First King of the Season Caught in Ship Creek

A lucky fisherman reeled in a 20-pound king salmon Wednesday afternoon at the mouth of Ship Creek.

Tools

By Lauren Maxwell
Bio | Email

Story Created: May 26, 2011 at 7:48 PM AKDT

Story Updated: May 27, 2011 at 8:56 AM AKDT

Here’s some exciting news for fishermen. Biologists are reporting the first King salmon of the season has been caught at Ship Creek. The 20-pound King was caught Wednesday afternoon at the mouth of Ship Creek.

Since then, dozens of hopeful fishermen have lined the banks waiting for high tide and the Kings that could come with it. Shawn Kerr is one of them, and he says just the thought of starting the fishing season gets him excited.

“It gets the blood pumping, that’s for sure,” says Kerr. “There's nothing like fighting a fish that you don't know how big it is. Could be a little five-pound fish or up to a 50 pounder. You never know.”

One thing biologists do know is that this year’s King run will be similar to recent years,
probably only fair. As for this weekend’s chances of catching a King they could also be described as fair.

“It’s still a little early for this fishery,” says Alaska Department of Fish and Game information officer Ken Mars, “but it will really pick up in June. Even so, as our biologist says, it beats mowing the lawn so come on out.”

If you plan to take him up on that offer, here’s what you need to know:

The Ship Creek Fishery is open for King fishing every day from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m.

You have to fish downstream from the Chugach Power plant dam

Any type of bait or lure is acceptable

There’s a one-fish limit, so once you catch a King 20 inches or longer your fishing is done for the day.

And one more thing: don’t forget your fishing license. You’ll need one it if you are over 15.

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

KTVA CBS 11 | Anchorage, Alaska News and Weather and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.