Area Sport Fishing Reports
North Gulf Coast/Resurrection Bay
Archived Sport Fishing Report
May 28, 2014
North Gulf Coast Area
Week of May 27 to June 2
Issued May 27, 2014
Emergency Orders and regulation reminders
• Lingcod fishing opens on July 1.
Halibut
• Halibut fishing has remained good this past week.
• Anglers have been doing best by heading east out of Resurrection Bay and fishing off the headlands.
Salmon
• The king salmon limit in Resurrection Bay is now two per day, any size. Try trolling with a small- to medium-sized herring and an oversized flasher.
• Feeder kings are being caught every day by anglers willing to work hard to troll up a fish.
• There have been no reports of anyone catching a king salmon off the mouth of the Seward Lagoon creek yet this year.
• There are about 40 orcas feeding in the bay, and their presence will affect the salmon fisheries.
• The sockeye have started to show pretty good in the bay, and fish are being caught in the snag fishery off the mouth of Resurrection River/Salmon Creek.
Other salt water fishing
• Lingcod fishing remains closed until July 1 to protect nest guarding males.
• Rockfish are easy to catch and have a fairly conservative bag limit, so target your rockfish last.
• The rockfish daily bag limit is 4 per day, of which only 1 may be a non-pelagic (demersal) rockfish.
• Use deepwater release methods to release incidentally caught rockfish. For details, see the ADF&G Rockfish Conservation webpage at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingSportFishingInfo.rockfishconservation
• Pacific cod fishing remains good, and those five to six pounders make great fish and chips.
• Dolly Varden are being picked up by spin fishermen off Lowell Point.
• Hooligan have not yet shown in Resurrection Bay. They typically show up after the Turnagain Arm run.
Shellfish
• There have been no reports from the personal-use shrimp pot fishery. This fishery is now open in the entire North Gulf Coast area from Cape Fairfield to Gore Point. To participate in the fishery you must be an Alaska resident with a current sport fishing license or ADF&G Permanent ID card, and a North Gulf Coast shrimp pot fishery permit. Permits can be obtained at the Anchorage, Homer, or Soldotna ADF&G offices. They can also be obtained at The Fish House in Seward.
• Check out page 63 of the 2013 Southcentral Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary for regulations on this fishery, and page 62 shrimp pot requirements.
Fresh waters
Salmon
• There are no freshwater drainages in Resurrection Bay open to salmon fishing at this time of year.
Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Arctic Grayling
• Dolly Varden will be feeding on salmon fry and smolt heading to the ocean.
• Use small silver spoons or spinners or, if you are fly-fishing, try a pattern that imitates salmon fry. Both sockeye and coho smolt are heading out into the ocean right now.
• The best time to fish at creek mouths is before high slack tide and through the beginning of the falling tide.
Northern Pike
• Northern pike are not native to Southcentral Alaska. Please report the capture of any pike in unconfirmed waters to ADF&G. Do not release any pike you have caught.
Lake Fishing
• Area lakes have been stocked, so check the ADF&G Sport Fish website for stocking updates.
• First Lake and Troop Lake are both good bets for some rainbows.