Happy fall-time!

The summer of 2018 has been a summer of bounty for most people on the Kuskokwim. Many friends and neighbors have enjoyed the plentiful salmon season all along the river and the bumper crop of berries in the middle and lower river. A lot of people are thankful for more time to fish this summer, decent catches and a few stretches of good weather.

The 2018 customary fishing season in the lower portion of the Kuskokwim is winding down for most fish camps.

While many families are waiting for the Silver Salmon (Coho) to arrive, the batches of Kings (Chinook), Chums and Reds (Sockeye) that were caught, cut, dried and smoked are either being put away for the winter, or are almost done and on the last few days in the smokehouse.

The Kuskokwim River is ice-free at the headwaters and the ice is broken in Aniak. News of breakup is always exciting. With daylight shining so late into the night now, summer seems so close and it’s fun to think about the possibility of boat rides and fishing!

On Monday, May 7 and Tuesday, May 8, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on both days, the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission will be having its Annual Commissioner’s Meeting at the Cultural Center in Bethel.

As the days grow longer, our thoughts naturally drift toward planning for salmon fishing this summer. 

The summer of 2017 was unusually challenging with the extremely low water in the Kuskokwim watershed, and warm water temperatures in May and June. The king salmon run timing was the latest most of us have ever seen. And, the kings were running so deeply that their presence was difficult to detect. When the kings finally began showing up in real numbers, the chums and reds were already running, the best drying weather had already past, and the rainy days had set in.