Area Sport Fishing Reports
Haines/Skagway
Archived Sport Fishing Report
September 06, 2016
Fall 2016 fishing opportunities
Coho (silver) salmon
The sport fishery on Chilkat and Chilkoot Rivers gets going in late September when cool weather reduces glacial melt and the river water begins to clear up. Big rain events also cloud the water and reduce angler success. The National Weather Service operates a water level gauge on the Chilkat River near Klukwan. Several days of declining water levels usually mean clearer water.
Chilkat River fish wheel coho salmon counts are below average so far, but on track to meet the escapement goal. Poor fishing reports from other Southeast Alaska locations and a low number of Chilkat coho coded wire tags in the troll fishery indicate a below average coho salmon run its way to the Chilkat River.
Sockeye salmon
The Chilkoot River sockeye salmon run is nearly finished for the season. Sockeye counts through the weir averaged 175 per day last week. Through Sept. 5, the season total weir count was 86,000 fish, which is at the upper end of the escapement goal range (38,000 to 86,000 fish). The Chilkoot River is milky with glacial silt.
The Chilkat River sockeye salmon run is about 3/4 complete, and fish wheel sockeye salmon counts are still above average. Upstream sockeye salmon counts at Chilkat Lake weir are on track to meet the Chilkat Lake escapement goal (70,000 to 150,000 fish).
Pink salmon
The Chilkoot River pink salmon run is winding down. Last week the weir counts averaged 120 per day last week. Overall, this year's Chilkoot pink salmon run has been less than 1/3 of average.
The Chilkat River pink salmon run was very weak this year, with Chilkat River fish wheel pink salmon counts about 3% of the long-term average.
In the Haines and Skagway area, because of the pink salmon's 2-year life cycle, pinks are fewer in even-numbered years than in odd-numbered years.
Char and Trout
Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout are following immigrating sockeye and chum salmon spawners into the Chilkoot River, Chilkoot Lake, and clearwater Chilkat River tributaries. The Chilkat River is high and turbid with glacier melt water, but char and trout can be caught in clearwater tributaries and lakes.
Bait is prohibited when fishing in Chilkat Lake or Mosquito Lake and their inlet and outlet streams. See the Haines/Skagway area regulations for details and a map.
King salmon
The 2016 preliminary Chilkat River king salmon population estimate is 1,300 large fish, which below the lower end of the Chilkat River king salmon escapement goal (1,850 to 3,600 large fish). ADF&G kept sport, commercial, and subsistence fisheries restricted through July in upper Lynn Canal to conserve returning king salmon.
Some recent results of ADF&G's king salmon research projects are reported in the Spring 2016 issue of Chinook News. The great majority of king salmon runs in Southeast Alaska (Unuk, Chickamin, Stikine, Taku, Chilkat, Alsek, and Situk Rivers) failed to meet their escapement goals, which indicates that reduced ocean survival is driving the low populations.
King salmon fishing has been poor in upper Lynn Canal waters this summer. Hatchery-reared king salmon smolt that were released in Pullen Pond through 2015 will contribute to Haines and Skagway salt water sport fishing in 2017 and 2018.
In the waters of Lynn Canal north of Sherman Rock, including Chilkoot Inlet, Lutak Inlet, and Taiya Inlet, the sport fishing bag and possession limit is 1 king salmon 28 inches or greater in length for the remainder of 2016. Non-Alaska residents must record each king salmon they harvest on the back of their license, and the non-resident annual limit is 6 kings in Southeast Alaska.
King salmon bag and possession limits are more liberal in other parts of Southeast Alaska where local stock abundance is not a concern.
The fresh waters of Pullen Creek, including Pullen Pond in downtown Skagway, are open to king salmon fishing through mid-September. The bag & possession limit is 4 kings of any size, and kings caught in Pullen Creek waters will not count toward the nonresident annual limit for king salmon. This opening allows harvest of hatchery-produced king salmon that have returned to Pullen Creek. There was no king salmon broodstock collected at Pullen Creek this year.