Cook Inlet Sockeye Bucking the Pre-season dismal forecast

ADFG just announced an Emergency Order for Kasilof River sockeye. Their upper escapement goal is 320,000 reds and they are already at 113,000 fish through the counter with five weeks left in the run.

Beginning at 12:01am Saturday July 3rd the daily bag limit is raised to 6 per day and 12 in possession for sport caught fish. In addition they have extended the Personal Use Dipnet area on the Kasilof River all the way up to the Sterling Highway bridge.

The forecast was for an average return so this is a big surprise.

The Kenai River sockeye forecast was for one of the lowest returns for this season being only 2.6 million total before any commercial, PU, or sport harvest.

Historically the first few days of July sockeye counts on the Kenai are 3500 to 5000.  Yesterday July 1 was the first day of counting and they had 7,248.  Perhaps a premonition of things to come for a better than forecasted return.

With numbers like this already entering tidewater on the Kenai, and the city boat launch remaining free to launch through July 9th it looks like I need to bring along some dodger/hootchie rigs for sockeye trolling besides dragging a Kwikfish for a king.