Kodiak silver limit drops from two fish to one as king limit returns to two

Kodiak anglers fishing the road system rivers today can keep one silver salmon per day, down from two, while anglers trolling salt water can keep two king salmon per day for the first time since April. Both took effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, September 16. The one-fish silver limit runs through the end of the year.

Pillar and Monashka creeks and Mill Bay and Mission Beach, which carry stocked runs, stay at two a day year-round. The Saltery Cove drainage also stays at two per day, year-round. "Remember that bag limits for silvers go to 1 per day on Wednesday the 16th except at Pillar, Monashka, Mill Bay and Mission Beach," Tyler Polum, the Kodiak area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, wrote in the September 14 Kodiak fishing report. Snagging for coho, hooking a fish anywhere but the mouth, is also permitted at Mill Bay and Mission Beach from September 16 through July 31, under the department's regulations for the road zone.

Emergency Order 2-KS-4-17-26 capped the Kodiak Area king limit at one fish per day from April 1 through 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, September 15, part of a Gulf of Alaska-wide restriction covering the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak and Prince William Sound. The department cut the limit for 2026 and closed westside salt waters through June 30 after only 93 king salmon were counted in the Karluk River the prior season, against a spawning goal of 3,000 to 6,000 fish. The Karluk and Ayakulik drainages remain closed to king fishing for the 2026 season. In open areas, the restored two-king daily limit carries an annual cap of five king salmon.

Polum reported silvers in all road system rivers but water exceptionally low and warm, with fishing best early. Pasagshak, the Olds, Buskin and Pillar Creek held the most fish. The Buskin weir count sat just over 500, and Polum said he does not expect much movement until rain. Trolling for kings has picked back up at Buoy 4 and the Fingers.