Sport Fishing
RSSSport, charter, and personal-use fishing: derby culture, dipnetting, guide operations, sport regulation changes, angler community
The Kenai's coho limit stays at two through November
The Kenai's coho limit stays at two instead of stepping up to three. The state is being careful, though the river is still producing limits.
by Bill AlaskaNews4d ago1 min read
One black rockfish a day in Kodiak and Afognak waters
Kodiak anglers can keep five rockfish a day but only one black and one yelloweye. Fish deeper and off the rock piles to fill the rest of the bag.
by Bill AlaskaNews6d ago1 min read
Past three miles, Sitka residents fish under nonresident rules
Cross three miles off Sitka and residents fish under nonresident rules, so a lingcod that's legal inshore can end your day in federal water.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min read
Juneau's hatchery waters reopen six weeks ahead of schedule
Fishing reopens near Juneau's Macaulay hatchery six weeks early, six coho a day. The closure traced back to fish lost in a landslide in 2020.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
The state held Kenai coho at two a day through November
Kenai coho limits stay at two a day through November instead of rising to three, on abundance numbers the state admits it can't monitor well.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Bait allowed again on lower Klawock River as fall coho move in
Bait fishing reopened on lower Klawock River from September 15 through October 15 as fall coho arrive, though upstream areas remain lure-only year round.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Nonresident rockfish retention stays closed in Ketchikan waters
Nonresident anglers in Ketchikan cannot keep yelloweye, quillback, canary, China, copper, tiger or rosethorn rockfish through year-end, though Alaska residents may keep one a day.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Low water slows Seward's youth coho fishery, open through Oct. 5
Kids have four more weeks to catch a silver at Seward Lagoon, where low water has been holding the fish outside waiting on enough rain to get in.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Fish and Game suspends ice house registration in the Copper Basin
Ice anglers in the Copper Basin won't have to register their fishing shelters this winter, after the state found there's no way to do it online.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Kodiak's silver limit drops as its king limit rises
Kodiak's silver salmon limit dropped to one a day this week, while the king limit rose back to two after a spring of tight restrictions.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Ten sockeye a day holds through December in the Wood and Nushagak
Anglers can keep 10 sockeye a day in the Wood and Nushagak through December, double the usual. The kings in the same water are a stock of concern.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
The Kenai coho limit stayed at two when it was supposed to go to three
Kenai River anglers expected the coho limit to rise to three fish on Sept. 1. It stayed at two instead, and will stay there through November.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
More than 200 coho counted at Bear Creek weir near Seward
More than 200 coho have passed through Bear Creek weir near Seward, with freshwater fishing expected to improve over the next few weeks.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Sitka loses coho fishing as weak returns leave the hatchery short
Sitka anglers lose coho fishing in Bear Cove and Deep Inlet through October after this year's silvers came back too weak for the local hatchery to spawn.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Prince William Sound anglers still limited to one king salmon a day
Anglers in most of Prince William Sound are held to one king salmon a day — half the usual — through Sept. 15, under a restriction over low king numbers.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Nonresident lingcod retention reopens at Prince of Wales; yelloweye stays closed
Nonresident anglers around Prince of Wales Island can keep lingcod again starting September 1, but yelloweye rockfish stays closed to them through year-end under federal harvest limits.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Charter halibut committee meets online Sept. 30; comment accepted beforehand
Federal regulators meet Sept. 30 to discuss charter halibut permit policy that affects Alaska's guided fishing industry, which accounts for most of the state's sport halibut catch.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Seward Lagoon youth-only coho fishery extended through Oct. 5
Kids 15 and under can fish coho at Seward Lagoon through Oct. 5, two months longer than usual, while adults stay out.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
One-fish king limit holds in most Prince William Sound salt waters
One king salmon in most of Prince William Sound through Sept. 15. The terminal harvest areas still allow two, and the coho are the better bet anyway.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
More than 100 coho have passed Bear Creek weir near Seward
More than 100 coho salmon have passed Bear Creek weir near Seward, signaling that freshwater silver fishing in the Resurrection River should improve within the next week or two.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Ship Creek coho slowing as the six-fish limit stays through December
Ship Creek anglers can still keep six salmon a day, but the coho run behind that limit is winding down and the fish are getting harder to find.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Coho must go back in the water on the Susitna and Little Susitna
You can still fish for coho on the Susitna. You can't keep them. The Little Susitna is projected at 2,104 fish against a goal of at least 9,200.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Two of Juneau's most accessible coho streams close to fishing to protect weak runs
Two of Juneau's most accessible coho streams, Montana and Peterson creeks, close to coho fishing Sept. 1 through Dec. 31 to protect weak salmon returns.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Juneau loses two months of fishing to a 2020 landslide
Juneau loses the north end of Gastineau Channel to all fishing for two months. A 2020 landslide cut hatchery production and the coho aren't returning.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Kenai anglers won't get the extra coho they were expecting this fall
Kenai River anglers won't get the usual bump to three coho on Sept. 1 — the limit stays at two through November as silver runs look weak across Cook Inlet.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Resident king salmon limit near Petersburg is three a day in state waters
Anglers around Petersburg can keep more king salmon now after a low harvest and strong hatchery return — but the fish are few and far between.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Nonresidents can't keep yelloweye around Prince of Wales anymore
Nonresidents can't keep yelloweye or other demersal shelf rockfish around Prince of Wales as of Wednesday. Alaska residents still get one a day.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A Situk River king salmon closure is extended as returns fall short
A Situk River fishing closure protecting weak king runs is extended through Aug. 31 — one of several 2026 restrictions on a key Yakutat subsistence river.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Kodiak's one-king limit runs three more weeks
Kodiak saltwater anglers can keep one king a day through Sept. 15, then two. Kings have been steady, with several over 20 pounds in the past week.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Juneau's king crab fishery closes Monday after a three-crab season
Juneau's personal use king crab season closes Monday at 4 p.m. after a strong stock assessment allowed a three-crab limit instead of last winter's one-crab opening.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Catch a pike in an Anchorage lake and you have to kill it
Catch a northern pike in an Anchorage lake and you have to kill it. They are invasive south of the Alaska Range and they eat salmon and trout.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Silvers are slow in Resurrection Bay, but the best coho fishing is just outside it
Silvers are slow in Resurrection Bay with few coho past the weir, but the best coho fishing is just outside it toward Montague Island and Harris Bay.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Sockeye are running so strong in Bristol Bay that anglers can now keep twice as many
Sockeye are running so strong in Bristol Bay's Wood River and Nushagak drainages that the state has doubled the daily bag limit to 10 fish through year's end.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Cook Inlet king fishing reopens north of Bluff Point at one fish a day
King fishing reopened north of Bluff Point on Aug. 15, one fish a day through Sept. 15. Every Cook Inlet king run was forecast under its escapement goal.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Pink salmon swamp Kodiak road-system rivers, crowding out sockeye and coho
Pink salmon are crowding Kodiak road-system rivers in unusual numbers, making sockeye and coho harder for anglers to find this week.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Where to watch spawning salmon around Ketchikan this month
Want to watch Fish, it's like watching paint dry but consequences… Cool ones!
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su loses its fall silver harvest, with one river closed without even a count
Mat-Su loses its fall silver harvest on the Susitna and Little Susitna after four weak coho years — one river closed without a count, its weir washed out.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Three anglers cited for over-limit sockeye on the Middle Kenai River
Three anglers were cited Aug. 1 on the Middle Kenai River for keeping more sockeye salmon than the limit allowed; the excess fish were seized and donated.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Situk River's Nine Mile Bridge stretch stays closed to all fishing through Aug. 31
Alaska Fish and Game extended the Situk River Nine Mile Bridge fishing closure to Aug. 31 after the Chinook run fell to 219 fish, less than a quarter of the forecast.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Eklutna Tailrace closes stretch to anglers 16 and older Saturday
Alaska Department of Fish and Game closes a stretch of Eklutna Tailrace to anglers 16 and older on Saturday, Aug. 15, to give kids 15 and younger a youth-only coho salmon fishery from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
