Motors Polluting “Pristine” Alaskan Salmon Waters?
By Tom Chandler on Nov 7, 2006 in Environment
Blogfish dug up a story about how all the outboard motors are affecting the water quality on Alaska’s Kenai River.
Always nice when you can destroy that which you seek…
[tags]kenai river, kenai, salmon, water, water quality, pollution[/tags]
the mad fishicist | Nov 7, 2006 | Reply
The Kenai River is more like three different rivers. It starts in Kenai Lake which is a shade of turquoise you have never seen before. Between Kenai Lake and Skilak Lake is called the Upper Kenai. It is usually closed to motor boats and attracts a lot of fly fishermen looking for big trout. 20 to 27 inch rainbows are normal here. Then there’s the Middle Kenai which dumps out of Skilak Lake. From here downstream is where you see those pictures of the pituitary mutant trout in the 30 plus range. Then from about the town of Soldotna to the ocean is the Lower Kenai, which is where the motor boats pile up looking for giant king salmon, of which there are many. This is also where most of the pollution generates.
I’ve fished the Upper Kenai a lot, the Middle Kenai once, and the Lower Kenai never. It’s sad that there’s such a crowd that doesn’t care on the Lower river (there are crowds on the upper and middle as well). The problem is that the river runs along the Highway and has simple access from Anchorage and beyond, so ANYONE can get there to fish.
But more wild sockeye salmon made it up the Kenai and through the Russian River this year than in each of the last two. That’s 170,000 survivors that didn’t get caught or sludged. The crowds are depressing, pollution is worse, but the fishing’s still amazing. Maybe it’s because the crowds only last about two months a year.
Just come visit and get a look at the Upper River. Standing on the bank with a flyrod in your hands makes it hard to believe that there’s anything wrong in the world at all.
Tom Chandler | Nov 9, 2006 | Reply
Mad;
Standing on pretty much any bank with a fly rod might suggest all is right with the world.
thanks for the comment!