Title 5 . Fish and Game

Chapter 56 . Personal Use Fishery

Section 22. Waters; seasons; bag, possession, and size limits; and special provisions for the Kenai Peninsula Area (excluding the Kenai River drainage)

5 AAC 56.022. Waters; seasons; bag, possession, and size limits; and special provisions for the Kenai Peninsula Area (excluding the Kenai River drainage)

(a) Except as otherwise specified in (b) of this section, the following are the seasons and the bag, possession, and size limits for the Kenai Peninsula Area, excluding the Kenai River drainage:

(1) king salmon

(A) 20 inches or greater in length may not be retained or possessed; except as otherwise specified in (b) of this section, the season is closed for king salmon 20 inches or greater in length; a king salmon caught that is 20 inches or greater in length must be released immediately; in waters set out in (b) of this section that are open to sport fishing for king salmon 20 inches or greater in length, there is an annual limit and a harvest record is required, as specified in 5 AAC 56.024;

(B) repealed 2/13/2005;

(C) less than 20 inches in length

(i) in flowing waters and unstocked lakes and ponds, may not be retained or possessed, except as otherwise specified in (b) of this section; king salmon less than 20 inches in length that are caught must be released immediately and returned to the water unharmed; in waters open to sport fishing for king salmon less than 20 inches in length as specified in (b) of this section, the bag and possession limit for king salmon less than 20 inches in length is 10 fish;

(ii) from January 1 - December 31, may be taken in stocked lakes and ponds; bag and possession limit of 10 fish; for the purpose of this sub-subparagraph, "stocked lakes and ponds" means Centennial Lake, Encelewski Lake, Jerome Lake, Johnson Lake, Long Lake, Meridan Lake, Quintin Lake, Rogue Lake, Troop Lake, and Upper Summit Lake;

(2) salmon, other than king salmon,

(A) 16 inches or greater in length may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of three fish, of which only two may be coho salmon;

(B) less than 16 inches in length may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of 10 fish;

(3) Arctic char/Dolly Varden

(A) may be taken in flowing waters from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish; no size limit;

(B) may be taken in lakes and ponds from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of five fish; no size limit;

(4) rainbow/steelhead trout, as follows:

(A) may be taken in flowing waters from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish, of which only one may be 20 inches or greater in length;

(B) may be taken in lakes and ponds from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of five fish, of which only one may be 20 inches or greater in length;

(C) there is an annual limit of two fish 20 inches or greater in length, and a harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 56.024;

(5) Arctic grayling may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of five fish; no size limit;

(6) lake trout

(A) 20 inches or greater in length may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish;

(B) less than 20 inches in length may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of 10 fish;

(7) other finfish not specified in this subsection may be taken from January 1 - December 31; no bag, possession, or size limits.

(b) The following are special provisions and localized exceptions to the seasons and the bag, possession, and size limits set out in (a) of this section for the Kenai Peninsula Area, excluding the Kenai River drainage:

(1) from September 16 - December 31 in flowing waters, except the Swanson River drainage, and the Kasilof River drainage below the Sterling Highway Bridge, only unbaited, artificial lures may be used;

(2) in the Anchor River drainage, except the Bridge Creek reservoir,

(A) in flowing waters, from September 1 - December 31, only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used;

(B) rainbow/steelhead trout may not be possessed or retained; rainbow/steelhead trout caught must be released immediately; a person may not remove rainbow/steelhead trout from the water;

(C) from its mouth upstream to the junction of the North and South Forks sport fishing is open on the weekend, and the Monday following that weekend, before Memorial Day weekend and the following four weekends and the Monday following each of those weekends, and from July 1 - December 31;

(D) upstream from the junction of the North and South Forks sport fishing is open from August 1 - December 31, except for salmon;

(E) sport fishing is open for king salmon from its mouth upstream to the junction of the North and South Forks only on the weekend, and the Monday following that weekend, before Memorial Day weekend and the following four weekends and the Monday following each of those weekends; for king salmon 20 inches or greater in length, the bag and possession limit is one fish; a person may not retain more than two king salmon 20 inches or greater in length each year from the Anchor River and Deep Creek combined; a person who takes and retains a king salmon 20 inches or greater in length from either Deep Creek or the Anchor River may not sport fish in either drainage for the rest of that day; a king salmon 20 inches or greater in length that is removed from the water must be retained and becomes a part of the bag limit of the person originally hooking it; a person may not remove a king salmon from the water before releasing the fish;

(3) Bishop Creek drainage (including Daniels Creek):

(A) from June 15 - April 14, flowing waters are open to sport fishing;

(B) is closed to sport fishing for salmon;

(4) Crooked Creek drainage:

(A) from August 1 - December 31, is open to sport fishing;

(B) from September 1 - December 31, in flowing waters, only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used;

(C) rainbow/steelhead trout may not be possessed or retained; rainbow/steelhead trout caught must be released immediately; a person may not remove rainbow/steelhead trout from the water;

(5) Deep Creek drainage and Ninilchik River drainage:

(A) Deep Creek drainage:

(i) from September 1 - December 31, in flowing waters, only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used;

(ii) rainbow/steelhead trout may not be possessed or retained; rainbow/steelhead trout caught must be released immediately; a person may not remove rainbow/steelhead trout from the water;

(iii) is open to sport fishing from its mouth to ADF&G regulatory markers located approximately two miles upstream, on Memorial Day weekend and the following two weekends and the Monday following each of those weekends, and from July 1 - December 31;

(iv) is open to sport fishing for king salmon from its mouth upstream to ADF&G regulatory markers located approximately two miles upstream only on Memorial Day weekend and the following two weekends and the Monday following each of those weekends; bag and possession limit for king salmon 20 inches or greater in length is one fish; a person may not retain more than two king salmon 20 inches or greater in length each year from the Anchor River and Deep Creek combined; a person who takes and retains a king salmon 20 inches or greater in length from either Deep Creek or the Anchor River may not sport fish for any species of finfish in either drainage for the rest of that day; a king salmon 20 inches or greater in length that is removed from the water must be retained and becomes a part of the bag limit of the person originally hooking it; a person may not remove a king salmon from the water before releasing the fish;

(v) upstream of ADF&G regulatory markers located approximately two miles upstream from its mouth, from August 1 - December 31, are open to sport fishing except for salmon;

(B) Ninilchik River drainage:

(i) from September 1 - December 31, in flowing waters, only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used;

(ii) rainbow/steelhead trout may not be possessed or retained; rainbow/steelhead trout caught must be released immediately; a person may not remove rainbow/steelhead trout from the water;

(iii) is open to sport fishing from its mouth to ADF&G regulatory markers located approximately two miles upstream on Memorial Day weekend and the following two weekends and the Monday following each of those weekends;

(iv) is open to sport fishing for king salmon from its mouth upstream to ADF&G regulatory markers located approximately two miles upstream on Memorial Day weekend and the following two weekends and the Monday following each of those weekends; bag and possession limit of two king salmon, 20 inches or greater in length, of which only one fish may be a naturally produced king salmon; for the purposes of this sub-subparagraph, "naturally produced king salmon" means a king salmon with an intact adipose fin; a king salmon 20 inches or greater in length that is removed from the water must be retained and becomes part of the bag and possession limit of the person originally hooking it; a person may not remove a king salmon form the water before releasing the fish;

(v) a person may not possess a king salmon that has been filleted, mutilated, or otherwise disfigured in a manner that prevents the determination that a fish is a hatchery king salmon, until the person has stopped fishing in the Ninilchik River drainage for the day and has moved more than 100 yards away from waters open to sport fishing in the Ninilchik River drainage; for the purposes of this sub-subparagraph, "hatchery king salmon" means a king salmon with a clipped adipose fin as evidenced by a healed fin clip scar where the adipose fin is normally located;

(vi) is open to sport fishing, except for salmon, from August 1 - December 31 upstream of ADF&G regulatory markers located approximately two miles upstream from the mouth;

(6) English Bay River drainage:

(A) English Bay River from its mouth, including the lagoon, upstream to Lower English Bay Lake, from June 1 - July 31, is fly-fishing-only water;

(B) upstream of the outlet of Lower English Bay Lake, the drainage, including flowing water, lakes, and ponds, from January 1 - December 31, are open to sport fishing, except for salmon;

(7) Kasilof River drainage, excluding Crooked Creek and Tustumena Lake and its tributaries:

(A) king salmon 20 inches or greater in length may be taken from January 1 - June 30, upstream of Sterling Highway Bridge, and from January 1 - July 31, downstream of the Sterling Highway Bridge; bag and possession limit of one fish; annual limit of five king salmon 20 inches or greater in length; a harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 56.024; from January 1 - June 30,

(i) a hatchery king salmon may be retained; a hatchery king salmon 20 inches or greater in length that is removed from the water must be retained and becomes part of the bag limit of the person originally hooking it; a person may not remove a king salmon from the water before releasing the fish; for the purposes of this paragraph, "hatchery king salmon" means a king salmon with a clipped adipose fin as evidenced by a healed fin clip scar where the adipose fin is normally located;

(ii) a naturally-produced king salmon may be retained on Tuesdays and Saturdays only; a naturally-produced king salmon 20 inches or greater in length that is removed from the water must be retained and becomes part of the bag limit of the person originally hooking it; a person may not remove a king salmon from the water before releasing the fish; the commissioner may, by emergency order, increase the days for retention of naturally-produced king salmon; for the purposes of this paragraph, "naturally-produced king salmon" means a king salmon with an adipose fin intact;

(B) from January 1 - June 30, a person may not possess a king salmon that has been filleted, mutilated, or otherwise disfigured in a manner that prevents the determination that the fish is a hatchery king salmon, until the fish is permanently offloaded from the vessel if the fish was taken from a vessel or permanently transported away from the fishing site if the fish was taken from the riverbank; for the purposes of this sub-subparagraph, "fishing site" means the riverbank where the fish was hooked and removed from the water;

(C) the following special provisions apply in that portion downstream of the Sterling Highway Bridge:

(i) from July 1 - July 31, a king salmon 20 inches or greater in length that is removed from the water must be retained and becomes part of the bag limit of the person originally hooking it; a person may not remove a king salmon from the water before releasing the fish;

(ii) in flowing waters, from September 1 - May 15, only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used;

(iii) on any Sunday in July, a person may not sport fish from a registered guide vessel;

(iv) from January 1 - July 31, a person may not sport fish from a vessel that has on board a motor that is more than 10 horsepower;

(v) from January 1 - July 31, a motor may be used only between the mouth of the Kasilof River and Trujillo's Landing, and only after fishing from the vessel has ceased for the day; a person may not deploy sport fishing gear from a vessel after a motor has been used to propel that vessel on the same day;

(vi) from January 1 - June 30, a person may not sport fish from an anchored vessel from an ADF&G regulatory marker located near the confluence of Crooked Creek, downstream approximately 2,700 feet to an ADF&G regulatory marker located near the cutbank; for the purposes of this sub-subparagraph, "anchored vessel" means a vessel on which any device other than oars or paddles is used to slow or stop the downstream drift of the vessel;

(vii) rainbow/steelhead trout may not be possessed or retained; rainbow/steelhead trout caught must be released immediately; a person may not remove rainbow/steelhead trout from the water;

(8) Resurrection Bay drainages:

(A) in flowing water, from September 1 - December 31, only unbaited, artificial lures, may be used;

(B) closed to sport fishing for salmon;

(C) Seward Lagoon is closed to sport fishing;

(D) notwithstanding (B) of this paragraph, the waters downstream from the Seward Highway and downstream form Nash Road are open to sport fishing for salmon, except king salmon, from August 1 - December 31; only single-hook, artificial lures may be used; the bag and possession limit is three salmon per day, of which only two may be coho salmon;

(E) a person 16 years of age or older may not sport fish in First Lake during the four designated youth fishing days, which occur from the Thursday before the third Saturday in May through the following Sunday;

(9) Stariski Creek drainage:

(A) in flowing waters, from September 1 - December 31, only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used;

(B) rainbow/steelhead trout may not be possessed or retained; rainbow/steelhead trout caught must be released immediately; a person may not remove rainbow/steelhead trout from the water;

(C) from its mouth upstream to the Sterling Highway Bridge, from July 1 - December 31, is open to sport fishing, except for king salmon;

(D) upstream from the Sterling Highway Bridge, from August 1 - December 31, is open to sport fishing, except for salmon;

(10) Swanson River drainage:

(A) sport fishing with bait is allowed in all waters open to sport fishing;

(B) flowing waters, from June 15 - April 14, are open to sport fishing, except for king salmon;

(C) Sucker Creek is closed to sport fishing for salmon;

(D) rainbow/steelhead trout bag and possession limit is five fish, of which only one may be 20 inches or greater in length;

(11) Tustumena Lake and its tributaries are closed to sport fishing for sockeye salmon.

History: Eff. 2/25/98, Register 145; am 3/21/99, Register 149; am 6/13/99, Register 150; am 5/18/2000, Register 154; am 3/11/2001, Register 157; am 6/22/2002, Register 162; am 5/18/2003, Register 166; em am 6/21/2004 - 10/18/2004, Register 171; am 2/13/2005, Register 173; am 6/11/2005, Register 174

Authority: AS 16.05.060

AS 16.05.251