Situk River's Nine Mile Bridge stretch stays closed to all fishing through Aug. 31

Anglers hoping to fish the Situk River near the Nine Mile Bridge will have to wait at least two more weeks. The stretch was supposed to reopen by regulation on Aug. 16, but the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Division of Sport Fish announced Thursday that the closure will now run through Aug. 31.

ADF&G reported on Aug. 5 that the Chinook run was complete, with a final weir count of 219 large king salmon, less than a quarter of the 900 large kings the department had forecast for 2026 and less than half the 450-fish lower bound of the river's biological escapement goal. Staff surveys near the bridge in the past week concluded that most kings still in the river are holding inside the existing closure area, and the department said Situk water levels are near record lows with no significant precipitation forecast that would move fish upstream.

The lower river has been under shifting restrictions all summer. ADF&G expanded the closed area below the weir starting July 11, shutting the popular Rodeo Hole through Aug. 15 after only 100 large kings had passed the weir. The water from 300 feet above the weir down through the Rodeo Hole reopened Aug. 12, after surveys found nearly all kings had moved upstream.