12/29/2010
This winter the Alaska Board of Fisheries will meet in Anchorage from February 20 — March 5 to consider sport, commercial, personal use, and subsistence fishing regulation changes for the Upper Cook Inlet portion of Southcentral Alaska. For that reason, and since the Board only meets once every three years to consider regulation changes for specific areas of the state, I have been focusing my efforts on preparing for the upcoming meeting rather than ice fishing this winter.
I plan to spend little on no time ice fishing until after the board meeting concludes in early March. Good luck to those interested in winter ice fishing — and more up to date ice fishing reports may be available from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Palmer, Alaska — feel welcome to give them a call at 907-746-6300. Biologist Samantha Oslund is the person who know most about ice fishing Matanuska – Susitna Valley lakes.
For people interested in participating in the Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting and wanting more information, I would be happy to talk with you. You may contact me at our regular business phone — 746-2199.
Andy Couch
P.S. I expect to have a preseason king salmon forecast out by January 15 — if not sooner. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will be releasing some of their information soon, and that is usually the most reliable information available — particularly for the Deshka River fishery.