When to go dipnetting

The first season opening period on the Copper River begins between June 7th and 14th. ADF&G sets the times and dates for fishing periods based on run strength and their projections for the salmon run. See our fishing information page or the ADF&G schedule for up to date information on the weekly schedule.

Trip planning

Ensure the fishery is open before coming to Chitina! The personal use fishery is managed by “emergency openings”. The openings are typically scheduled at least a week in advance. There could be occasion where an opening is canceled, even part way through the scheduled times/dates though that is rare/has perhaps never happened. Check the schedules listed above for times and dates.

In recent years, the Copper River king salmon run has been weak, forcing ADF&G to curtail or severely restrict the harvest of the one king allowed in the Chitina personal use bag limit. It is recommended that if you are interested in harvesting a king, plan your trip early in the season. If the king salmon season is shut down, all kings finding their way into your net must be returned, unharmed and with as little stress as possible, to the water. That means, among other things, no selfies with your out-o-season kings! ADF&G will announce when kings are closed and CDA will relay that information on this website.

The first factor to check when planning a trip is the salmon run strength. You won’t catch much if the fish aren’t in our fishing area! Check online forums or with friends to see if people are catching fish at Chitina. Check the fish counts at Fish and Game’s Miles Lake sonar station. Salmon take between two and three weeks to travel from the Miles Lake sonar to the personal use fishing area. If you see a big bolt of fish coming through the counter, two or three weeks later they should be in the Chitina area. The Chitina Dipnetters maintain historical copies of the ADF&G sonar data and has graphics available for comparison between runs over the years.

Your second factor to consider, is the level of water in the Copper River. River level greatly affects river fishability. Not only is high water more difficult to fish in, the fish tend to not travel as much, so the few fish that are caught are not being replaced by new fish coming upstream. The two primary influencing factors on water level are precipitation and heat. Heavy rain anywhere upstream of Chitina will cause river–levels to rise quickly.This is only magnified where the river narrows in Woods Canyon. The CDA Graphs page will help you keep an eye on river level at the Chitina Bridge. The second factor is heat. Hot, sunny days melt snow and glacial ice, causing river levels to rise. Four or five days of hot, sunny weather usually blows out fishing until cooler weather prevails. Finally, very occasionally, a back-country glacial ice dam breaks, releasing vast quantities of water resulting in very quickly rising water levels without warning. This occurs infrequently, but fishing is blown out for a day or two after until the water recedes.

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