Craig and Klawock anglers must keep their catch whole until the dock

If you're sport fishing out of Craig or Klawock this summer, leave the fillet knife in the box. Fish and Game requires that lingcod, nonpelagic rockfish, and king and coho salmon stay whole, not filleted, de-headed or cut, until you're tied up at the dock. The exception is anything you eat or preserve on board. The rule applies only to those two ports.

The reason is the creel samplers working the docks. Keeping the fish whole lets them measure catch and interview anglers, which area biologist Craig Schwanke says is critical to managing the fishery. He reported coho and pink salmon showing up in good numbers around the island, with fishing improving sharply in early August and kings picking up on the west side.

One more rule to watch: the west side of the island south of Cape Decision is closed to nonresident lingcod fishing all of August, reopening Sept. 1.