Bait allowed again on lower Klawock River as fall coho move in

"There are a lot of fresh fish in the Klawock River which opened to bait on September 15," said ADF&G Area Management Biologist Craig Schwanke in a Sept. 17 report on Prince of Wales Island.

Bait is allowed only downstream of department markers below the weir, from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. Upstream of those markers, anglers may use only unbaited lures or flies year round. Regionally, bait is legal from Sept. 15 through Nov. 15 unless special rules apply.

Escapement in the Klawock is primarily hatchery-origin, so ADF&G dropped its 4,000 to 9,000 fish escapement goal (historical target 6,500) in favor of managing to a hatchery schedule. Schwanke's Sept. 3 report named Staney Creek, the Harris River and the Klawock hatchery return as good alternative options. Southeast-wide limits allow six coho daily, 12 in possession, with fish 16 inches or longer.

Subsistence and tribal users in the drainage face their own closures and gear limits. The Klawock opening stands in contrast to the bait bans and coho closures ADF&G has imposed elsewhere in the region on weaker runs.