Area Sport Fishing Reports
Prince of Wales Island

June 20, 2025

The summer fishing season is in full swing on Prince of Wales as saltwater charters are operating at full capacity and local resident anglers are taking advantage of nice weather to get on the water. King salmon are and bottomfish such as halibut, lingcod and rockfish are available in marine waters surrounding the island. Trout and Dolly Varden fishing is good with sockeye salmon starting to enter some drainages. ADFG creel technicians are now present on the docks of Craig and Klawock asking anglers about their saltwater fishing effort and sampling their catch. Your cooperation is appreciated as they collect valuable data to manage Alaka's sport fisheries.

Check out the wefishak page on the ADF&G website for the gofishak interactive map to discover fishing locations and information on species run timing, fishing gear selections, and boat and angler access tips!

Chinook (King) Salmon

King salmon fishing on the west coast of Prince of Wales has been good with the best fishing on the outer coast. Anglers on the east side of the island are now pursuing kings with mixed success.

Chinook Salmon Regulations for 2025

• The resident daily bag limit is one fish over 28 inches;
• The nonresident daily bag limit is one fish with an annual harvest limit of one fish over 28 inches;
• Immediately upon landing and retaining a king salmon, a nonresident must enter the species, date, and location on their paper or electronic harvest record.

Sockeye (red) Salmon

Sockeye run timing varies greatly by drainage from June through August. Some systems do have June runs of sockeye. Good sockeye salmon systems are the Thorne, Sarkar and Karta rivers, Hatchery, Ratz and Eagle creeks.

Trout and Dolly Varden

Rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and Dolly Varden are available in many of the freshwater drainages of POW. Trout and Dolly Varden are feeding opportunistically on salmon fry, sculpins and aquatic insects. Fishing improves as water temperatures warm into the summer in both lakes and rivers. Productive drainages for trout include Luck, Klawock, and Sarkar lakes, the Thorne River, and Ratz Creek. Regulations regarding size limits, bag limits, and the use of bait can vary by waterbody, so please check the Southeast Alaska Sport Fish Regulation Summary.

Halibut

Halibut fishing will remain good through the summer.

Lingcod

Lingcod are especially abundant on the west coast of Prince of Wales but can be caught on inside waters as well.

Rockfish

Rockfish can be caught year-round. There is a section on the Fish and Game website for identifying common rockfish of POW.

All sport fishing vessels are required to have at least one functional deepwater release device (regardless of species targeted), and anglers will be REQUIRED to use a deepwater release device to release rockfish to the depth it was hooked or to a depth of at least 100 feet. Please see the Southeast Alaska Sport Fish Regulation Summary or visit your local ADF&G office to see examples of rockfish release devices and learn about their use.

Demersal Shelf Rockfish

The retention of demersal shelf rockfish, including yelloweye is open for residents of Alaska with a daily bag limit of one and possession limit of two.

Demersal shelf rockfish, including yelloweye, will be open for nonresidents from July 1 through August 25 with an annual limit of one fish.

Demersal shelf rockfish are the following species: yelloweye, quillback, copper, canary, china, tiger, and rosethorn rockfish.

Slope Rockfish

Some slope rockfish are common in marine waters surrounding POW. The most common species are silvergrey and vermilion rockfish.

• Resident and nonresidents daily bag limit of one per day; one in possession

Pelagic Rockfish

Pelagic rockfish provide good fishing in the marine waters surrounding POW.

• Season: year-round
• Three per day; six in possession

For additional information regarding rockfish identification and management, please refer to the rockfish conservation page.

Regulation summaries and copies of the news releases are available at the Craig ADF&G office.

For further information, please contact the Prince of Wales Area Management Biologist: Craig Schwanke (907) 826-2498.