Area Sport Fishing Reports
Haines/Skagway

Recent Emergency Orders & Press Releases for Haines/Skagway

Archived Sport Fishing Report

Sockeye salmon counts picked up last week at the Chilkoot River weir. The Chilkoot run typically gains momentum through July and continues through August.
An article on succesful fly patterns for sockeye fishing is available here. A video on another succesful sockeye fishing technique is available here.
Sockeye salmon counts at the Chilkat River fish wheels are far above average. The Chilkat run continues steadily through September.

The pink salmon run has begun at the Chilkoot River weir. This run is strongest in mid-July through mid-September.
The Chilkat River pink salmon run is record-breaking strong this year.You can catch pinks at several clearwater tributaries along the Haines Highway, or from the shoreline in Lutak Inlet, Chilkoot Inlet, and Chilkat Inlet salt water.

Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout can be caught in clear water streams and lakes through the summer. The Chilkoot River water is high but remains fairly clear. The Chilkat River is high and very silty in the summe, but some clearwater tributaries are fishable. Bait is prohibited when fishing in Chilkat Lake or Mosquito Lake and their inlet and outlet streams.
Sea-run Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout are feeding in salt water. They can be caught near shore through the summer in the Haines and Skagway area.

King salmon fishing in the Skagway area picked up last week as Pullen Creek kings return arrived in Taiya Inlets.
The Haines creel survey concluded on June 28. Sport fishing effort and king salmon catches by Haines anglers were very low in May and June this year.
Chilkat River king monitoring project near 9 Mile Haines Highway has seen a weak inriver run so far, near the lower end of the escapement goal.
Chilkat Inlet is closed to king salmon sport fishing through July 15. ADF&G is managing sport, commercial, and subsistence fisheries in Chilkat Inlet conservatively to meet the Chilkat king salmon escapement goal.
In the remainder of the Haines and Skagway area, the bag & possession limit is 1 king salmon 28 inches or longer. This area includes Taiya Inlet near Skagway, Lutak and Chilkoot Inlets near Haines, and Lynn Canal as far south as the latitude of Little Island Light.
Non-Alaska residents must record each harvested king salmon on the back of their fishing license to comply with the non-resident annual limit of 3 king salmon.
About 200,000 hatchery-reared smolt were released in Pullen Pond in June 2015. These fish will return to the Skagway and Haines area as legal size kings in years 2017 through 2019.