Kuskokwim coho fishing slow in early August as Bethel sonar counts run low

Coho fishing in the lower tributaries of the Kuskokwim River has been very slow through the first week of August, a period when it is normally very good, and counts at the Bethel sonar have been low, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Kuskokwim fishing report, issued Thursday by area management biologist John Chythlook. Most Kuskokwim drainages have seen very high water after remarkably wet, windy weather. Chythlook wrote that conditions may still improve, since middle-river coho fishing is usually good into late August. Sockeye fishing will be largely over soon.

The high water is shaping resident-species fishing too. Anglers will find northern pike in shallow, weedy water next to cooler, deeper water, and pike fishing should pick up if warmer, lower water returns. Rainbow trout fishing is generally very good in August in the lower Kuskokwim tributaries, including the Kwethluk, Kisaralik/Kasigluk and Aniak rivers, though those rivers can wash out in heavy rain.

Slow early fishing does not by itself signal trouble for the run. The Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission said its current assessments indicate coho escapement goals will likely be met, with "no conservation concern for coho salmon" this season. Last year's sonar count ran well above the recent average by mid-August, though the commission still described the 2025 run as weak against long-term abundance.

Sport fishing for other salmon species remains open in the river's tributaries. In Kuskokwim Bay, the Kanektok, Goodnews and Arolik rivers should fish very well for coho in early August, Chythlook wrote, tapering later in the month if high water continues. King salmon fishing closed by regulation July 26 in Kuskokwim Bay, and the Aniak River drainage remains closed to king salmon sport fishing, though sport fishing for other species stays open.