Petersburg king salmon run past peak; District 8 closed until July 15

The king salmon run near Petersburg and Wrangell has passed its peak, and the window to fish the Wrangell Narrows/Blind Slough Terminal Harvest Area is closing, according to Jeff Rice, Petersburg/Wrangell Area Management Biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Sport Fish. Bright kings are still moving through, Rice said Thursday, but the season is winding down.

District 8 and a portion of Eastern Passage near Wrangell remain closed to king salmon retention until July 15. The closure and the THA's special hatchery-area king rules, which apply for defined date ranges before reverting to regional limits, affect Petersburg and Wrangell anglers, charter guides, lodges, and other sport-fishing businesses planning trips around retention openings. ADF&G issued similar hatchery-area king regulations for the same waters in 2025, making this a recurring seasonal management pattern. For anglers targeting wild kings outside the THA before July 15, Rice pointed to Steamer Point, Earnest Sound, and Bradfield Canal from Wrangell, and Duncan Canal or Farragut Bay from Petersburg. Bag and possession limits vary by area and residency; confirm rules through the ADF&G Petersburg office at (907) 772-5227 or the department's Southeast Alaska regulations page.

This report focuses on the king salmon update. The full July 9 ADF&G Petersburg Fishing Report also includes updates on halibut, lingcod, rockfish (including demersal shelf, slope, and pelagic species), Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout, and a reminder that ADF&G creel samplers are now active on docks and at Blind Slough collecting biological data from anglers.