Cook Inlet king fishing reopens north of Bluff Point at one fish a day

Anglers can again fish for king salmon in Cook Inlet salt waters north of Bluff Point, where the closure ended Aug. 15. The bag and possession limit there is one king of any size, not the usual two, and it runs through Sept. 15.

South of Bluff Point, including Kachemak Bay, the limit has been one king any size since April 1 and also holds through Sept. 15. The Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon on the Homer Spit and the Seldovia slough and lagoon stay at two. On Sept. 16 the two-fish limit returns to all Cook Inlet salt waters for the winter fishery.

The prohibition that just ended covered catch-and-release as well as retention and ran May 1 through Aug. 15, under a February emergency order signed by area management biologist Mike Booz. NOAA Fisheries closed recreational Chinook fishing in the federal waters of Cook Inlet over nearly the same stretch, May 30 through Aug. 15.

Every Cook Inlet king run was forecast to come in under its escapement goal this year — the number of fish managers want reaching the spawning grounds. The Kenai and the Anchor were expected to fall just short of the minimum. The Deshka was forecast at a little more than a third of it. The Deshka and the Kenai have missed their goals in four of the last five years, and the Board of Fisheries has adopted a recovery plan that closes king fishing north of Bluff Point from June 20 to Aug. 15 every year until Kenai late-run kings come off the stock-of-concern list.

Kings and coho were fair over the past week and scattered through Kachemak Bay, with offshore locations producing the best catches. A small trolled herring or spoon behind a flasher is the most popular setup.