Area Sport Fishing Reports
Yakutat
Archived Sport Fishing Report
August 19, 2022
Check out the new gofishak interactive map to discover popular fishing locations and information on species run timing, fishing gear selections, and boat and angler access tips!
Freshwaters
Pink Salmon
Pink salmon fishing on the Situk River is very good. The Situk River weir stopped counting fish on August 5th. At that time over 85k pinks had been passed through the weir with thousands arriving every day. Try pitching any brightly colored lure or drifting small flies or hooks with yarn in deep runs or holding water.
Coho Salmon
Silver fishing on the Situk River continues to be slow for the most part. Coupling low abundance with high water levels and fishing is about as difficult as it can be for foot anglers. The good news is that we are going to have dryer weather through the weekend which will lower water to fishable levels. As of August 5th, the last day of counts, only 42 silvers had passed the weir. Some smaller silvers were landed this week in the lower Situk. Commercial netters in the estuary have not caught alot of silvers and saltwater anglers are having a difficult time finding them as well. Silvers are notoriously aggressive fish so really anything can be used to catch them. If pitching lures like spinners, spoons, jigs, or plugs don't work, try using smaller gear like drifting flies or octopus hooks with a little brightly colored yarn or corkies along the bottom. Remember, no treble hooks are allowed on the Situk River, so switch out your treble hooks off your spinners and other lures with single siwash hooks.
Saltwaters
King Salmon
Sportfishing for king salmon is open in Yakutat area marine waters. Reports of fishing by trollers and sport anglers in Yakutat Bay continue to be good over the last week, especially for this time of year. Kings have been reported to be caught in the islands, out front, and out near the pinnacles in the middle of Yakutat Bay. Most anglers are trolling spoons, hoochies, or herring behind a flasher 20-30 feet down along the beaches in about 40-60 feet of water.
Anglers are reminded that in order to sport fish for king salmon you must be in possession of a valid 2022 king salmon stamp.
Coho Salmon
Fishing for silvers in the salt continues to be very slow over the last week. Typically silver fishing is good right now, but they haven't moved into the bay in great numbers yet. Try trolling herring or spoons or hoochies in about 40-60 feet of water or try mooching when you find a school of silvers.
Make sure you know how to identify between silvers and smaller chinook and pink salmon. If you do not have a valid 2022 king salmon stamp you may not fish for or harvest king salmon. Also, only king salmon greater than or equal to 28" may be retained in salt waters.
Halibut
Halibut fishing continues to improve some over the last week. Pacific dogfish continue to diminish some but still make it a little difficult to get past them to get into halibut. Anglers are moving further back into the bay near the glaciers to get into colder water where the dogfish tend to avoid. Halibut, however, have started to be caught within the islands and closer to shore inside the bay and might be a good place to get away from the dogfish while halibut follow pink and coho salmon salmon closer inshore. Try soaking all sorts of baited circle hooks with bait such as herring, salmon heads, carcasses, octopus, squid, etc.
Lingcod
Fishing has been excellent for lingcod in the Yakutat area, with good catches being reported. Try using all sorts of jigs, darts, or cut-plug herring while mooching
Rockfish
Fishing for pelagic rockfish should be excellent in the Yakutat area. Try using all sorts of jigs, dart, or cut-plug herring while mooching.
For further information, please contact the Yakutat Area Sport Fish management biologist Jason Pawluk at (907) 784-3222.