Situk River sockeye fishery has all but ended, ADF&G says

Anglers planning a late-summer sockeye trip to the Situk River should plan on something else. "The Situk River sockeye sport fishery has all but ended," Yakutat area biologist Jason Pawluk said in Fish and Game's Aug. 6 report. Weir counts have dropped off, and pinks now outnumber sockeye 8 to 1 in the lower river, a ratio Pawluk said climbs every day.

The department projects a final Situk count of roughly 51,000 sockeye, up from about 23,000 now. That lands inside the 30,000-to-70,000 escapement goal but trails the past five years. The daily limit stays at three, though fewer fish are in the river to fill it. It's a sharp turn from 2025, when the department raised the limit to six sockeye after counts pointed to a run above the top of the goal.

The sockeye slump comes on a river already under king closures. Fish and Game closed the stretch from the weir down to the Rodeo Hole from July 11 through Aug. 15, after only about 100 large kings passed the weir against a target of 730. Sport fishing within 50 yards of the Nine Mile Bridge is also closed through Aug. 15.

Pawluk is steering anglers to pinks for now. "Pink fishing is best down low where fish are bright so get them before they turn," he said. The department also said Dolly Varden fishing should be good on the Situk and in other Yakutat-area streams. Coho are barely started, with 29 through the weir, so that fishing is downstream.

Saltwater is the better bet right now. The department reports halibut fishing has stayed good over the past week, lingcod is very good, and rockfish is excellent, with anglers advised to work jigs near pinnacles and shallow rocky structure. King fishing in area marine waters remains slow.