Area Sport Fishing Reports
Yakutat

May 14, 2026

Freshwaters

Steelhead Trout

The last week has continued to be rather cold and wet in Yakutat. Last weekends storms dumped over 2.5" of rain which expectedly caused the Situk to rise dramatically. As a result, fishing conditions worsened but have recovered in recent days. The word is that there are steelhead still entering the river in good numbers, right when most people are calling it a season. A lot of fishing effort tends to die off dramatically by mid-May, but this year it might pay off to fish the late shoulder season. The fish weir is still not in due to high water, but staff hope that by next week it can be put in to count out-migrating steelhead. The current water discharge rate is 435cfs, which is a good level for fishing, both from boats and from wading in the river. This weekend and early next week however, another round of storms moves in with an expected 2-2.5" of rain. We expect levels to rise again and wade fishing will be difficult by early next week.

Saltwaters

King Salmon

Sportfishing for king salmon is open in Yakutat area marine waters. Fishing continues to be slow, but a few are being caught. Marine weather looks to worsen over the weekend starting Sunday morning and again on Tues/Wed., which will make fishing tough. Most anglers troll spoons or herring behind a flasher. Please check the department website below for the recent emergency order and advisory annoucements regarding 2026 regional king salmon regulations for Southeast Alaska.

Halibut

Halibut fishing is slowly picking up. Some decent fish have been brought in over the last week, but its still early and weather has been marginal lately for getting out front. The weather will make it difficult to get out front starting Saturday through early next week, so take caution. Fishing should start picking up later this month.

Lingcod

Lingcod fishing is closed until May 16th. When it opens, it should be relatively easy to hook into a lingcod as anglers continue to keep catching good numbers of lings while targeting halibut and rockfish. Please check the department website for the recent emergency order and advisory annoucements regarding changes to lingcod regulations in the Yakutat management area.

Rockfish

Fishing for rockfish is excellent in the Yakutat area. Try fishing smaller jigs tipped with chunks of herring near pinnacles or shallow (30-70 feet) rocky structures or shelfs. Please check the department website for the recent emergency orders and advisory annoucements regarding changes to rockfish regulations in 2026 for Southeast Alaska.

For further information, please get in touch with the Yakutat Area sport fish management biologist Jason Pawluk at (907) 465-4224.

Emergency orders can be found on our website.

Check out the new gofishak interactive map to discover popular fishing locations and information on species run timing, fishing gear selections, and boat and angler access tips!