Anyone notice the sportfishing changes for Southcentral Alaska?

[Frostbitten]

I don't think it is a bad idea either. But, I think what people are referring to is the fact that large pike tend to eat smaller pike. So, if you remove a large pike, you are just going to help the population of hammer handles (small pike). If you let a big pike go, he can get bigger and eat more pike. I think this is the general idea what people are referring to. It might have been a good idea to change the restriction to allow pike over 30" to be released.

Fair enough, but the larger pike should only be released if he promises to eat smaller pike only, and vows to never again eat a salmon...and he should put that in writing, otherwise, onto the fillet table he goes!!

[tcman]

so people can use it to fish for silvers.

I'm still scratching my head on this one. Yeah, I know bait makes it easier for silvers but why just the 15 day period? Does it have to do with incidental steelhead? Still.....15 days?

[kimjn]

I'm with tcman on this one. Saw reg proposals for the Anchor to shorten the bait period because of steelhead. Are there less steelhead in the Kasilof in September compared to the lower peninsula streams? Is it a later run?

[kenaibow fan]

I'm still scratching my head on this one. Yeah, I know bait makes it easier for silvers but why just the 15 day period? Does it have to do with incidental steelhead? Still.....15 days?

Well it might be, can't say for sure, hard to guess what goes threw their minds when they make these regs. I honeslty don't see what it matters they closed the hatchery down, yet make it so you can't take them out of the water?????? If they wanted them out of there so bad they should just make it catch and kill, then they wouldn't have to worry about them going up the Kenai. It might also have to do with resident trout as well.

[FishGod]

Well it might be, can't say for sure, hard to guess what goes threw their minds when they make these regs. I honeslty don't see what it matters they closed the hatchery down, yet make it so you can't take them out of the water?????? If they wanted them out of there so bad they should just make it catch and kill, then they wouldn't have to worry about them going up the Kenai. It might also have to do with resident trout as well.

In the past, bait was not allowed during that time period due to spawning kings.

[duckslayer56]

I am kinda bummed about the parks highway streams only being open from 6am to 11pm. I usually fish from 2am to 8am. It's usually the only tiime you can get a spot on those streams. Maybe it will keep people from camping on the holes (I doubt it).

[jay51]

I am a little bummed about the openers too, 12am on the banks was always good for some cheap entertainment before lines got wet. I imagine it will be less of a drunken-zoo starting at 6am, hopefully it will cut-down on some of the crowds too.

-J

[duckslayer56]

I had a very entertaining opener one morning with some drunken Scottish guys. They were cool guys, and very funny. I usually came out a couple hours after the stream opened though, because most people would only fish for about an hour, then go to bed. It was impossible to not tangle up with people when you have 100 people cast lines in at the same time in a 200 yard stretch. I really hope it helps the fishing out.

[kenaibow fan]

In the past, bait was not allowed during that time period due to spawning kings.

True, I think it could be due to any number of spawners up there at that time.......reds, kings, and whatever else is up there.

[FishGod]

True, I think it could be due to any number of spawners up there at that time.......reds, kings, and whatever else is up there.

The BOF cited spawning kings as the issue. The sockeye don't spawn in the mainstem in that area.

[ak_powder_monkey]

Fair enough, but the larger pike should only be released if he promises to eat smaller pike only, and vows to never again eat a salmon...and he should put that in writing, otherwise, onto the fillet table he goes!!

Why would anyone bother to hike the 3 miles into redshirt, let alone fly into alexander, flathorn or figure 8 lake to go pike fishing if they are all just little fish? If you have big pike in lakes it helps in 2 ways, 1) they eat little pike and 2) you'll have a reason to spend money and time going pike fishing (who wants to charter a plane to catch 8 inch pike? I sure don't)

[ak_powder_monkey]

Well it might be, can't say for sure, hard to guess what goes threw their minds when they make these regs. I honeslty don't see what it matters they closed the hatchery down, yet make it so you can't take them out of the water?????? If they wanted them out of there so bad they should just make it catch and kill, then they wouldn't have to worry about them going up the Kenai. It might also have to do with resident trout as well.

Crooked creek and a few tustumena tribs had wild runs before the hatchery program. I believe the broodstock was from crooked creek itself. Long story short, they don't (and never did) want the steelhead out of the Kasilof, hatchery fish just get confused and ended up in the kenai... (Although I don't think anyone understood the components of kenai steelhead runs until recently)

[kenaibow fan]

Crooked creek and a few tustumena tribs had wild runs before the hatchery program. I believe the broodstock was from crooked creek itself. Long story short, they don't (and never did) want the steelhead out of the Kasilof, hatchery fish just get confused and ended up in the kenai... (Although I don't think anyone understood the components of kenai steelhead runs until recently)

Do you know if there was any in there before the hatchery fish started going up there?

Because I have talked to people that lived here since the 60's (Sterling/Soldotna) and they say there was steelies in the river before they planted them in the Kasilof!

[fullbush]

They should put hatchery steelhead from the brood of the skagit river stocks in the Kenai and little su and also in Campbell and ship creek. Lets cut the BS, these raggedy rainbows we catch have been handled more than a NANA maid in a Doyon drilling camp. Lets get some steelhead runs to keep you peckerwoods busy somewhere other than the CooperLanding bridge

[kenaibow fan]

They should put hatchery steelhead from the brood of the skagit river stocks in the Kenai and little su and also in Campbell and ship creek. Lets cut the BS, these raggedy rainbows we catch have been handled more than a NANA maid in a Doyon drilling camp. Lets get some steelhead runs to keep you peckerwoods busy somewhere other than the CooperLanding bridge

hmmmmmm sounds like you have been to one??????????
I thought there was a run in the Little su?????????? And there def in the Kenai.