On Ship Creek, you can't even lift a king out of the water

Chasing coho in Anchorage's creeks this weekend? You still can't keep a king, and on Ship Creek you can't even bring one out of the water. If one takes your hook, it stays wet and goes back immediately.

That's the strictest of the city's king rules right now. Campbell Creek and the Eagle River drainage are closed to kings too, held to a single unbaited hook, though Campbell Creek anglers get bait back Aug. 1.

The fishing itself is looking up. Ship Creek reopened July 14 to everything but kings, and coho picked up noticeably this week as the water settled. Campbell Creek has been slow in high, muddy water, but that should improve as levels drop.

It's a second straight summer with kings mostly off-limits in the city, part of a wider run of closures on weak Chinook stocks across Southcentral. Coho are coming on, though, and trout, char, grayling and the stocked lakes are all still open.