More than 100 coho have passed Bear Creek weir near Seward

More than 100 coho salmon have passed the Bear Creek weir north of Seward, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game expects freshwater silver fishing in the Resurrection River to improve within the next week or two.

"Coho (silver) salmon fishing has been slow but fishing has started to pick up," North Gulf Coast Area Management Biologist Brittany Blain-Roth said in the department's Friday report.

The report says coho fishing in Resurrection Bay picked up last week, with fish caught from Caines Head and Derby Cove to town. Bear Creek weir is run under a cooperative agreement between Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association and Fish and Game to build sockeye and coho runs in Resurrection Bay; coho typically arrive between late July and September. The department's August 2017 report described the same sequence: fish at the weir, then Resurrection River fishing improving over following weeks.

Families with young anglers have their own window right now. The Seward Lagoon and Outfall Stream are open for coho fishing only to anglers 15 and younger, a fishery that opened Aug. 25 and runs through Sept. 7. Only one hook, single or treble, may be used, but bait is permitted. It will be slow to start, the department said, because the coho are just showing up. The lagoon is closed to all other fishing outside that stretch.

The freshwater section of the Resurrection River up to Nash Road is open to all salmon except kings, and only unbaited, single-hook artificial lures or flies are allowed. Snagging is prohibited in fresh water but allowed in salt. Dolly Varden fishing has picked up as char feed on pink salmon eggs; the department suggests egg imitations or beads.