Anchorage’s uniquely urban Ship Creek fishing spot, popular among anglers hoping to catch king salmon near downtown, had to close early this summer due to a lack of fish.
While much of the state has seen dwindling king salmon numbers, it’s just the third time in the past decade that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has had to close Ship Creek, after surveys found king salmon returns were below what was needed to support future fishing opportunities.
This year, king runs weren’t on track to meet reproduction goals for the William Jack Hernandez Sport Fish hatchery, which is located on Ship Creek and supports a variety of other fisheries in Southcentral Alaska, said Brittany Blain-Roth, an area management biologist with Fish and Game.
“Ship Creek doesn't just support Ship Creek,” Blain-Roth said. “It's also supporting other places … That's how those fish are stocked. They're from fish that we spawn from Ship Creek fish.”
King salmon numbers have been on the decline across the state for at least the past decade, Blain-Roth said.
“I don't necessarily think folks are surprised,” Blain-Roth said of the closure. “There's a lot of wild stocks you aren’t, or haven’t been, allowed to fish for. There's been restrictions in the Mat-Su area and the Kenai area. It's the way we've been trending right now.”
Retention of king salmon at Ship Creek remained prohibited after the 11-day closure, but fishermen returned to take their chances at the next catch of the season: silver salmon.
Todd Clow, from Sonoma County in California, came to the Last Frontier for a weekend of fishing with friends in Southcentral. On a recent rainy morning, he donned a fishing vest over his rain jacket, casting and recasting his line.
His goal for the day: to catch his first fish in Alaska.
There are still opportunities to fish for king salmon in California, but Clow said he's used to the seasons being cut short, which the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has done the past couple of years, he said.
“Any avid fisherman is going to take advantage of the season when they can,” Clow said. “But, at the same time, if the numbers are low and the breeding stock is down and it means closing the season or having a shorter season, then that's just the way it's got to be, right?”
Anchorage resident Nathan Katchen was also casting for silvers nearby. He said he had already hooked quite a few sockeye salmon fishing on the Kasilof River earlier in the summer.
“I'm hoping to catch and let go of a few silvers, because my freezer is actually full of fish already,” Katchen said.
Not far away, two teenagers worked to untangle their fishing lines. For 14-year-old Deklan Hadden, it was a special day.
“It's actually my birthday, so I decided to bring some friends out,” Hadden said.
Anchorage also has quite a few lakes stocked with rainbow trout within the city, said Blain-Roth, the biologist. South of the city, Bird Creek is open for silver, pink and chum salmon.
And yes, Clow did end up catching his first-ever fish in Alaska, but not at Ship Creek: He hooked a sockeye on the Kenai River later in the week.
