Sockeye sport fishing opens at Fish Creek; Mat-Su dipnet fisheries coming

What you need to know:

• Fish Creek is the top early-season sockeye sport fishing destination. Early weir counts are among the highest for this point in the season, making Fish Creek the best bet for Mat-Su anglers until its July 14 closure. A few sockeye have been reported from the Knik River drainage, and anglers may begin seeing fish at Cottonwood Creek, the Talkeetna River drainage, Little Susitna River and Lake Creek over the July 11-12 weekend. Coho, chum and pink salmon remain scarce but should become more abundant as the season progresses.
• More cook inlet dipnet openings are coming.  Fish Creek's personal use dipnet fishery could open after July 14 if ADF&G determines enough sockeye are projected to pass the weir. The Lower Susitna River personal use dipnet fishery opens on scheduled dates beginning July 11, the Kenai River fishery opens July 10, and the Kasilof River remains open with 24-hour fishing. Fish Creek's personal use dipnet fishery could also open after July 14 if ADF&G determines enough sockeye are projected to pass the weir.
• King salmon returns remain well below objectives across the Mat-Su and Upper Cook Inlet. Additional closures and restrictions, including at Ship Creek and the Copper River, highlight the continued challenges facing king salmon management.

• Short on time but need the local news scoop? Get free weekly news in your inbox for Mat-Su, from Mat-Su.

Mat-Su sport anglers hoping to catch sockeye salmon are in luck. Salmon fishing at Fish Creek is open downstream of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) marker through 10 p.m. July 14, and early-season weir counts are among the highest recorded for this point in the season, according to ADF&G fisheries biologist Samantha Oslund.

ADF&G installed the Fish Creek weir on Thursday, July 2. The first 113 sockeye salmon passed the weir on Friday, July 3, and the cumulative count had reached 514 fish through Monday, July 6.

Whether the Fish Creek personal use dipnet fishery opens after July 14 has not yet been determined. ADF&G will decide by emergency order if enough sockeye salmon are projected to pass the weir to meet management requirements.

Salmon fishing is open only downstream of an ADF&G marker located about one-quarter mile upstream of Knik-Goose Bay Road, leaving anglers with a relatively short section of stream to fish. Bait is allowed.

Stream flow is currently low. At this point in the season, fishing is generally best within one to two hours before or after high tide and during the early morning or late evening. Legal fishing hours are 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Public parking is available on the north side of Knik-Goose Bay Road near Fish Creek.

Sockeye, coho, pink and chum salmon are open to harvest, while king salmon fishing and harvest remain closed. The daily bag limit for salmon other than king salmon is three fish, no more than two of which may be coho. Before July 15, the vast majority of salmon entering Fish Creek are sockeye, with only a small chance of encountering an early-arriving coho.

Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, I saw a few anglers prospecting for early-returning salmon.

Salmon numbers should continue to increase during the coming week, but the number of fish in the open fishing area can change dramatically with each tide. Some high tides bring very few new fish into the creek, while others produce much larger pushes of salmon. Persistence and a willingness to make multiple trips are often the key to harvesting Fish Creek salmon before the fishery closes July 14. 

More early July Mat-Su sockey salmon prospects

The Knik River drainage is the only other Mat-Su location where Mike Hudson of 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla had heard reports of sockeye salmon harvests as of Monday. Even then, the reports came from only a handful of anglers.

Hudson did not know the exact locations where those fish were harvested, but Eklutna Tailrace, the side channel below the tailrace, and sloughs and clear-water tributaries along the glacial Knik River are all good places to try.

King salmon fishing and harvest remain open year-round at Eklutna Tailrace and the Knik River side channel. However, the number of arriving kings continues to decline, and a growing percentage of them are becoming dark-colored as they prepare to spawn.

Salmon fishing remains closed in and around Bodenburg Creek.

Upper Cook Inlet personal use dipnet fisheries

In Upper Cook Inlet, the Lower Susitna River Personal Use Dipnet Fishery is scheduled to be open Saturday, July 11; Wednesday, July 15; Saturday, July 18; Wednesday, July 22; Saturday, July 25; and Wednesday, July 29, during the 2026 season.

Fish Creek personal use dipnetting may open after July 14 by ADF&G emergency order and closes July 31.

The Kasilof River Personal Use Dipnet Fishery is currently open, and regulations have been liberalized to allow 24-hour-a-day fishing through Aug. 7.

The Kenai River Personal Use Dipnet Fishery is scheduled to be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily from July 10-31.

An Upper Cook Inlet Personal Use permit is required to participate in any or all of these fisheries. However, only one Upper Cook Inlet personal use household limit may be taken each year under the permit.

Cottonwood Creek

Like Fish Creek, Cottonwood Creek is open to salmon fishing only in a small area near its confluence with Knik Arm. Incoming high tides often bring fresh salmon into the open fishing area, while early morning can provide the best opportunity to catch fish that moved upstream on previous tides and are holding in the creek.

The Cottonwood Creek fishery is open only on weekends from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Bait is allowed.

Although there are no weir counts or fishing reports confirming the presence of sockeye salmon at this time, there should be some fish available for harvest during the July 11-12 weekend. Most are likely to be sockeye, although a few early coho could also arrive by the weekend.

Salmon move both upriver and downriver with the tide, so conditions can change quickly. Leaving bug repellent behind at this location will undoubtedly increase your chances of getting bites, especially during the early morning hours — though not necessarily the bites most anglers are looking for.

Talkeetna River drainage

While I have not heard reports of sockeye harvests from the Talkeetna River drainage this year, I would expect anglers to begin catching sockeye over the July 11-12 weekend, if they have not already.

Side sloughs and clear-water tributaries to the main river, including Larson Creek, are likely places to find sockeye in the Talkeetna River system. Single-hook lures or flies are required through July 13. King salmon fishing and harvest remain closed.

Little Susitna River and Lake Creek

Only a small number of sockeye are present in the Little Susitna River. The state's weir count showed just 82 sockeye passing the weir between May 17 and July 6.

Anyone fishing the Little Susitna River could catch one, although none of the sources I've talked with had heard of ocean-run salmon being harvested at any Mat-Su location other than Eklutna Tailrace and the Knik River side channel so far during the 2026 season.

Lake Creek, a tributary of the Yentna River, could conceivably see some sockeye or possibly chum salmon by the weekend, as one of the Mat-Su Valley's largest sockeye runs migrates up Lake Creek to Chelatna Lake.

Finding coho, chum and pink salmon

ADF&G's reported Northern Cook Inlet commercial harvest for Monday, July 6, 2026, totaled 1,400 sockeye, 13 coho, six chum and two pink salmon harvested by 10 permit holders. Those numbers provide a snapshot of the relative abundance of salmon that could be arriving in Mat-Su streams this weekend and explain why anglers will likely still be prospecting for ocean-run salmon through the July 11-12 weekend.

With commercial harvest numbers that low, I would expect only limited numbers of coho, chum and pink salmon, mostly near the intertidal reaches of Mat-Su streams, this weekend. The Mat-Su salmon desert that characterizes the first half of the summer could begin to ease after the weekend as these runs build. The Susitna River drainage and Little Susitna River offer considerable fishing opportunities for all three species.

Regulation restrictions scheduled to change July 14

Susitna River drainage and Little Susitna River king salmon-related special regulations are scheduled to change July 14.

Current regulations require the use of artificial lures with a single hook having a gap of no more than one-half inch.

Beginning July 14, multiple hooks and bait are scheduled to be allowed in specific locations within the Susitna River drainage.

On the Little Susitna River, hook restrictions also change July 14, but only artificial lures will be permitted through Aug. 5.

Check the regulation booklet for stipulations covering the specific waters you plan to fish, and see whether any additional time has been added to the current restrictions.

Low king salmon numbers

The most recent Mat-Su Valley king salmon counts, posted July 7, for the Deshka River (6,205), Lake Creek (1,275) and Little Susitna River (481) indicate that, once again, ADF&G-established king salmon spawning escapement goals may not be met in 2026.

Even without directed sport fishing on these stocks, returning king salmon have failed to replace the spawning populations that produced them. As long as this trend continues, Mat-Su king salmon populations will continue to decline.

King salmon numbers have remained below objective levels for enough years that Deshka River and Little Susitna River stocks may warrant a Stock of Management Concern designation during the upcoming 2026-27 Alaska Board of Fisheries cycle.

The challenge isn't limited to the Mat-Su Valley. ADF&G closed all fishing in the portion of Anchorage's Ship Creek open to salmon fishing through July 13 and prohibited king salmon harvest for the remainder of the year in an effort to obtain enough king salmon eggs to maintain stocking efforts throughout Upper Cook Inlet.

Currently, all Upper Cook Inlet king salmon sport fisheries are on life support, with hatchery fish providing that support. Hatchery-produced king salmon now provide the only harvest opportunities throughout Upper Cook Inlet. Did anyone mention how critical an adequate Ship Creek king salmon egg supply is to maintaining that life support?

Copper River king salmon changes

Since I wrote last week's column, ADF&G has prohibited the use of bait and closed sport harvest of king salmon in flowing waters of the Copper River drainage, effective Tuesday, July 7.

When I talked with ADF&G fisheries biologist Tracy Hansen in Glennallen on Tuesday, she said the department was considering a complete closure of king salmon sport fishing throughout the Copper River drainage. Check the latest regulations before you go.

Chitna personal use changes

Go here for the latest fishing times for the Chitina Personal Use Fishery (note the closure through the weekend).

Note: King salmon harvest is now prohibited in this fishery. An Alaska sport fishing license and Chitina Personal Use permit are required to participate.

Trout in Lakes

I heard multiple good reports this week from people catching both good numbers of trout and some exceptionally large fish in Mat-Su lakes stocked by ADF&G.

Most of these lakes are small and may support only limited harvest opportunities, especially for larger fish, so I'll let anglers discover their own "secret spots" rather than divulge what friends have told me.

Nancy Lake System Pike

Mike Hudson of 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle reported hearing about good pike catches in the Nancy Lake system. There are many lakes to try, but those with less fishing pressure may hold larger fish.

Good Luck and Fish On!

Andy Couch has guided Mat-Su Valley fishing trips for more than 40 years and is a member of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee. Statements and quotes in this column represent those organizations or individuals only when specifically attributed.