End of king season sees increased returns on Deshka, Little Su

King salmon season has ended in the Northern Cook Inlet Region, and at least one river posted the highest counts in five years. On the Deshka, which has housed a fish weir since 2011, 23,609 kings were counted as of Monday. The Deshka was one of the few places where anglers could potentially take a king salmon home. Numbers from 2011 to 2014 failed to reach 20,000 fish. The Deshka’s escapement goal is between 13,000 and 28,000 king salmon.

On the Little Susitna River, the 4,727 returning kings are a significant increase over the last two years. Data from a handful of years in the eighties and nineties is also available for the Little Su, and the only year that topped this year’s run was 1988, when nearly 8,000 kings returned to the river.

Other Upper Valley rivers did not have counting weirs, but anecdotal reports from catch-and-release areas tell of fair-to-good fishing.