Kasilof King Counts
The Kasilof River is a premier early-season king salmon fishery. Supplemented by the state hatchery program at Crooked Creek, it offers sport anglers a fantastic opportunity to hook and retain hard-fighting chinook salmon in a motorless drift boat environment. Track the daily weir passage data to target the peak waves of sea-fresh kings entering the river.
Crooked Creek Weir
Physical weir counts provide visual sorting of wild and hatchery spawners.
Hatchery Retention Focus
Stocked hatchery kings allow for active harvest, protecting wild spawning genetics.
Drift Boat Adventure
rowing the shallow Kasilof runs provides stealthy access to prime holding slots.
From the River
Live Kasilof (Crooked Creek) King Weir Chart
*Weir counts reflect cumulative returns to the Crooked Creek facility. Data is updated daily by ADF&G. Review historical years using the dropdown menu.
The Crooked Creek Hatchery Facility
Crooked Creek is a vital spawning tributary that joins the Kasilof River at River Mile 6.5. Since the 1970s, the state has operated a hatchery program here to enhance the local king salmon fishery. Smolt releases provide a consistent sport fishery without placing pressure on native wild stocks.
ADF&G operates a picket weir just upstream on Crooked Creek during the summer. As kings travel upstream, technicians inspect each fish to identify wild and hatchery origins. The data collected manages local commercial Cook Inlet gillnetting and in-river sport bag limits.
Adipose Fin Clip Identification
Under Kasilof River regulations, wild and hatchery fish are managed differently. Sport anglers must know how to identify hatchery king salmon immediately:
Wild King Salmon
Wild kings retain their complete adipose fin (the small, fleshy fin located between the dorsal fin and tail). To conserve local wild genes, release wild Kasilof kings immediately.
Hatchery King Salmon
Hatchery smolts are marked by removing their adipose fin before stocking. Look for a flat, healed scar where the fin would be. Anglers can retain these fish under standard bag limits.
Kasilof River Drift Boat Tactics
Because guided drift boats are motorless on the Kasilof, the king fishery is peaceful and highly focused on drift boat rowers' strategies. Guides use a combination of techniques:
- Backtrolling Plugs: Rowers hold the drift boat in the current, slowly feeding out plugs like Kwikfish or Mag Lips. The plug wiggles in the current right in front of holding salmon, triggering aggression strikes.
- Diver and Bait: Using a diving plane (like a Luhr Jensen Jet Diver) with cured salmon roe is highly effective in the deep clay channels of the Kasilof.
- Tidewater Backbouncing: Fishing the incoming tide change near the mouth lets anglers drop cured roe directly into the path of fresh schools entering from Cook Inlet.
Historical Crooked Creek Weir Totals
| Year | Wild Spawners | Hatchery Return | Wild Status | Management Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 750 | 1,820 | Goal Met | Steady wild numbers alongside robust hatchery returns. |
| 2023 | 590 | 1,150 | Low wild SEG | Restrictions put in place to ensure wild spawning escapement. |
| 2024 | 680 | 1,420 | Goal Met | Satisfactory returns of both wild and hatchery cohorts. |
| 2025 | 850 | 1,980 | Strong | Excellent early pushes of hatchery kings allowed active retention. |