ADF&G extends Situk River Nine Mile Bridge fishing closure to Aug. 31

Anglers hoping to fish the Situk River near the Nine Mile Bridge will have to wait at least two more weeks. The stretch was supposed to reopen by regulation on Aug. 16, but the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Division of Sport Fish announced Thursday that the closure will now run through Aug. 31. The water between department markers 50 yards upstream and 50 yards downstream of the bridge stays off limits to sport fishing for any species; that section has been closed since June 15.

The extension is not a wait for more fish to arrive. ADF&G reported on Aug. 5 that the Chinook run was complete, with a final weir count of 219 large king salmon, less than a quarter of the 900 large kings the department had forecast for 2026 and less than half the 450-fish lower bound of the river's biological escapement goal. ADF&G manages the drainage to a range of 450 to 1,050 large kings, with a management target of 730. Staff surveys near the bridge in the past week concluded that most kings still in the river are holding inside the existing closure area, and the department said Situk water levels are near record lows with no significant precipitation forecast that would move fish upstream.

The lower river has been under shifting restrictions all summer. ADF&G expanded the closed area below the weir starting July 11, shutting the popular Rodeo Hole through Aug. 15 after only 100 large kings had passed the weir. In that July 11 emergency order, the department said it acted "in order to protect the low number of king salmon returning to the Situk River." The water from 300 feet above the weir down through the Rodeo Hole reopened Aug. 12, after surveys found nearly all kings had moved upstream.

King salmon fishing remains prohibited everywhere in the Situk drainage for 2026. Jason Pawluk, the Yakutat area management biologist, is listed on the announcement as the contact for questions at 907-784-3222.