Situk River closed zone expands to Rodeo Hole as king salmon count falls far short

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has temporarily expanded the sport fishing closed area on the lower Situk River, extending it to include the Rodeo Hole, effective 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 11. The expansion comes as king salmon returns have fallen far below target levels. The closure runs through August 15.

What the Numbers Show

As of July 8, only 100 large king salmon have passed the weir at river mile 1.8. With roughly 55 percent of historical run timing elapsed, projections indicate the biological escapement goal of 450 to 1,050 large kings will not be achieved against a management target of 730. The expanded closed zone runs from markers approximately 300 feet upstream of the weir to markers approximately 2,100 feet downstream, encompassing the entire Rodeo Hole. ADF&G states the emergency order protects king salmon holding in several pools downstream of the weir from incidental hooking while anglers fish for sockeye salmon. Jason Pawluk, Yakutat Area Sport Fish Management Biologist for ADF&G, noted in a July 2 report that "Sockeye salmon fishing in the Situk River is peaking. Counts have been on the low side, but there are fish in the river and fishing is good," a combination the agency's emergency order identifies as creating risk of incidental king salmon hooking in the Rodeo Hole area.

What Anglers Must Do

Anglers should understand the full scope: the entire Situk drainage remains closed to directed king fishing, and the Rodeo Hole is now off-limits to all sport fishing. Any king hooked incidentally must be released immediately without being removed from the water. Guides and anglers with sockeye plans for that stretch will need to adjust accordingly; the area remains closed through August 15.

Contact Pawluk at (907) 465-4224 or [email protected].