Juneau loses two months of fishing to a 2020 landslide

Juneau anglers lose the north end of Gastineau Channel for two months starting Sept. 1. Nothing may be targeted there, and no fish may be caught and released, through Oct. 31.

The closed water runs south of a line from the Salmon Creek Bridge to a marker across the channel on Douglas Island, and north of the Juneau-Douglas Bridge.

Hatchery coho are not coming back. As of mid-August, the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery had recovered a single tagged fish from any fishery, and Fish and Game projects a run too poor to meet the hatchery's broodstock needs.

The reason goes back to 2020, when a landslide damaged the hatchery's water intake pipe and cut production. Fish and Game says 2026 should be the last year affected.

The hatchery needs 800 coho up its ladder, 400 male-female pairs, to hit its egg production goal. The closure is meant to push as many returning fish there as possible. If more show up than projected, the department says it may lift the closure or shrink the area.

Montana Creek and Peterson Creek and Lagoon close to coho the same day, for a different reason. Those wild runs missed their own escapement goals.