Sport Fishing
RSSSport Fishing in Alaska is recreational angling for salmon, halibut, rockfish and other species in marine and freshwater waters statewide. It covers derby results, dipnetting and personal-use openings, charter and guide operations, and bag-limit changes issued by state fishery managers.
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Week of Aug 10
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 2mo 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 AlaskaNews3mo 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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak's Saltery Cove anglers get their five-fish sockeye limit back after a thin July
Kodiak's Saltery Cove anglers get their five-fish sockeye limit back after a thin run recovered — though the area's subsistence closure remains in place.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 3mo ago2 min read
Week of Aug 3
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
More from Sport Fishing
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
About Sport Fishing
Sport fishing in Alaska is recreational angling for salmon, halibut, rockfish, lingcod and other species in marine and fresh waters across the state. It takes in fishing by residents and visitors, charter and guide operations, youth fisheries and community derbies.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game manages sport fisheries and adjusts bag limits and openings by emergency order as runs come in stronger or weaker than expected. Federal harvest limits govern some marine species, and rules often differ for residents and nonresidents. Questions that recur include coho and king salmon run strength, daily limits on rivers such as the Kenai and Ship Creek, the charter halibut fleet's share of the catch, and retention rules for rockfish and lingcod.
Sport fishing is closely tied to commercial fisheries and subsistence, which draw on the same fish stocks, and to hatcheries that support runs near towns such as Juneau and Seward. Waters from Southeast Alaska and Prince William Sound to the Kenai Peninsula and the Mat-Su each have their own seasons and rules.
More from Sport Fishing
King salmon retention at Blind Slough ends Aug. 15
King salmon retention in Blind Slough near Petersburg closes at 11:59 p.m. Aug. 15, ending a summer window that opened after hatchery returns exceeded projections.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Jul 27
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Seward Lagoon youth-only king salmon fishery closes Friday night
Seward Lagoon's youth-only king salmon fishery closes Friday night at midnight, ending the summer window for anglers 15 and younger.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kids get the Homer Spit's prime fishing spot for a day
Kids get the Homer Spit's best fishing hole to themselves Saturday for the lagoon's youth day — a perk some shut-out adults grumble about.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Troopers cite 12 dipnetters on the Kenai in one day
Troopers wrote at least 12 dipnet citations on the Kenai in a single day, mostly for fishing after hours. The reward: $120 bail and a long drive home.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Jul 20
Cook Inlet clammers need a permit, and the east-side beaches stay empty
You now need a permit to dig razor clams on Cook Inlet — though on the Kenai's east-side beaches, closed since 2015, there is almost nothing left to dig.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Fish Creek dipnet fishery opens Sunday for Alaska resident dipnetters
More fishing more fish
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min readFrom 
Bristol Bay sockeye limit stays at 10 fish through year's end in Wood River and Nushagak-Mulchatna drainages
Bristol Bay doesn't seem to be having the problems with fish the rest of the state is.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
High water has Southcentral anglers waiting it out
Flooding has Southcentral anglers mostly sidelined — weirs underwater, creeks blown out, and 12-foot waves hitting the Kenai dipnet beaches.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Ketchikan Creek opens to dip netting for hatchery king salmon
Kings are closed across much of Alaska, but Ketchikan Creek just opened to dip netting for hatchery Chinook. Wild ones go back. Residents only, net in hand.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Three salmon runs are down at once on Prince of Wales
Kings, coho, and pinks are all below average on Prince of Wales, and coho harvest is half last year's. The island needs rain to move fish into the creeks.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Past three miles, Alaskans fish like nonresidents
Alaskans lose resident fishing limits the moment they cross into federal water — and keeping a big lingcod inshore can shut you out of the EEZ entirely.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Jul 13
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
King salmon sport fishing closed in Norton Sound fresh waters
Alaska closed sport king salmon fishing in Norton Sound fresh waters and requires immediate release of any hooked incidentally.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Petersburg's Blind Slough opens fully to king salmon as hatchery return surpasses forecast
Petersburg's Blind Slough opens fully to king salmon fishing starting Saturday after Crystal Lake Hatchery's return beat forecasts and broodstock needs were met.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
