Alaska Administrative Code › Title 5 - Fish and Game › Part 2 - Sport Fishing and Personal Use Fishery › Chapter 57 - Kenai River Drainage Area › 5 AAC 57.120 - General provisions for seasons, bag, possession, annual, and size limits, and methods and means for the Kenai River Drainage Area

Current through May 31, 2024
(a) Unless
				otherwise specified in
				5 AAC 57.121 -
				5 AAC 57.123 or by an emergency order issued under
				AS
				16.05.060, the following are the general
				seasons, bag, possession, annual, and size limits, and methods and means that
				apply to sport fishing for finfish in the Kenai River Drainage Area:
(1) salmon may be landed only with the aid of
				a landing net or by hand;
(2) king
				salmon 20 inches or greater in length, as follows:
(A) may be taken only from January 1 - July
				31, in the Kenai River from its mouth upstream to an ADF&G regulatory
				marker located at the outlet of Skilak Lake, with a bag and possession limit of
				one fish, as follows:
(i) from January 1 -
				June 30, from its mouth upstream to an ADF&G regulatory marker located at
				the outlet of Skilak Lake, and from July 1 - July 31, from an ADF&G
				regulatory marker located approximately 300 yards downstream from the mouth of
				the Slikok Creek upstream to an ADF&G regulatory marker located at the
				outlet of Skilak Lake, only king salmon that are less than 34 inches in length
				as measured from tip of snout to tip of tail may be retained;
(ii) if retention is permitted under this
				subparagraph, a king salmon 20 inches or greater in length that is removed from
				the water must be retained and becomes part of the bag limit of the person
				originally hooking it; a person may not remove a king salmon from the water
				before releasing the fish; except as provided in (b)(1) of this section, there
				is an annual limit of two king salmon and a harvest record is required as
				specified in
				5 AAC 75.006;
(iii) repealed 6/8/2017;
(iv) from January 1 - July 31, a person may
				not possess a king salmon that has been filleted, headed, mutilated, or
				otherwise disfigured in a manner that prevents determination of the length
				offish taken until the fish is permanently offloaded from a vessel, if the fish
				was taken from a vessel, or permanently transported away from the fishing site,
				if the fish was taken from the riverbank; for the purposes of this
				sub-subparagraph, "fishing site" means the riverbank where the fish was hooked
				and removed from the water to become part of the angler's bag
				limit;
(B) king salmon 20
				inches or greater in length may not be taken
(i) in the Kenai River upstream from an
				ADF&G regulatory marker located at the outlet of Skilak Lake, including
				Kenai Lake; and
(ii) in the Kenai
				River drainage lakes and tributaries including Kenai Lake tributaries, except
				the lower Moose River;
(C) a person, after taking and retaining a
				king salmon 20 inches or greater in length from the Kenai River, may not sport
				fish from a boat in the Kenai River downstream from an ADF&G regulatory
				marker located at the outlet of Skilak Lake for any species of fish on that
				same day;
(3) king salmon
				less than 20 inches in length may be taken in
(A) flowing waters and unstocked lakes and
				ponds only from January 1 - July 31; bag and possession limit of 10
				fish;
(B) repealed
				6/12/2011;
(4) salmon,
				other than king salmon,
(A) 16 inches or
				greater in length, as follows:
(i) sockeye,
				pink, and chum salmon may be taken from January 1 - December 31;
(ii) coho salmon may be taken in the Lower
				Section only from July 1 - November 30 and in the Middle Section only from July
				1 - October 31; a person after taking and retaining a bag limit of coho salmon
				16 inches or greater in length from the Kenai River may continue to sport fish
				only from the Soldotna Bridge upstream to the ADF&G regulatory markers at
				the outlet of Skilak Lake; notwithstanding the provision of this
				sub-subparagraph, coho salmon may not be taken from November 1 - November 30 in
				the Lower Section from the Bings Landing boat launch upstream to an ADF&G
				regulatory marker located at the outlet of Skilak Lake;
(iii) except as provided in (iv) of this
				subparagraph, the bag and possession limit for sockeye, coho, and chum salmon
				in combination is three fish per day and six in possession, of which no more
				than two per day and in possession may be coho salmon; in addition, the bag and
				possession limit for pink salmon is six fish;
(iv) from September 1 - November 30, in the
				flowing waters of the Kenai River, excluding the tributaries, the bag and
				possession limit for coho salmon is three fish per day;
(v) if retention of coho salmon is allowed
				under this chapter, a coho salmon 16 inches or greater in length that is
				removed from the water must be retained and becomes part of the bag limit of
				the person originally hooking it; a person may not remove a coho salmon from
				the water before releasing the fish;
(B) less than 16 inches in length; bag and
				possession limit of 10 fish, as follows:
(i)
				sockeye, pink, and chum salmon may be taken from January 1 - December
				31;
(ii) coho salmon may be taken
				in the Lower Section only from July 1 - November 30, and in the Middle Section
				only from July 1 - October 31, except that coho salmon may be taken in lakes
				and ponds, excluding Skilak Lake, from January 1 - December 31;
(5) Arctic char/Dolly
				Varden may be taken from
(A) January 1 -
				December 31, in all flowing waters from the mouth of the Kenai River upstream
				to Skilak Lake, and the waters of Skilak Lake upstream to Kenai Lake, including
				the flowing waters of the Kenai Lake drainage; bag and possession limit of one
				fish less than 16 inches in length; Arctic char/Dolly Varden 16 inches or
				greater in length may not be retained; Arctic char/Dolly Varden caught that are
				16 inches or greater in length must be released immediately;
(B) January 1 - December 31, in the lakes and
				ponds of the Kenai River drainage, including Kenai Lake and lakes tributary to
				Kenai Lake, except Skilak Lake; bag and possession limit of two fish, of which
				only one may be 20 inches or greater in length;
(C) repealed 6/8/2017;
(6) rainbow/steelhead trout
(A) are subject to an annual limit of two
				fish 20 inches or greater in length, except as provided in (b)(2) of this
				section, and a harvest record is required as specified in
				5 AAC 75.006;
(B) may be taken from January 1 - December
				31, in all flowing waters upstream of Skilak Lake, and the waters of Skilak
				Lake upstream to Kenai Lake, including the flowing waters of the Kenai Lake
				drainage; bag and possession limit of one fish less than 16 inches in length;
				rainbow/steelhead trout 16 inches or greater in length may not be retained;
				rainbow/steelhead trout caught that are 16 inches or greater in length must be
				released immediately;
(C) repealed
				6/8/2017;
(D) may be taken from
				January 1 - December 31, in the lakes and ponds, including Kenai Lake and lakes
				tributary to Kenai Lake, except Skilak Lake and stocked lakes; bag and
				possession limit of two fish, of which only one may be 20 inches or greater in
				length;
(E) repealed
				6/12/2011;
(7) Arctic
				grayling may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of
				five fish; no size limit;
(8) lake
				trout
(A) 20 inches or greater in length may
				be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two
				fish;
(B) less than 20 inches in
				length may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of
				10 fish;
(9) repealed
				6/8/2017;
(10) burbot: may be taken
				from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish; no size
				limit;
(11) other finfish not
				specified in this section may be taken from January 1 - December 31; no bag,
				possession, or size limits;
(12)
				northern pike may be taken from January 1 - December 31; no bag, possession, or
				size limits; northern pike may be taken in all waters of this section;
				notwithstanding
				5 AAC 75.065, a northern pike caught may not be released
				back into the water alive.