The Mat-Su Valley's king salmon fisheries are closed — Anchorage's closest king water joins the Kenai on the bench

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed king salmon fishing across all major Matanuska-Susitna Valley drainages, shutting down what is typically Southcentral Alaska's earliest king salmon opportunity just as the first fish were beginning to return.

Three emergency orders close the Susitna River drainage, the Little Susitna River, and all waters of the West Cook Inlet Management Area to king salmon sport fishing. Anglers fishing for other species in those waters are limited to a single unbaited, single-hook artificial lure with a half-inch hook gap — ADF&G's standard tackle restriction to limit incidental king mortality.

The closures hit one of Anchorage's most accessible salmon fisheries. The Mat-Su Valley is the closest major king water to Alaska's largest city, and the Susitna and Little Susitna runs are among the first kings of the year to reach Southcentral anglers. The first kings of 2026 had just arrived: the June 2 ADF&G fishing report noted a handful of fish caught at the Eklutna Tailrace and the first few over the Little Susitna weir.

The Eklutna Tailrace remains open with bait and multiple hooks allowed, because the kings there are hatchery-supplemented fish managed separately from the wild stocks the closures protect.

This isn't a one-time response. Northern Cook Inlet and Mat-Su king runs have been in long-term decline, and ADF&G has issued similar emergency orders nearly every season since 2022 — Little Susitna closures in 2022, Northern Cook Inlet-wide gear restrictions in 2023, broad Mat-Su retention closures in 2024, and now full closures across the area's major drainages in 2026. The Board of Fisheries has adopted conservative management plans that require closures when escapement goals aren't projected to be met.

The Mat-Su closures pair with this season's full Kenai River closure, leaving Southcentral Alaska's two most prominent king salmon sport fisheries effectively shuttered for the year.