Anglers hoping to fish for king salmon on the Kenai River may have to wait longer this year after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game last month issued an emergency order closing parts of the river to fishing beginning on May 1.

“We are going to watch the run real closely and continue to manage it conservatively to start the season. So we won't have a fishery to start, but we will be monitoring the run to see how it goes,” said Fish and Game biologist Robert Begich.

According to Begich, early low forecasts do not mean the whole season is lost, as officials hope to reopen the river to king salmon fishing in July.

"What we like to tell the public is that it's looking to be very similar to last year, perhaps better.”

Mat-Su anglers may have more luck catching King Salmon this season on the Little Susitna River. According to Fish and Game, the department will be allowing bait on the opening day for the first time since 2012.

"That will be a big change because that will allow success at the onset of the season, and if we get a decent run like we did last year, then we can increase harvest out there by 1500 fish or so,” said Fish and Game spokesperson Samuel Ivey.

Anglers on the Little Su will also be given an extra day to harvest salmon, Ivey says.

"On the Little Susitna River we will be adding another day of harvest opportunity. Where we have been restricting harvest to Saturday, Sundays and Mondays, we'll be adding Fridays to that,” Ivey said.

As the most popular game fish in the United States, bass are specimens that many anglers have taken more time to learn about than other types of fish. However, there are still a number of mysteries of the species that you may not know. Some of these items may help you catch more fish; others are just for fun.

Either way, all 10 of the bass facts listed here are proof that bass are among the most fascinating of any fish species – freshwater and saltwater alike.

Unlike with many other species throughout the animal kingdom, female bass aren’t expected to stand guard over their eggs. On the contrary, the males take the egg-guarding role among bass – part of the reason that you will often see both male and female fish near the spawning bed. In such situations, the female is usually laying the last of her eggs while the male is already settling into his role as a security guard.

While bass have their preferred temperatures like any other fish – and will therefore move from the depths to the shallows and back again depending on the time of year and the temperatures of the water – they can truly function well in water that is anywhere from the frigid 30s to the balmy 90s (in degrees Fahrenheit). The sweet spot is in the low 80s, but bass are adaptable and resilient fish, and this is certainly proven by how they handed changing water temperatures.

Bass are intelligent creatures – arguably the smartest of any common game fish. If you want to catch a bass with a specific lure or baiting solution, you had better do so on the first try. Should a bass slip your hook, break your line, or otherwise escape your clutches, he or she may well take note of the occurrence and use the close call as a reminder to avoid similar lures or baits in the future. Some anglers would do well to internalize this “learn from mistakes” mentality.

No, they can’t see dead people, but bass actually do have a “sixth sense” that helps to defend them from different types of aquatic threats. This sense, called the “lateral line,” is made possible by a row of pores filled with water and nerve endings. These pores essentially allow a bass to detect extremely low-frequency vibrations in the water around them and to interpret precisely what they mean. Bass learn to connect different frequency patterns with different types of predators or prey, meaning that certain sound waves will elicit a fight response and others will elicit a flight response. Bass aren’t the only fish who have the lateral line, but they get an awful lot of use out of it. Referred to primarily as “sight feeders,” the lateral line is what allows bass to land a meal in the dark.

Florida habitats are ripe to allow the state’s native largemouth bass populations to grow faster and live longer than their northern counterparts. That’s not exactly fair, but it makes bass fishing in Florida something that every angler must try.

• 4 (6-ounce) tuna steaks
• 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, sliced
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 1/4 cup fresh herbs (basil, parsley), hand torn
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, diced
• sea salt to taste
• fresh ground pepper to taste

• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• sea salt to taste
• fresh ground pepper to taste

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine olives, garlic, tomatoes, capers, herbs, lemon juice, olive oil and feta cheese.
2. Lightly stir ingredients to combine.
3. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
4. Preheat a medium-sized sauté pan over medium-high heat.
5. Season both sides of the tuna steaks lightly with salt and pepper.
6. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the preheated sauté pan.
7. Carefully add the tuna steaks to the sauté pan.
8. Cook tuna steaks to preferred doneness (tuna cooks very quickly, and is usually served rare).
9. To serve tuna, slice each steak in half and plate them with even amounts of relish on top.
10. Garnish the tuna with the herb oil.

1. In a food processor or blender, add all ingredients.
2. Blend to combine.
3. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
4. To serve, drizzle herb oil over seafood or use as a bread dipping sauce.

Fish & Game is planning a ban on winter sports fishing in some areas due to deteriorating water quality, which has some fisheries on the verge of collapse.

In what it called a "desperate measure", the group's North Canterbury branch said members supported a ban on sport fishing in some lowland waterways, as the fisheries were significantly depleted.

The proposed ban would involve closing the winter season, which runs from May to September, for lowland waterways east of State Highway One throughout North Canterbury.

It would affect fishing in parts of the Waimakariri River,  which Fish & Game says is the busiest recreational river in the South Island,  and the Selwyn River.

North Canterbury Fish & Game council chair Trevor Isitt said the fishery had suffered years of environmental degradation.

"We need to preserve what's left – the remaining spawning that still occurs in these waters – if we are to protect the fishery from complete collapse. 

"Sadly we are now seeing the end result of years of over allocation of water resources and deteriorating water quality from agricultural runoff and other forms of pollution."

A recent public meeting on the issue had attracted about 100 anglers, who unanimously agreed it was a necessary step to protect the fishery.

Canterbury's rivers have undergone years of declining water quality, particularly in areas close to Christchurch. The number of rivers suitable for swimming has reduced from 74 per cent five years ago to 64 per cent last year.

Dairy intensification in North Canterbury and Selwyn, combined with low river flows, are frequently cited as contributors to poor water quality.

Isitt said he did not believe a dramatic reduction in fish including trout was due to over-fishing, but instead directly attributable to poor water quality.

"It's quite clear that by any reasonable environmental standards, Environment Canterbury (ECan) has failed local people and anglers, by allowing inappropriate land uses such as continued intensified dairying which could not survive without irrigation.

"Water quality and freshwater habitats have been permitted to deteriorate far past the point where species like trout can comfortably breed and maintain their life cycles and populations."

It was just one regulatory measure from Fish & Game which needed to be followed up by ECan, he said.

Green Party water spokeswoman Catherine Delahunty commended Fish & Game for sending a strong message.

"It's really sad that Fish & Game have had to make this statement and that these rivers are no longer suitable for fishing," she said.

"In the last decade we've really trashed our rivers, and now the chickens are coming home to roost."

She said such stands were becoming necessary to fight declining water quality.

"They have to take a strong stand - we all do. Are we just a country where you can wade in rivers but you can't swim or fish, or are we a country which looks after its rivers properly?"

ECan director of science Tim Davie said there was widespread agreement that water quality had declined due to agricultural intensification.

ECan was trying to reverse the decline while providing for viable farming, which would take a long time, he said.

"This is not a quick fix. Degradation of lowland streams has taken decades to build up and will take many years to remedy."

He said ECan had created rules around nutrient discharge, introduced rules for farmers around meeting environmental standards, and endeavoured to restore ecosystems, which would all have an affect on freshwater quality.

It would continue to work with groups such as Fish & Game to improve water quality, he said.

"Fish and Game have been a supporter of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy and we want to continue working with them to achieve the community's aims of including improving the health of our lowland waterways."