Area Sport Fishing Reports
Haines/Skagway
Archived Sport Fishing Report
September 14, 2015
Fall 2015 fishing opportunities
Sockeye salmon
The Chilkoot River sockeye salmon run is winding down, but there are still some to catch. A total of 71,000 sockeye salmon were counted through the weir from early June through September 8, when the weir was removed for the year.
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 winding down. The season total sockeye count is more than twice the long-term average.
Pink salmon
There are still plenty of Chilkoot River pink salmon to catch in the river and in Chilkoot Lake.
The Chilkat River pink salmon run has slowed to a trickle. This year's total catch of 12,354 pink salmon in the fish wheels was the highest since 1999.
Coho salmon
The first strong pulse of coho salmon passed through the Chilkat River fish wheels over the weekend. Some coho salmon were counted upstream through the Chilkoot River weir before the weir was removed on August 9. Coho catches in commercial fisheries indicate that the arrival of coho salmon in inside waters was delayed this summer, possibly by warm water temperatures.
Coho fishing in fresh water gets going in late September when the main runs arrive and the water gets lower and clearer with cooler fall temperatures. Declining and stable low water levels usually result in good fishing conditions. The National Weather Service provides a graph of the Chilkat River water level for the past week and a forecast for the next 2 days.
Char and Trout
Dolly Varden fishing should improve as sea-run fish return to the Chilkat and other area rivers as they follow spawning chum salmon. The Chilkoot River water is colored by glacial silt but very fishable. The Chilkat River is silty but fishable. Bait is prohibited when fishing in Chilkat Lake or Mosquito Lake and their inlet and outlet streams.
King salmon
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.
The department's preliminary Chilkat River king salmon assessment is that the run met the escapement goal of 1,750 to 3,500 large kings (5 yrs old and older). Post-season analysis of 2015 catches and escapement samples will allow the department to forecast next year's run by February 2016.
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.