Kenai River Early-Run King Fishing Limited To Catch-And-Release

The following is courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game:

Kenai River Early-Run King Salmon Restricted to Catch-and-Release

(Soldotna) – To protect returning king salmon and ensure fishing opportunities in the future, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is implementing the following sport fishing regulation restrictions for the early-run king salmon sport fishery in the Kenai River drainage downstream of the outlet of Skilak Lake effective 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, June 1, 2022. From June 1 through June 30, king salmon of any size may not be retained in the Kenai River from the mouth upstream to the outlet of Skilak Lake. That restriction will continue July 1 through July 31, in the waters from an ADF&G regulatory marker located approximately 300 yards downstream from the mouth of Slikok Creek upstream to the outlet of Skilak Lake. Only one unbaited, single-hook artificial lure may be used in the waters restricted to catch-and-release. King salmon caught may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately.

“In an effort to protect our king salmon fishery resources and be consistent with the management plan, the early-run king salmon fishery on the Kenai River is restricted to catch-and-release fishing only. The 2022 run is off to a very slow start with the cumulative sonar estimate of 72 large king salmon through May 29 being the lowest estimate for this date in the large king salmon dataset,” stated Area Management Biologist Colton Lipka.

ADF&G staff will be closely monitoring this fishery inseason and if data assessment projects indicate further action is warranted additional inseason actions may be taken.

The 2022 Kenai River King Salmon Early-Run Forecast can be found online. For additional information, please contact Area Management Biologist Colton Lipka at (907) 262-9368.