Deshka River Fishing

In early May we start fishing the Alaska Deshka River for King Salmon. The Deshka River is the only river in Alaska’s Matanuska Valley that allows the use of salmon eggs for bait for part of the king salmon season. The Deshka River boasts one of the largest runs of Alaska King Salmon in the state, with a good escapement each year.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game set up the weir and started monitoring the Alaska King Salmon on the Deshka River in South Central Alaska, just north of Anchorage in the heart of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley (Mat-Su Valley), May 2022.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game counted a good number of Alaska King Salmon (Chinook Salmon) totaling 9,695! They also counted Alaska Silver Salmon (Coho Salmon) at 10,445 and pink salmon at 67,772 before pulling the weir from the cold water in September 2022.

Though no count is taken for Rainbow Trout, the trout fishing on the Deshka River was phenomenal, as they spent their autumn days feeding on the eggs of the Pink Salmon, Silver Salmon and King Salmon that had spawned their way up Mat-Su’s infamous Deshka River. Alaska Fish and Game also counted Alaska Salmon on the Matanuska-Susitna Valley’s (Mat-Su Valley’s) Little Susitna River, from May through September 2022.

The Deshka River, as with the Talkeetna River and Little Susitna Rivers, has a campground located near the launch. There are also great hotels, cabins and B & B’s within driving distance of both the towns of Talkeetna and Wasilla. Just let us know and we would be happy to assist you in finding appropriate accommodations if needed.

As for the Alaska Salmon runs in the 2023 fishing season, they’re predicting another fair/good year of Alaska King Salmon, a good/great year of Alaska Silver Salmon and Alaska Sockeye Salmon. This should be decent fishing season for the Alaska Salmon Fishing Industry!