The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is increasing the sport fishing bag and possession limits for salmon, 16 inches or longer, except for king, pink, chum and coho salmon, in the Kenai River downstream of Skilak Lake to six per day and twelve in possession effective 12:01 a.m. Thursday, August 5th through 11:59 p.m. Friday, December 31, 2021. This includes the flowing waters of the Kenai River from its mouth upstream to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game regulatory marker located at the outlet of Skilak Lake.
Colton Lipka, Area Management Biologist, spoke with KSRM:
“This is coming about because we passed almost 300,000 sockeye upstream of the sonar over the past two days. We have enough fish in river to meet our obligations to the management plan and also to achieve the escapement goal. We have plenty of fish to provide that extra opportunity.”
Lipka specifies:
“Sportfishing anglers from the mouth to Skilak Lake, they can get six per day, twelve in possession of sockeye. Only two in the combination bag limit may be coho. That’s the other thing, that we want to get the word out on is that, yes, the bag in possession limit is up for sockeye, but that it is still a combined bag and possession limit of sockeye, chum and coho. Coho is two. Chum is three. Sockeye is six, but it is combined.”
The Kenai River Late-Run Sockeye Salmon Management Plan allows Alaska Department of Fish and Game to increase bag and possession limits for sockeye salmon when the late-run of Kenai River sockeye salmon exceeds 2.3 million salmon. As of August 3rd, the Kenai River sockeye salmon late-run exceeded 2.3 million fish and anticipates the escapement goal of between 750,000 to 1.3 million sockeye salmon will be achieved.
Anglers are reminded to review the Kenai River riverbank closures for habitat protection regulations described on pages 55-57, as well as, the fly-fishing only waters downstream of Skilak Lake described on pages 52-53 of the 2021 Southcentral Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet.
