Sport Fishing
RSSSport, charter, and personal-use fishing: derby culture, dipnetting, guide operations, sport regulation changes, angler community
Kenai dipnetting goes 24 hours as sockeye run hits 3 million
Daaaaang! Kenai sockeye are running hot — 3 million projected — so dipnetting goes 24 hours a day through Friday's season close. Residents only, and kings go back.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Upper Cook Inlet reopens to a one-king limit after a spring closure
Upper Cook Inlet anglers north of Bluff Point can keep one king salmon from Aug. 16 through Sept. 15, after a closure meant to protect declining king stocks.
by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
The Situk's Rodeo Hole reopens Wednesday, the kings already gone upstream
The Situk's Rodeo Hole reopens to sport fishing Wednesday after five weeks closed, once surveys showed the king salmon had already moved upstream.
by Bill AlaskaNews4d ago1 min readAI
Pollock fleet holds an Anchorage job fair days before a bycatch-shaped election
Days before the final vote, the Bering Sea pollock fleet holds an Anchorage job fair — as salmon bycatch, and a new mandatory chum cap, roil the 2026 campaign.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readAI
Fish Creek dipnet fishery opens Sunday for Alaska resident dipnetters
More fishing more fish
by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago1 min readAI
Troopers cite 19 anglers for fishing violations on Kenai, Kasilof
Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited 19 anglers on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers in late July and early August for fishing violations, mostly for failing to release snagged fish.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3d ago2 min readAI
The state ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow
Alaska ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow, deepening a years-long squeeze on a fishery it controls in state waters.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
Fish Creek sport fishery closes today; dipnet opening possible if counts hold
Fish Creek sport fishery closes today, but Alaska residents could dipnet sockeye starting late July if ADF&G counts exceed 35,000 salmon in coming days.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Prince William Sound king salmon limit stays at one fish through Sept. 15
Prince William Sound's king limit stays at one fish through Sept. 15, right as the bite heats up near Glacier Island. Four terminal harbors still allow two.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Strong sockeye run opens Fish Creek to six salmon a day
A banner sockeye run opens Fish Creek early, doubling the sport limit to six salmon a day through Aug. 15. Kings still off-limits, coho capped at two.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Kodiak restarts landlocked silver salmon stocking after 11 years
Kodiak's road-system lakes are getting a landlocked silver salmon fishery back, the first stocking since 2015, though the fish need three years to grow to catchable size.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
On Ship Creek, you can't even lift a king out of the water
Anchorage's creeks are open for coho but locked down on kings, and on Ship Creek you can't even lift one out of the water before releasing it.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Saltery Cove sockeye limit goes back to five fish, while the subsistence closure holds
Alaska Department of Fish and Game restored the daily sockeye limit to five fish at Saltery Cove on Kodiak starting Thursday after the run met its escapement goal.
by Bill AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
Nushagak kings close on the calendar, not on a recovery
Nushagak-Mulchatna kings close Friday, release-only to the end. The restrictions lift on the calendar even though projected passage is less than half the goal.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Visiting anglers get an extra king salmon in Southeast this fall
Visiting anglers can keep a fourth king salmon in Southeast this fall, since the catch ran low — though the same math that eased the limit could tighten it.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
The sockeye are running strong on the Kenai, and the state just doubled your limit
Good news for Kenai anglers and dipnetters: strong sockeye runs just pushed the daily limit to six fish on the Kenai, Russian, and Kasilof — with more dipnet room on the Kasilof, too.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Ship Creek jumps to six salmon a day as coho pour in
Ship Creek jumps to six salmon a day starting Friday as more than 1,100 coho pour in, though kings still can't be kept for the rest of the year.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
A sockeye surge doubles the Fish Creek salmon limit for a week
A strong sockeye run means Fish Creek anglers can keep six salmon a day through Aug. 15 — double the usual limit — before it drops back to three.
by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
Prince William Sound stays at one king a day through Sept. 15
Prince William Sound's king limit stays at one fish a day through Sept. 15, four harbors excepted, right as kings start showing up near Glacier Island and Pigot Bay.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Rockfish limit in Resurrection Bay stays at three a day through Sept. 15
Anglers in Resurrection Bay stay limited to three rockfish a day through mid-September, a cap in place since April that covers peak charter season.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
The Yukon River is mostly closed to salmon fishing this year
The Yukon is mostly closed to salmon fishing in 2026 — kings, chum, likely coho — with runs badly depressed and kings barred under a U.S.-Canada pact.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
Ketchikan anglers can keep more kings this month, even with a slow run
Ketchikan anglers can keep more kings this month even though the run is slow, though area closures still apply and the department hasn't explained the increase.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
Kenai River king salmon fishery closed through mid-August 2026
Kenai River king salmon fishing closed May 1 through August 15, 2026 under emergency order. Third consecutive year of full closure due to conservation concerns. Other species fishing allowed with single-hook lures only. Nearby Kasilof River open to limited hatchery king salmon fishing.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Pacific halibut hit a 40-year low as Alaska absorbs the deepest cuts
Pacific halibut are at a 40-year low, and Alaska's waters took the deepest 2025 cuts, including 22% in the Central Gulf, hitting commercial, charter and subsistence fishing alike.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Weak coho run cuts Little Susitna limit to one fish, bans bait
A weak coho run cut the Little Susitna limit to one fish and banned bait through Sept. 30, with just 438 fish counted against a goal of over 9,200.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Tanana River chum salmon sport fishery reopens as run exceeds forecast
Tanana River sport anglers can keep three chum salmon again as of Wednesday after the run exceeded forecasts, but the broader Yukon drainage remains closed due to weak returns.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
The Kenai's kings are closed again — another summer without Alaska's most iconic salmon
Another year with King closures and no easy answer in sight
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska Peninsula Bering Sea drainages: non-residents banned from keeping king salmon starting July 18
Non-resident anglers cannot keep king salmon in Bering Sea drainages starting July 18, while Alaska residents get a one-per-day limit.
by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readAI
Copper River king salmon closed to sport fishing; Chitina dipnetters barred from keeping kings all season
Alaska closed Upper Copper River king salmon sport fishing and barred Chitina dipnetters from keeping any kings this season due to a weak forecast of 33,000 fish, 27% below the 10-year average.
by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readAI
Craig and Klawock anglers must keep their catch whole until the dock
Sport anglers out of Craig and Klawock have to keep rockfish, lingcod and salmon whole until the dock so creel samplers can measure the catch.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Kodiak rockfish rules now cap single-species harvest, push anglers to deeper water
Kodiak sport anglers now face species-specific rockfish caps through year-end, limiting black rockfish to two per day, pushing them to fish deeper water as stocks decline from charter pressure.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Ship Creek closes for 10 days as a king shortfall hits the hatchery
Anchorage's Ship Creek closes to all fishing July 3–13. A weak king return isn't meeting hatchery broodstock goals that supply fisheries across Southcentral, not just the creek.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Cook Inlet Razor Clam Harvest Now Requires a Permit
Cook Inlet razor clam diggers must now get a permit before heading out this summer, and face a December 31 reporting deadline or lose eligibility next year, even if they never dug a clam.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
On the Kasilof, Alaska is opening the sockeye floodgates and holding the line on kings
On the Kasilof, Alaska is opening the sockeye floodgates and rationing the kings on the same water — a tidy snapshot of where the salmon stand. Grab a dipnet.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readAI
Tanana kings closed all season; chum fishing back open after run surges
Alaska closed all king salmon fishing in the Tanana River drainage through September 30 due to a weak forecast, but reopened chum fishing on July 8 after the summer run exceeded expectations.
by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readAI
Situk River sockeye fishery has all but ended, ADF&G says
Situk River sockeye runs have collapsed to their lowest in five years, forcing ADF&G to tell anglers the sport fishery has ended even though the daily limit stays at three fish.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
Bristol Bay tightens the rules on its king salmon again
Bristol Bay's kings keep sliding, so the rules keep tightening: fewer big fish on the Naknek, no bait on the Nushagak, and log every keeper in ink.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Wisconsin man cited for lifting king salmon on Anchor River
Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited a 19-year-old Wisconsin man for lifting a king salmon from the Anchor River and releasing it, violating an active Emergency Order requiring all kings to stay in the water.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
Yukon River sport fishing closed for kings and chums through 2026 as seven-year rebuilding effort continues
Alaska closed all sport fishing for king and chum salmon in the Yukon River drainage through 2026 under emergency orders due to weak run forecasts and a U.S.-Canada treaty requiring seven years of rebuilding closures.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
