An angler fillets his sockeye salmon caught on the Kenai River near the confluence with the Russian River on Sunday near Cooper Landing. Sunday was the first open day for the popular Russian River sockeye sportfishery, and by midmorning, anglers were packing up with their limits and heading home while many others were landing some of the bright fish, some of the first sockeye of the season on the Kenai Peninsula. As of Saturday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s weir on Lower Russian Lake had counted 1,027 fish, more than triple the count of 274 on the same day in 2016. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Two lucky anglers pack their sockeye salmon out from the bank of the Kenai River downstream of the confluence with the Russian River on Sunday, June 11, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. Sunday was the first opening for the popular Russian River sockeye salmon sportfishery, and by midmorning, many anglers were already packing out their limits of salmon while others pulled in their catches. As of Saturday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s weir on Lower Russian Lake had counted 1,027 sockeye, more than triple the 274 that had passed the weir as of the same date in 2016. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
A flyfisherman casts for ockeye salmon on the bank of the Kenai River downstream of the confluence with the Russian River on Sunday, June 11, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. Sunday was the first opening for the popular Russian River sockeye salmon sportfishery, and by midmorning, many anglers were already packing out their limits of salmon while others pulled in their catches. As of Saturday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s weir on Lower Russian Lake had counted 1,027 sockeye, more than triple the 274 that had passed the weir as of the same date in 2016. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Anglers line the banks of the Kenai River downstream of the confluence with the Russian River on Sunday, June 11, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. Sunday was the first opening for the popular Russian River sockeye salmon sportfishery, and by midmorning, many anglers were already packing out their limits of salmon while others pulled in their catches. As of Saturday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s weir on Lower Russian Lake had counted 1,027 sockeye, more than triple the 274 that had passed the weir as of the same date in 2016. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
A successful angler pitches the remains of a filleted sockeye salmon out into the fast-flowing waters of the Kenai River downstream of the confluence with the Russian River on Sunday, June 11, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. Sunday was the first opening for the popular Russian River sockeye salmon sportfishery, and by midmorning, many anglers were already packing out their limits of salmon while others pulled in their catches. As of Saturday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s weir on Lower Russian Lake had counted 1,027 sockeye, more than triple the 274 that had passed the weir as of the same date in 2016. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
A sockeye salmon hooked by a lucky angler rests on the bank of the Kenai River downstream of the confluence with the Russian River on Sunday, June 11, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. Sunday was the first opening for the popular Russian River sockeye salmon sportfishery, and by midmorning, many anglers were already packing out their limits of salmon while others pulled in their catches. As of Saturday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s weir on Lower Russian Lake had counted 1,027 sockeye, more than triple the 274 that had passed the weir as of the same date in 2016. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
A shorebird wades in the shallows of the Kenai River downstream of the confluence with the Russian River on Sunday, June 11, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
