A proud young fisherman tries his luck and skill at the Fishing Hole

The human-made fishery attracts thousands of king and silver salmon anglers each year and is a shining success story for its founder, a now-retired Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist, Nick Dudiak.

The lagoon provides easy-access angling from mid-May to mid-September and is one of the few places in Southcentral Alaska that has an early run of silver salmon (starting in mid-July).

Salmon eggs are raised in a hatchery to smolt size, then transferred to floating pens in the lagoon. They are held captive for two reasons: the tiny fish are fed to increase their size and therefore their survival rate when released into the ocean and to imprint them to the salt water that, several years later, will attract them home to the "hole."

King salmon can be caught here from mid-May until the end of June; they average 15 to 20 pounds each.

A silver salmon enhancement program also has been instituted at the lagoon, providing two runs of fish from mid-July to mid-September. As each of the runs dwindles, the Department of Fish and Game may open the Fishing Hole for snagging. The openings are announced locally and signs are posted.