Rockfish limit in Resurrection Bay stays at three a day through Sept. 15

Anglers fishing Resurrection Bay and the wider North Gulf Coast remain capped at three rockfish a day through Sept. 15, a limit in place since April 1 that now covers the busiest weeks of the charter and private-boat season. Most of that catch can be pelagic species like black rockfish; only one a day may be a nonpelagic bottom species.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game frames the cap as stabilizing harvest rather than closing access; Kodiak-area anglers got their own species caps this year, too. The fishing itself is good. Area biologist Brittany Blain-Roth reported "excellent catch rates of mostly black rockfish" near the entrance of Resurrection Bay and the Chiswell Islands. For Seward charter operators, that's the squeeze — strong catch rates but a lower bag limit to hold clients to.

Anglers who head outside the bay have a new option this season. Lingcod retention opened July 1 in outside waters and runs through Dec. 31, with a one-fish daily limit and a 35-inch minimum. It stays closed inside Resurrection Bay.