Alaska Administrative Code
Title 5 - Fish and Game
Part 2 - Sport Fishing and Personal Use Fishery
Chapter 56 - Kenai Peninsula Area
5 AAC 56.122 - Special provisions for the seasons, bag, possession, annual, and size limits, and methods and means for the Kenai Peninsula Area

Universal Citation: 5 AK Admin Code 5 AAC 56.122

Current through August 30, 2024

(a) Unless otherwise specified by an emergency order issued under AS 16.05.060, the following are special provisions and localized additions and exceptions to the general seasons, bag, possession, annual, and size limits, and methods and means set out in 5 AAC 56.120 and 5 AAC 75 for the Kenai Peninsula Area:

(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) Anchor River drainage, except the Bridge Creek reservoir:
(A) only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used
(i) from July 1 - July 15 and from September 1 - October 31 from its mouth upstream to an ADF & G regulatory marker located approximately 200 yards upstream of the Old Sterling Highway Bridge;

(ii) from August 1 - October 31 upstream from an ADF & G regulatory marker located approximately 200 yards upstream of the Old Sterling Highway Bridge;

(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 before releasing the fish;

(C) from its mouth upstream to an ADF & G regulatory marker located approximately 200 yards upstream of the Old Sterling Highway Bridge sport fishing is open
(i) on the weekend, and the Monday and Wednesday following that weekend, before Memorial Day weekend and the following four weekends and the Monday and Wednesday following each of those weekends; and

(ii) from July 1 - October 31;

(D) upstream to an ADF & G regulatory marker located approximately 200 yards upstream of the Old Sterling Highway Bridge sport fishing is open from August 1 - October 31, except for salmon;

(E) sport fishing is open for king salmon from its mouth upstream to an ADF&G regulatory marker located approximately 200 yards upstream of the Old Sterling Highway Bridge only on the weekend, and the Monday and Wednesday following that weekend, before Memorial Day weekend and the following four weekends and the Monday and Wednesday following each of those weekends; for king salmon 20 inches or greater in length, the bag and possession limit is one fish; as part of the Cook Inlet region annual limit specified for king salmon in (b) of this section, 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 harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.006; a person who takes and retains the bag limit of king salmon 20 inches or greater in length from the Anchor River, Deep Creek, or the Ninilchik River may not sport fish in any of those drainages 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 11 - April 30, 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 before releasing the fish;

(5) Deep Creek drainage:
(A) only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used;
(i) from July 1 - July 15 and from September 1 - October 31 from its mouth to ADF & G regulation markers located approximately two miles upstream;

(ii) from August 1 - October 31 upstream of ADF & G regulatory markers located approximately two miles upstream from its mouth;

(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 before releasing the fish;

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

(ii) from July 1 - October 31;

(D) open to sport fishing for king salmon from its mouth upstream to ADF&G regulatory markers located 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; as part of the Cook Inlet region annual limit specified for king salmon in (b) of this section, 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 harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.006; a person who takes and retains the bag limit of king salmon 20 inches or greater in length from Deep Creek, the Anchor River, or the Ninilchik River may not sport fish in any of those drainages 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;

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

(6) Ninilchik River drainage:
(A) only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used
(i) from September 1 - October 31 from its mouth to ADF & G regulatory markers located approximately two miles upstream;

(ii) from August 1 - October 31 upstream of ADF & G regulatory markers located approximately two miles upstream from its mouth;

(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 before releasing the fish;

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

(ii) from June 16- October 31;

(D) open to sport fishing for king salmon from its mouth upstream to ADF&G regulatory markers located approximately two miles upstream
(i) on Memorial Day weekend and the following two weekends and the Monday following each of those weekends; the bag and possession limit is two hatchery king salmon, 20 inches or greater in length and 10 hatchery king salmon under 20 inches; naturany-produced king salmon may not be retained; only one single hook, or single-hook artificial lure, including bait may be used; a person who takes and retains two king salmon 20 inches or greater in length from the Ninilchik River may not sport fish in the Ninilchik River, Deep Creek, or the Anchor River for the rest of that day;

(ii) from June 16 - October 31; the bag and possession limit is two hatchery hatchery king salmon, 20 inches or greater in length and 10 hatchery king salmon under 20 inches; naturally-produced king salmon may not be retained; only one single hook, or single-hook artificial lure, including bait may be used; a person who takes and retains two king salmon 20 inches or greater in length from the Ninilchik River drainage may not sport fish in the Ninilchik River drainage for the rest of that day; and

(iii) with an annual limit of five king salmon 20 inches or greater in length, except as provided in (b) of this section; a harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.006; 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 from the water before releasing the fish;

(E) 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 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;

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

(G) the Ninilchik River from the outlet of the Ninilchik small boat harbor to ADF&G regulatory markers approximately two miles upstream is open to sport fishing to a person under 16 years of age during the designated youth fishery which occurs on the second Wednesday after Memorial Day between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:59 p.m.; the king salmon bag and possession limit is two hatchery king salmon of any size and naturally-produced king salmon may not be retained: annual limit and other restrictions specified in (D)(iii) of this paragraph apply; a harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.006; a person who takes and retains two king salmon may not sport fish in the Ninilchik River for the rest of the day;

(7) 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 waters, lakes, and ponds, from January 1 - December 31, are open to sport fishing, except for salmon;

(8) Kasilof River drainage, excluding Crooked Creek and Tustumena Lake and its tributaries:
(A) king salmon may be taken from January 1 - June 30, upstream of the Sterling Highway Bridge, and from January 1 - July 31, downstream of the Sterling Highway Bridge; bag and possession limit for king salmon 20 indies or greater in length is one fish; annual limit of five king salmon 20 inches or greater in length, except as provided in (b) of this section; a harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.006; from January 1 - June 30,
(i) the bag and possession limit for king salmon 20 inches or greater in length is two fish, of which only one fish may be a naturally-produced king salmon; 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) a naturally-produced king salmon may be retained on Tuesdays, Thursdays, 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;

(iii) 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, and in all cases moved more than 100 yards away from waters open to sport fishing for king salmon in the Kasilof River drainage;

(B) the following special provisions apply in that portion downstream of the Sterling Highway Bridge:
(i) from July 1 - July 31, the bag and possession limit for king salmon 20 inches or greater in length is one fish; 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 16 - 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 sport fishing 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 only be used between the mouth of the Kasilof River and an ADF&G regulatory marker located approximately four miles upstream, 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;

(vii) repealed 6/8/2017;

(C) from August 1 - August 15, fishing from a boat is prohibited in the flowing waters of the Kasilof River upstream of the Sterling Highway Bridge;

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

(E) from January 1 - August 15, in the Kasilof River from the boat launch at Tustamena Lake Campground downstream to the Sterling Highway bridge, only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used;

(9) 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 and the waters draining out of Seward Lagoon are closed to sport fishing, except that a person under 16 years of age may sport fish during a designated youth sport fishery, as follows:
(i) unless modified by emergency order, the designated youth sport fishery occurs for king salmon from June 17 - June 30;

(ii) unless modified by emergency order, the designated youth sport fishery occurs for coho salmon from August 25 - September 7;

(iii) a single hook, or a single-hook artificial lure, with bait may be used;

(iv) bag and possession limit of two fish;

(v) as specified in 5 AAC 75.022(c), a person may not snag a fish;

(vi) after taking a bag limit, a person may not sport fish in the Seward Lagoon or waters draining out of Seward Lagoon that day;

(D) notwithstanding (B) of this paragraph, the waters downstream from the Seward Highway and downstream from Nash Road are open to sport fishing for salmon, except king salmon, from June 16 - 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;

(10) Stariski Creek drainage:
(A) only one unbailed, single-hook, artificial lure may be used
(i) from July 1 - July 15 and from September 1 - October 31 from its mouth upstream to the Sterling Highway Bridge;

(ii) from August 1 - October 31 upstream of the Sterling Highway Bridge;

(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 before releasing the fish;

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

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

(11) Swanson River drainage:
(A) sport fishing with bait is allowed in all waters open to sport fishing;

(B) flowing waters, from June 11 - April 30, are open to sport fishing, except for king salmon;

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

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

(12) Tustumena Lake and its tributaries:
(A) Tustumena Lake and its tributaries are closed to sport fishing for sockeye salmon;

(B) except as specified in (A) of the paragraph, the tributaries of Tustumena Lake are open to sport fishing only from June 11 - April 30;

(13) repealed 5/18/2014;

(14) the waters of Bench Creek drainage, including Bench Lake, are open to sport fishing from June 11 - April 30.

(b) Notwithstanding an annual limit established in this section for king salmon, the annual limit for king salmon in the combined waters of the Kenai Peninsula Area and the other areas in the Cook Inlet region that are open to sport fishing for king salmon under 5 AAC 57 - 5 AAC 62 is five king salmon 20 inches or greater in length, not more than two of which may be taken from that portion of the Kenai River drainage open to king salmon fishing, and not more than two of which may be taken, in combination, from Deep Creek and the Anchor River, except that from January 1 through June 30, a king salmon less than 28 inches in length taken from the Kenai River does not count towards the annual limit.

(c) In this section,

(1) "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;

(2) "fishing site" means the riverbank where the fish was hooked and removed from the water;

(3) "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;

(4) "naturally-produced king salmon" means a king salmon with an adipose fin intact.

Authority:AS 16.05.060

AS 16.05.251

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