Section 5.56.120. General provisions for seasons, bag, possession, annual, and size limits, and methods and means for the Kenai Peninsula Area.

Unless otherwise specified in 5 AAC 56.122 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 that apply to sport fishing for finfish in the Kenai Peninsula Area:  
		(1) king salmon  
			(A) 20 inches or greater in length may not be retained or possessed; the season is closed for king salmon 20 inches or greater in length; a king salmon caught that is 20 inches or greater in length must be released immediately; a person may not remove a king salmon from the water before releasing the fish;  
			(B) less than 20 inches in length  
				(i) in flowing waters and unstocked lakes and ponds, may not be retained or possessed; king salmon less than 20 inches in length that are caught must be released immediately and returned to the water unharmed; a person may not remove a king salmon from the water before releasing the fish;  
				(ii) from January 1 - December 31, may be taken in stocked lakes and ponds; bag and possession limit of 10 fish; for the purpose of this sub-subparagraph, "stocked lakes and ponds" means Arc Lake, Aurora Lake,  Barbara Lake, Cabin Lake, Cecille Lake, Centennial Lake, Chugach Estates Lake, Douglas Lake, Elephant Lake, Encelewski Lake, Island Lake, Johnson Lake, Longmare Lake, Loon Lake, Quintin Lake, Rogue Lake, Scout Lake, Sport Lake, Thetis Lake, Tirmore Lake, Troop Lake, and Upper Summit Lake;  
		(2) salmon, other than king salmon,  
			(A) 16 inches or greater in length may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of three fish, of which only two may be coho salmon; 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;  
			(B) less than 16 inches in length may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of 10 fish;  
		(3) Arctic char/Dolly Varden may be taken in  
			(A) flowing waters from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish; no size limit;  
			(B) lakes and ponds from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of five fish; no size limit;  
		(4) rainbow/steelhead trout, as follows:  
			(A) may be taken in flowing waters from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish, of which only one may be 20 inches or greater in length;  
			(B) may be taken in lakes and ponds from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of five fish, of which only one may be 20 inches or greater in length;  
			(C) there is 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 Kenai Peninsula Area and in the other areas in the Cook Inlet region that are open to sport fishing for rainbow/steelhead trout under 5 AAC 57 - 5 AAC 62 is two rainbow/steelhead trout 20 inches or greater in length;  
		(5) Arctic grayling may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of five fish; no size limit;  
		(6) lake trout  
			(A) 20 inches or greater in length may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish;  
			(B) less than 20 inches in length may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of 10 fish;  
		(7) northern pike may be taken from January 1 - December 31; no, bag, possession, or size limit; northern pike may be taken  
			(A) by spear and bow and arrow; the arrow must have a barbed tip and be attached by a line to the bow; for the purposes of this subparagraph, "bow" means a long bow, recurve bow, compound bow, and crossbow;  
			(B) with two hooks per line when fishing through the ice and if both hooks are attached to the same single piece of bait;  
		(8) burbot: may be taken from January 1 - December 31; bag and possession limit of two fish; no size limit;  
		(9) other finfish not specified in this section may be taken from January 1 - December 31; no bag, possession, or size limits.  

Authorities

16.05.060;16.05.251

Notes

Reference

5 AAC 56.122
5 AAC 57.160

Authority

AS 16.05.060 AS 16.05.251

History

Eff. 10/1/2006, Register 179; am 6/12/2011, Register 198; am 2/23/2014, Register 209