Area Sport Fishing Reports
Prince William Sound

Archived Sport Fishing Report

July 06, 2016

 Prince William Sound and the
Copper River Delta Area

Week of July 6 to July 12
Issued July 6, 2016

General Area Description: includes all waters between Cape Fairfield and Cape Suckling.

Regulation Reminders and Emergency Orders

• Permits are mandatory for all non-commercial shrimp fisherman. Permits are available online or available at local Fish and Game offices and at select vendors.
• Cordova Terminal Harvest Area is closed to snagging salmon from June 1 – September 30.
• In Main Bay, sport fishing from a vessel that is within 60 feet of the Prince William Sound Aquaculture hatchery barrier seine, or from a vessel inside of the barrier seine is prohibited. Signs have been posted accordingly. The signs posted on either bank show the 60 foot line. Marker buoys may or may not be set 60 feet from the barrier seine.
• On the Eyak River beginning on June 1, only single-hook, artificial flies with a hook gap of 3/8 inch or less between point and shank are allowed from a point 200 yards upstream of Eyak Lake dam and to a point 200 yards downstream from the bridge at the outlet of Eyak Lake. No additional weight may be attached to the line when fishing in this area.
•  Lingcod season is now OPEN until December 31. Limits are 2 per day, 4 in possession. Fish must be a minimum of 35 inches or longer with head attached OR 28 inches or greater in length with the head removed.
• Ibeck Creek is closed to all sport fishing upstream from a point 3 miles above the Copper River Highway.

Fresh waters

Salmon

• Chinook salmon are still coming into Fleming Spit with a few fish milling around in the lagoon.
• Sockeye fishing is great throughout Eyak River! Anglers are having lots of success at the weir. Remember: salmon fishing is not allowed in Eyak Lake. Signs marking the upper limits of the fishing area are located approximately 200 yards above the weir.
• Sockeye fishing at Coghill River and lake is slow as returns of sockeye salmon to this location are currently lower than previous years to date.
• Sockeye salmon should start making their way up into Eshamy Lake in the next couple of weeks. It’s early still but keep an eye on late run sockeye locations such as Eshamy, Gunboat, and Shotgun Creeks if you are out in PWS.
• Reminder: Power Creek in Cordova is closed to salmon fishing year-round.

Trout, Dolly Varden, Grayling

• Cutthroat and rainbow/steelhead trout fishing opened on June 15th. Try small spinners or nymph type flies.
• Dolly Varden are present in many of the streams throughout Prince William Sound and the Copper River Delta. Use fry/smolt imitation flies or small spinners at lake outlets or stream confluences. Anglers are reminded to check the Prince William Sound regulations on the legal size limit for retained trout in the area they are fishing.
• Ruth Pond and Blueberry Lake were recently stocked with catchable size rainbow trout. Fishing at both locations has been great and fun for kids!

Salt waters

Halibut, Lingcod, and Rockfish

• Halibut angling continues to be productive throughout PWS. The ocean entrances continued to be very productive places to catch nice halibut for those that made the trek.
• The Valdez Halibut Derby runs through September 4th. Top fish caught last week was just shy of 170lbs. The largest fish caught so far was in late May and weighed in at 253lbs!
• Lingcod fishing opened on July 1st. Minimal reports were received but anglers should try targeting rocky pinnacles with jigs. If you start getting into too many rockfish (who enjoy similar habitat to lingcod) move to a new location and use a deepwater release mechanism once you have reached your bag limit of rockfish.
• REMEMBER if you are targeting multiple species, target rockfish last, and use a deepwater release mechanism on all released rockfish (these devices can turn the chance of survival for a rockfish from near zero to near 100%!)

What’s deepwater release?
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingSportFishingInfo.rockfishconservation

Salmon

• Trolling (e.g. herring behind a flasher) near shallow rocky reefs and headlands is a good bet this time of year for king salmon.
• Keep an eye out for silver salmon as reports are trickling in of a few early catches further out in the Sound.
• Hatchery king salmon are in Passage Canal with some anglers having good luck right in Whittier boat harbor. Remember: Whittier harbor is closed to snagging.
• Pink salmon fishing picked up around Valdez over the holiday weekend. Pixies, spinners, and Vibrax are all good options.
• Sockeye are plentiful in Main Bay. Fishing around Main Bay is easier when there are not commercial openers happening…. check here to get updates on when those are happening http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=cfnews.main

Shellfish

• Shrimping continues to be productive throughout the Sound. Anglers continue to report successful pulls at depths ranging from 350–650’. Look for good habitat to set pots in to improve your success rate. Rocky terrain with steep drop offs are a good one to look for on charts. Don’t forget your shrimp permit. Permit needs to be in possession as you are shrimping. Also, remember that each vessel can only fish 4 pots.