Monday afternoon marked the first time in 56 years since Nick Derenoff fished in Kodiak waters.

Born in Afognak, Derenoff grew up fishing in the lakes and rivers of Afognak Island. The last time he fished in this area was in 1953 as a commercial fisherman on a seiner.

Fishing was good back then, and very seldom would Derenoff have a day like he had Monday.

“All we have caught is water,” he said, while casting into the Buskin River.

Alongside Derenoff was his friend, Karen Fahrmeier, a Missouri native now living in Anchorage. She had never been to Kodiak, but had always heard about the fishing.

The two boarded a ferry and arrived in Kodiak on Saturday. Two days later they were tossing lines at the mouth of the Buskin.

Two hours passed without seeing a fish.

“We thought we might get lucky and catch a fish, but no luck yet,” said Derenoff, who lives in Wasilla.

No luck sums up the 2009 sockeye season on the Buskin River.

Catching a red salmon is like winning the lottery.

As of Sunday only 444 fish have been counted at the weir, making it the second-worst start to a season in 10 years. The worst start was just a year ago, with a count of 81.

The low numbers have certainly caught the attention of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, it is trying to hold off as long as it can before it is forced to shut down the river.

“At the current trend, it doesn’t look good,” Kodiak area sport fish biologist Don Tracy said.

The ADF&G will reassess the situation on June 15 and decide then if it needs to close the Buskin from sport and subsitence fishing.

Tracy said 8,000 to 13,000 red salmon need to be projected to pass through the weir this week.

“By June 15, if we don’t see a dramatic improvement putting us in that range, we will strongly consider taking restrictive action on both sport and subsistence fishing,” Tracy said.

Last season, ADF&G closed the Buskin on June 19.

Despite a lack of fish, people are still flocking to the river in hopes of reeling in a winner.

“Fishing is better than work,” Rob Mathis said.

Mathis was on the Buskin Monday at 7 in the morning. He stayed three hours and didn’t catch a fish. He did see a school of more than 50 fish pass by, but was unable to hook one.

He was back at 3 p.m. hoping to see more, but again, he had no luck.

“It is kind of disappointing, not depressing by any means, but it is frustrating,” said Mathis, who usually goes fishing three times a day.

Mathis remembers the 2007 season when he routinely caught his limit in less than two hours.

That was the last year the Buskin recorded abundant early-season numbers — 2,072 fish on June 7. The average for that day during the past 10 years is 3,222.

“I’m just hoping for more numbers, if not this year, next year,” Mathis said.

“This is just a convenient river to fish and a lot of fun to fish.”

Jeff Wadle, ADF&G’s area management biologist for herring and salmon, is not concerned with the low numbers.

“Usually if it is three years in a row we start looking at it as a concern,” Wadle said.

There are a number of variables causing fishermen to come up empty, and neither Tracy nor Wadle could pinpoint the low numbers to one cause.

“The Buskin has been doing so good for so long, I think the system will bounce back,” he said. “Hopefully, we can catch it in time.”

Until then, people will still swarm to the river to try their luck.

“It could be worse,” Mathis said. “There could be no fish at all. At least we are seeing fish.”

Mirror writer Derek Clarkston can be reached via e-mail at sports@kodiakdailymirror.com.