings have continued to move upstream in modest numbers, with an average of 547 fish per day swimming past the weir since the closure.

"Right now," said Dave Rutz, area sportfish biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, "it looks like the restrictions added another 4,000 fish to the escapement. We're obviously going to be more than last year, maybe 11,000 fish.

"It'll be good to put that many more fish onto the escapement area."

KINGS FOR KIDS: Part of Campbell Creek will open Saturday and Sunday so kids can fish for king salmon.

The area between Dimond Boulevard and the Old Seward Highway will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for anglers who are 15 years old or younger.

Bait and multiple hooks may be used. Children don't need a fishing license or king stamp, but they do need a free harvest record card, available where licenses are sold.

The daily limit for kings 20 inches or longer is one per day, one in possession. Ten fish less than 20 inches may be taken.

Kids may also find rainbow trout and Dolly Varden in the creek. The daily limits for Dolly Varden are five a day, five in possession, any size; rainbow trout are catch-and-release only.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Fish and Game's Mobile Aquatic Classroom will host free educational activities at the Taku-Campbell Lake parking lot off of 76th and King Street. Staffers walking the banks will help young anglers refine their fishing technique.

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

By MIKE CAMPBELL

mcampbell@adn.com

Mike Campbell

Mike Campbell was a longtime editor for Alaska Dispatch News, and before that, the Anchorage Daily News.

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