Ketchikan anglers catch a rare break on king limits

Ketchikan just handed visiting anglers a rare bit of good king-salmon news in a summer full of the opposite: as of July 11, nonresidents can keep two kings a day, up from one.

The bump reflects the logic running through Southeast's king rules this year — restricted where the fish are wild, generous where they're not. The clearest example sits right in Ketchikan's backyard at Herring Bay, where anglers can keep three kings of any size through July 31, and none of them count against the annual limit. The reason is simple: those are surplus hatchery fish, raised to be caught, so taking them doesn't touch the wild runs the state is trying to protect. One local charter called the setup some of the most generous limits it's seen.

That doesn't mean the whole area is wide open. Ketchikan's own patchwork of local king restrictions stays in effect through Aug. 14, and it varies place to place, so the higher statewide bag limit doesn't apply everywhere. Fishing itself is running slow to fair, with the better king spots off the backside of Gravina Island, Clover Pass, and Cape Chacon.

Other species are cooperating. Coho are showing up in both salt and fresh water — around South Duke Island and Caamano Point out on the salt, and moving into creeks like Ward and Margaret. Halibut fishing is solid and expected to keep improving, and trout and Dolly Varden are biting along the road system.