Alaska Administrative Code
Title 5 - Fish and Game
Part 2 - Sport Fishing and Personal Use Fishery
Chapter 57 - Kenai River Drainage Area
5 AAC 57.120 - General provisions for seasons, bag, possession, annual, and size limits, and methods and means for the Kenai River Drainage Area

Universal Citation: 5 AK Admin Code 5 AAC 57.120

Current through August 30, 2024

(a) Unless otherwise specified in 5 AAC 57.121 - 5 AAC 57.123 or by an emergency order issued under AS 16.05.060, the following are the general seasons, bag, possession, annual, and size limits, and methods and means that apply to sport fishing for finfish in the Kenai River Drainage Area:

(1) salmon may be landed only with the aid of a landing net or by hand;

(2) king salmon 20 inches or greater in length, as follows:
(A) may be taken only from January 1 - July 31, in the Kenai River from its mouth upstream to an ADF&G regulatory marker located at the outlet of Skilak Lake, with a bag and possession limit of one fish, as follows:
(i) from January 1 - June 30, from its mouth upstream to an ADF&G regulatory marker located at the outlet of Skilak Lake, and from July 1 - July 31, from an ADF&G regulatory marker located approximately 300 yards downstream from the mouth of the Slikok Creek upstream to an ADF&G regulatory marker located at the outlet of Skilak Lake, only king salmon that are less than 34 inches in length as measured from tip of snout to tip of tail may be retained;

(ii) if retention is permitted under this subparagraph, 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; except as provided in (b)(1) of this section, there is an annual limit of two king salmon and a harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.006;

(iii) repealed 6/8/2017;

(iv) from January 1 - July 31, a person may not possess a king salmon that has been filleted, headed, mutilated, or otherwise disfigured in a manner that prevents determination of the length offish taken until the fish is permanently offloaded from a 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 to become part of the angler's bag limit;

(B) king salmon 20 inches or greater in length may not be taken
(i) in the Kenai River upstream from an ADF&G regulatory marker located at the outlet of Skilak Lake, including Kenai Lake; and

(ii) in the Kenai River drainage lakes and tributaries including Kenai Lake tributaries, except the lower Moose River;

(C) a person, after taking and retaining a king salmon 20 inches or greater in length from the Kenai River, may not sport fish from a boat in the Kenai River downstream from an ADF&G regulatory marker located at the outlet of Skilak Lake for any species of fish on that same day;

(3) king salmon less than 20 inches in length may be taken in
(A) flowing waters and unstocked lakes and ponds only from January 1 - July 31; bag and possession limit of 10 fish;

(B) repealed 6/12/2011;

(4) salmon, other than king salmon,
(A) 16 inches or greater in length, as follows:
(i) sockeye, pink, and chum salmon may be taken from January 1 - December 31;

(ii) coho salmon may be taken in the Lower Section only from July 1 - November 30 and in the Middle Section only from July 1 - October 31; a person after taking and retaining a bag limit of coho salmon 16 inches or greater in length from the Kenai River may continue to sport fish only from the Soldotna Bridge upstream to the ADF&G regulatory markers at the outlet of Skilak Lake; notwithstanding the provision of this sub-subparagraph, coho salmon may not be taken from November 1 - November 30 in the Lower Section from the Bings Landing boat launch upstream to an ADF&G regulatory marker located at the outlet of Skilak Lake;

(iii) except as provided in (iv) of this subparagraph, the bag and possession limit for sockeye, coho, and chum salmon in combination is three fish per day and six in possession, of which no more than two per day and in possession may be coho salmon; in addition, the bag and possession limit for pink salmon is six fish;

(iv) from September 1 - November 30, in the flowing waters of the Kenai River, excluding the tributaries, the bag and possession limit for coho salmon is three fish per day;

(v) if retention of coho salmon is allowed under this chapter, a coho salmon 16 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 coho salmon from the water before releasing the fish;

(B) less than 16 inches in length; bag and possession limit of 10 fish, as follows:
(i) sockeye, pink, and chum salmon may be taken from January 1 - December 31;

(ii) coho salmon may be taken in the Lower Section only from July 1 - November 30, and in the Middle Section only from July 1 - October 31, except that coho salmon may be taken in lakes and ponds, excluding Skilak Lake, from January 1 - December 31;

(5) Arctic char/Dolly Varden may be taken from
(A) January 1 - December 31, in all flowing waters from the mouth of the Kenai River upstream to Skilak Lake, and the waters of Skilak Lake upstream to Kenai Lake, including the flowing waters of the Kenai Lake drainage; bag and possession limit of one fish less than 16 inches in length; Arctic char/Dolly Varden 16 inches or greater in length may not be retained; Arctic char/Dolly Varden caught that are 16 inches or greater in length must be released immediately;

(B) January 1 - December 31, in the lakes and ponds of the Kenai River drainage, including Kenai Lake and lakes tributary to Kenai Lake, except Skilak Lake; bag and possession limit of two fish, of which only one may be 20 inches or greater in length;

(C) repealed 6/8/2017;

(6) rainbow/steelhead trout
(A) are subject to an annual limit of two fish 20 inches or greater in length, except as provided in (b)(2) of this section, and a harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.006;

(B) may be taken from January 1 - December 31, in all flowing waters upstream of Skilak Lake, and the waters of Skilak Lake upstream to Kenai Lake, including the flowing waters of the Kenai Lake drainage; bag and possession limit of one fish less than 16 inches in length; rainbow/steelhead trout 16 inches or greater in length may not be retained; rainbow/steelhead trout caught that are 16 inches or greater in length must be released immediately;

(C) repealed 6/8/2017;

(D) may be taken from January 1 - December 31, in the lakes and ponds, including Kenai Lake and lakes tributary to Kenai Lake, except Skilak Lake and stocked lakes; bag and possession limit of two fish, of which only one may be 20 inches or greater in length;

(E) repealed 6/12/2011;

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

(8) 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;

(9) repealed 6/8/2017;

(10) burbot: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish; no size limit;

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

(12) northern pike may be taken from January 1 - December 31; no bag, possession, or size limits; northern pike may be taken in all waters of this section; notwithstanding 5 AAC 75.065, a northern pike caught may not be released back into the water alive.

(b) Notwithstanding an annual limit established in this section for

(1) king salmon, the annual limit for king salmon in the combined waters of the Kenai River Drainage Area and the other areas in the Cook Inlet region that are open to sport fishing for king salmon under 5 AAC 56 - 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;

(2) rainbow/steelhead trout, the annual limit for rainbow/steelhead trout in the combined waters of the Kenai River Drainage Area and the other areas in the Cook Inlet region that are open to sport fishing for rainbow/steelhead trout under 5 AAC 56 - 5 AAC 62 is two rainbow/steelhead trout 20 inches or greater in length.

Authority:AS 16.05.060

AS 16.05.251

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