Five dipnetters cited at Chitina in four days, three headed to court

Wildlife troopers have been busy at the Chitina dipnet fishery. Over four days in late June, they wrote up five people — and three are now headed to court next week, cited for the kind of violations the state warns about every season: keeping a king salmon when it wasn't allowed, and fishing when the fishery was closed.

Colter Hobbs, 38, of Anchorage, was cited for keeping a king when retention was barred. Jonathan Risley and Rachel Houser, both 30 and both of Fairbanks, were cited for fishing during a closed period. All three are due for arraignment July 15 in Glennallen. Two others were cited for a more common slip — failing to record their catch on their permits.

The king rule was the big one: retention was off-limits until July 1 and can be shut down anytime by emergency order. That's the catch at Chitina — the fishery only opens in windows the state sets, sometimes on about a week's notice, so a trip built around an opening that's since closed can end in a ticket. The state's advice is blunt: check that it's actually open before you drive out. The charges are accusations, and those cited are presumed innocent.