Section 5 AAC 62.120 - General provisions for seasons, bag, possession, annual, and size limits, and methods and means for the West Cook Inlet AreaUnless otherwise specified in 5 AAC 62.122 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 for the West Cook Inlet Area:
(1) king salmon (A) 20 inches or greater in length may be taken only from January 1 - June 30; bag and possession limit is one fish; there is an annual limit of five fish and a harvest record is required, as specified in 5 AAC 75.006; a king salmon 20 inches or greater in length that is removed from the water shall be retained and becomes a 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; notwithstanding the annual limit established for king salmon in this subparagraph, the annual limit for king salmon in the combined waters of the West Cook Inlet Area and the other areas in the Cook Inlet region that are open to sport fishing for king salmon under 5 AAC 56 - 5 AAC 61 is five king salmon 20 inches or greater in length, not more than two of which may be taken from that portion of the Kenai River drainage open to king salmon fishing, and not more than two of which may be taken, in combination, from Deep Creek and the Anchor River, except that from January 1 through June 30, a king salmon less than 28 inches in length taken from the Kenai River does not count towards the annual limit;(B) less than 20 inches in length may be taken only from January 1 - June 30; bag and possession limit is 10 fish;(2) salmon, other than king salmon, (A) 16 inches or greater in length may be taken only from January 1 - September 30; bag limit is three fish per day, and six in possession; 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 form the water before releasing the fish;(B) less than 16 inches in length may be taken only from January 1 - September 30; bag and possession limit is 10 fish; 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;(3) rainbow/steelhead trout (A) are subject to an annual limit of two fish 20 inches or greater in length and a harvest record is required as specified in 5 AAC 75.006; notwithstanding the annual limit established for rainbow/steelhead trout in this subparagraph, the annual limit for rainbow/steelhead trout in the combined waters of the West Cook Inlet and in the other areas in the Cook Inlet region that are open to sport fishing for rainbow/steelhead trout under 5 AAC 56 - 5 AAC 61 is two rainbow/steelhead trout 20 inches or greater in length;(B) may be taken in flowing waters only from June 15 - April 14; bag and possession limit of two fish, of which only one may be 20 inches or greater in length;(C) may not be retained or possessed in flowing waters April 15 - June 14;(D) may be taken in lakes and ponds from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish, of which only one may be 20 inches or greater in length;(4) Arctic char/Dolly Varden may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of five fish, of which only one may be greater than 12 inches in length;(5) Arctic grayling may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish; no size limit;(6) lake trout may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish; no size limit;(7) northern pike may be taken from January 1 - December 31; no bag, possession, or size limit; a northern pike caught may not be released back into the water alive; notwithstanding 5 AAC 75.065, under this section there are no restrictions on the use or disposal of sport-caught northern pike; northern pike may be taken (A) in all lakes by spear and bow and arrow;(B) in all lakes with two hooks per line when fishing through the ice and if both hooks are attached to the same single piece of bait;(C) in Chuitbuna Lake and the Threemile Creek drainage, with five lines through the ice; allowable gear is limited to standard ice fishing gear as specified in 5 AAC 61.110(8)(B): fishing gear must be closely attended as specified in 5 AAC 75.033; all other species of fish caught must be released immediately;(8) burbot may be taken from January 1 - December 31; no bag, possession, or size limit; burbot may be taken with bait in all waters with more than one line and hook only if (A) the aggregate number of hooks does not exceed the daily bag limit for burbot in the waters being fished;(B) the hooks are single hooks with a gap between the point and the shank at least three-fourths of an inch or larger;(C) each hook is set to rest on the bottom of the lake or stream;(D) notwithstanding the 24-hour provision in 5 AAC 75.033, the angler remains with the fishing gear at all times;(9) other finfish not specified in this subsection may be taken from January 1 - December 31; no bag, possession, or size limit.Eff. 10/1/2006, Register 179; am 11/12/2006, Register 180; am 6/12/2011, Register 198; am 2/23/2014, Register 209, April 2014; am 6/28/2019, Register 230, May 2019; am 6/21/2020, Register 234, July 2020Authority:AS 16.05.060
AS 16.05.251