I am headed to Chitina to dip-net for reds this weekend. I hope to put 20 in the freezer. I'll smoke the rest.
The Copper River "personal use" fishery is not for the faint of heart. You climb down a rocky cliff above the river and use a 4 foot in diameter net on the end of a 20 foot pole to scoop the salmon out of the water as they swim upstream. The 38 degree water is moving at better than 15 knots through a glacier carved canyon. If you fall in, your body will never be found. Required equipment includes a strong rope to anchor yourself to a tree or other object at the top of the riverbank.
I for one am glad that fish farming is illegal here in Alaska. Too many problems with disease and cross breeding with our wild fish. Farmed salmon tastes like the processed fish food (cannery waste) that it is fed.