A snagged salmon is a released salmon: a Kasilof reminder

A 16-year-old visitor from Washington learned an Alaska fishing rule the hard way this week. Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited him late Wednesday on the Kasilof River after finding he'd snagged a sockeye — hooked it somewhere other than the mouth — and kept it.

That's the rule a lot of first-time Alaska anglers miss: a salmon hooked anywhere but the mouth has to go back in the water, right away. It doesn't matter whether you meant to snag it. The citation is strict liability — the fish in your cooler is the whole case, intent aside.

On a river as busy as the Kasilof in July, it's an easy mistake to make, and an easy one to avoid.