Area Sport Fishing Reports
Anchorage

Archived Sport Fishing Report

May 07, 2014

Anchorage Area

Week of May 6 to May 12
Issued May 6, 2014

Regulation Reminders

• Ship Creek is closed to fishing from the Chugach Power Plant Dam upstream to Reeves Boulevard April 15 – June 14.
• Campbell Creek (entire drainage) is closed to fishing April 15 – June 14.
• Chester Creek (entire drainage) is closed to fishing April 15 – June 14.
• Bird Creek (entire drainage) is closed to fishing January 1 – July 13.
• Symphony Lake is closed to fishing May 1 – June 30.

Fresh waters

Salmon

• Ship Creek is the only stream in the Anchorage area currently open to king salmon fishing.
• King salmon fishing on Ship Creek is expected to be slow right now.
• All other waters in the Anchorage Management Area are closed to king salmon fishing.

Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Arctic Grayling

• All of Campbell Creek, Chester Creek, and portions of Ship Creek are currently closed to fishing to protect spawning rainbow trout.

Lake Fishing

• The following lakes were recently stocked with rainbow trout: Jewel, DeLong, Sand and Campbell Point (Beer Can).
• Local lakes are opening up or are already ice free. This opens up opportunities for rainbow trout, Arctic Char, and Arctic grayling.
• As the ice recedes from the shoreline try fishing for Arctic char in Jewel, Sand and Campbell Point lakes. Sand Lake is also stocked with Arctic Grayling.

Northern Pike

• Late evening hours are a good time to spear pike, or to shoot them with bow and arrow. A reminder, if you are bow-hunting for pike, the arrow has to be attached to a string and the string to your bow. Try Lower Fire Lake and Otter Lake on JBER for pike.
• Keep all the pike you catch and report the capture of any pike from lakes and waters not known to have these invasive fish. The ADF&G information desk number to call is 267-2218. Please bring your fish in for positive ID.

Salt waters

Hooligan

• Dipnetting seasons for hooligan (or “smelt”) in Southcentral Alaska opened on April 1, but dipnetters will likely find fishing slow until hooligan runs build around mid- to late-May.
• This is a personal-use fishery and only Alaska residents can participate. No permit is required, but you do need an Alaska resident fishing license or ADF&G Permanent ID card with you while dipnetting.
• The presence of many seagulls and eagles on the banks or in the skies along Turnagain Arm down by Twentymile River is the best indicator of the presence of catchable numbers of these oily little fish, and there is yet to be a build-up of birds in the area.
• Open season for hooligan in salt waters is April 1–May 31; in fresh waters, it is April 1–June 15. There is no bag or possession limit for personal use smelt, and no permit is required. Hooligan may be taken by dip net in any fresh or salt water.
• For your safety, and for the safety of others, please park well off the highway. Do not trespass on the railroad tracks or the railroad right-of-way. Please be respectful and take all your trash with you, don’t throw it on the ground. Please do not trash the dipnetting site.
• For more information on hooligan dipnetting and hooligan dipnetting regulations, see Page 13 of the 2013 Southcentral Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations summary booklets.