Alaska Fishing

Boat motor restrictions appear to have cleaned Kenai River

Southcentral fishing forecast

Where they're biting and where they aren't

FISH DERBIES

Valdez 9-year-old wins pink salmon derby

Nine-year-old Janaea Koch topped 228 children in the Valdez Kids Pink Salmon Derby with this 7.78-pound fish.

Nine-year-old Janaea Koch of Valdez bested more than 200 other young anglers in the Valdez Kids Pink Salmon Derby on Saturday by reeling in the biggest fish of the day.

Salmon bounty opens Fish Creek to dipnetting

Personal-use dipnetters crowd the Fish Creek Bank near Knik Saturday.

A torrent of red salmon into Fish Creek near Knik has prompted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to open the Mat-Su stream to personal use dipnetting through the end of the month.

Fish and Game doubles salmon bag limit on Kenai

Photos: Fish Creek dipnetting

Photos: Kenai dipnetting (July 10)

Fish and Game doubles salmon bag limit on Kenai

An unexpected rush of red salmon to the Kenai River is proving a boon for sport and commercial fishermen.

Salmon bounty opens Fish Creek to dipnetting

Boat motor restrictions appear to have cleaned Kenai River

State officials, anglers and conservationists are crediting tighter rules on boat engines for a big decrease in pollution in the Kenai, Alaska's most popular sportfishing river.

PDF: State annual water-quality report

Dipnetters could hit red gold

A surge of fish into the Copper River should mean great dipnetting the next week or two.

While many salmon-crazed Alaskans in Southcentral will descend upon beaches at the mouth of the Kenai and Kasilof rivers this month, some cagey dipnetters will opt to head north.

Southcentral fishing forecast

Hatchery will bring more and bigger sport fish

Southcentral fishing forecast

Where they're biting and where they aren't

AUDIO SLIDE SHOW

Hatchery expected to increase sportfish catch

Nearly three of every four rainbow trout pulled from Alaska streams and lakes started off in one of Alaska's fish hatcheries. The new $96 million William Jack Hernandez Hatchery is expected to open next June on the north bank of Ship Creek. It will grow rainbows in 105 round tanks along with king and silver salmon, arctic char, grayling and a few lake trout.

Rainbow trout rise to feed in pens adjacent to the new William Jack Hernandez Sport Fish Hatchery under construction. Fish hatcheries are responsible for 70 percent of rainbows landed by anglers here.

Next time you unhook a feisty rainbow trout, consider where the gorgeous, rouge-dappled fish spent its early days. In fact, nearly three of four rainbows pulled from Alaska streams and lakes grew up in a big concrete run at one of the state's fish hatcheries.

Audio slide show: Tour the new hatchery

Subsistence fishermen asked to limit kings

State and federal fisheries managers have asked subsistence fishermen on the middle and upper Yukon River to voluntarily cut back on the number of king salmon they catch.

FISHING REPORT

Keep eyes open: Help troopers patrol streams

John Glor and his eight-year-old daughter Hamali walk back to the parking lot after salmon fishing on opening day at Bird Creek July 15, 2010.

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.

Southcentral fishing forecast

Southcentral fishing forecast

Mark Turton displays the 68-pound king salmon caught in the Kenai River July 11, 2010

Where they're biting and where they aren't

Buscher claims Seward halibut derby win

Seward's Halibut Tournament ended Sunday boasting of something Homer's famous harbor farther south on the Kenai Peninsula hasn't experienced this year -- a 300-plus pound flatfish atop the leaderboard.

273-pound halibut takes Homer derby lead

Mark Hilts, right, kneels with Magic Waters Charters captain Peter Karwowski on Tuesday in Homer.

The way Mark Hilts figures it, he did the easy work Wednesday when he became the new leader in the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby.

337-pound halibut wins $10,000 Seward derby prize

Seward's Halibut Tournament ended Sunday boasting of something the famous harbor farther south on the Kenai Peninsula hasn't experienced this year -- a 300-plus-pound flatfish atop the leader board.

Fly-fishing academy teaches Native youths how to be guides

A group of students and instructors from the 2008 Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy gathers on the shore of the Nushagak River for lunch. At the forefront are lead instructor Nanci Morris Lyon, left, lead guide Luki Akelkok and academy director Tim Troll.

Heading into its second year, the Bristol Bay Fly Fishing Academy is beginning to see the fruits of its work emerging on such Southwest rivers as the Nushagak.

Photos: Dipnetting near the Kenai River

Kenai River dipnetters delighted as red salmon surge past

Dipnetters try their luck at the mouth of the Kenai River on July 10, 2010. A greater number of red salmon began passing through the area July 12.

Of all the fishing cliches, "You should have been here yesterday" may be the hardiest. Steve Rasmussen was uttering the words "Today was the best day ever" at the mouth of the Kenai River on Monday.

Poor king run shuts down Southwest Alaska fishery

A run that started slowly, floundered and finally flopped has left one of Alaska's premier king salmon fisheries shuttered for the first time in more than a decade.

Bristol Bay commercial sockeye catch below forecast so far

Reader-submitted photos: Nice Catch

Post your Nice Catch photo

Bristol Bay commercial sockeye catch below forecast so far

Unlike the sportsmen targeting Nushagak River king salmon, the commercial fishermen targeting Bristol Bay sockeye salmon are having a decent year.

Fishing galleries

Fish Creek

The muddy banks of Fish Creek off Knik-Goose Bay Road were flooded with personal use dipnetters on Saturday, July 24, 2010, that were opened for the first time in several years by an ADF&G emergency order to harvest the returning sockeye salmon after a projected escapement goal of 70,000 fish was reached.

AUDIO SLIDE SHOW

New sportfish hatchery

Sportfish Hatchery Program Supervisor, Jeff Milton, discusses the how and why a new hatchery is being constructed on Elmendorf, and what it will mean for sportfishermen in two years.

PHOTO GALLERY

Bird Creek

Only a few anglers tried their luck on opening day of salmon fishing at Bird Creek on Wednesday, and only a few pinks nosed into the creek, but more fish and fishermen can be expected as the season progresses.