September 2025 Alaska Fishing Reports
Ocean-run coho salmon are available in September with bait fishing at Knik River Fishing on the Big Susitna River drainage is restricted to artificial lures only, starting September 1, however, we’ve guided guests into some good Susitna River drainage coho catches in September as well. Daily temperatures start cooling down in September, so guests should bring warm clothes and rain gear — and especially for morning trips. Early September generally provides much greater numbers of prime ocean-fresh salmon. We suggest calling before attempting to reserve a coho salmon fishing trip after September 10. Scroll down for our latest fishing report:
September 1, 2025 — Stayed home and celebrated my birthday with my wife. I grilled up some steaks and bratwurst, and she baked a yummy wild Alaska blueberry pie. One of my nephews picked the blueberries for us. Bait fishing (August 15) and coho salmon harvest (August 21) were previously closed at both Deshka River and Little Susitna River — and those closures remain in effect. Starting on Labor Day September 1 — flowing waters of the entire Susitna River drainage (including Yentna River drainage) are restricted to artificial lures only
September 2, 2025 — Mat-Su Coho Salmon Weir Projects: Deshka — I was able to talk with Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) area sportfish management biologist, Samantha Oslund today. She told me that there had been some damage to Deshka River weir with the flooding that has stopped salmon counts at that location after Wednesday August 28, 2025. Samantha also said the water was still high at Deshka making it difficult to get Deshka River Weir back up and operational. There was a decent push of coho salmon past the weir as the water was rising on August 24 — so ADF&G would like to get this project going again before the coho migration totally winds down, however, it usually is about done by early September. ADF&G POSTED ON ITS WEBSITE, LATER IN THE DAY, THAT DESHKA RIVER WEIR HAD BEEN PULLED.
Little Susitna River — Samantha Oslund said Little Susitna River Weir had been overtopped with water starting Friday August 29, 2025. Although there were some trees and logs coming down the river during the high water following recent heavy rains, she did. not believe the weir had been damaged. ADF&G staff members were planning to inspect and (hopefully) get Little Susitna River weir back up and operational as soon as possible (perhaps even today?). Samantha also mentioned that the water level had already dropped significantly at Little Susitna River. With rising water levels in the two days before the weir was submerged, there was a push of 684 total coho migrating through the weir. While most coho remaining in the river below the weir may have already moved past the weir site with the increase in stream flow, ADF&G would like to get this project up and operating again, to see if there may still be any significant number of coho migrating upstream. The Little Susitna River coho counting project (involving the weir) usually wraps up sometime in late August or early September. Stay tuned for an update on this.
Fish Creek and Jim Creek Weirs are operational with salmon being counted — updated counts can be viewed on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website. Copy and past the following link in your browser and it should take you to Fish Counts: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/FishCounts/
September 3, 2025 — Little Susitna River Weir Operantional — Again. The ADF&G was able to get the Little Susitna River Weir ABOVE WATER, and were able to count 21 coho salmon swimming past yesterday (Sept. 2).
This evening I fished for about an hour at Eklutna Tailrace and managed to briefly hook. one fish. I hooked the fish on a #5 Silver /Black Flashtrap Spinner, and suspect it was a coho salmon, however, I lost the fish before I could identify what it was. I saw a few salmon rolling (with the most activity near the Tailrace /Knik River confluence. The river and tailrace water levels remained high, although it looked like the water had dropped considerably since the high point. There are definitely a few salmon at the tailrace, but from what I saw this evening it was very slow fishing. As I was leaving several additional vehicles with people were arriving.
Thursday September 4, 2025 — no guided fishing trips.
Friday September 5, 2025 — no guided fishing trips.
Saturday September 6, 2025 — No guided fishing trips.
Sunday September 7, 2025 — No guided fishing trips.
Monday September 8, 2025 — I will be writing the Mat-Su Anglers column for the Friday September 12, 2025 Frontiersman Newspaper today.
ADF&G announced they will be pulling the Fish Creek salmon counting weir today. 2025 sockeye and coho salmon total counts passing the weir through September 7 were: 42,573 sockeye salmon and 3,386 coho salmon.
Tuesday September 9, 2025 — I guided two men who wanted to try for salmon. We fished 8 stretches of the river and they each caught and released 5 coho salmon while casting #4 and #5 spinners equipped wiht 1/2 inch single hooks. During the trip I saw some ducks along the river, but not much other wildlife. The water was high and dark -olored but with about 18 inches of visibility. During the trip we saw salmon surfacing occasionally. Sometimes my guests caught salmon where we had seen fish surfacing, but in some spots we saw salmon surfacing, but they could not even hook a fish. The morning was cloudy and pleasant, but starting a little after noon we started getting some rain. The outside temperature was quite pleasant throughout the entire trip — and especially for the second week of September. We saw several other groups of people boating, but did not see anyone else who was fishing along the river. All of the salmon my guests caught were getting dark-colored, so I’ve decided this will be the last trip for ocean-run salmon that I guide during the 2025 season.