Area Sport Fishing Reports
Haines/Skagway
Archived Sport Fishing Report
August 24, 2015
Summer 2015 fishing opportunities
Sockeye salmon
The Chilkoot River sockeye salmon run is nearing the end of the mid-summer peak, with an average of 700 fish passing upstream through the weir each day. A total of 60,000 sockeye salmon have been counted at the weir through August 23. The trend is toward an average escapement of more than 69,000 fish.
An article on successful fly patterns for sockeye fishing is available here. A video on a successful sockeye fishing technique in glacial waters is available here.
Sockeye salmon counts at the Chilkat River fish wheels are more than twice the average this year. The Chilkat run typically continues steadily through mid-September.
Pink salmon
Pink salmon are abundant in Chilkoot River and Chilkoot Lake, but the run is past its peak. Counts through the Chilkoot weir averaged over 350 per day last week.
The pink salmon run is winding down at the Chilkat River fish wheels. 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.
Char and Trout
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 summer, 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
King salmon fishing catches in Taiya Inlet will pick up as feeders return in August.
In District 15, the bag & possession limit is 1 king salmon 28 inches or longer. This area includes Lynn Canal north of the latitude of Little Island Light, Chilkat Inlet, Chilkoot Inlet, and Lutak Inlet near Haines, and Taiya Inlet near Skagway. District 15 includes the waters north of Eagle Beach along the Juneau road system.
Non-Alaska residents must record each harvested king salmon immediately on the back of their fishing license to comply with the non-resident annual limit of 3 king salmon.
Department surveys of Chilkat River king salmon spawning grounds are in progress through August. The early assessment is that the Chilkat River king salmon run was below average, but it will meet the escapement goal of 1,750 to 3,500 large kings (5 yrs old and older).
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.