Area Sport Fishing Reports
North Gulf Coast/Resurrection Bay

Archived Sport Fishing Report

July 09, 2014

North Gulf Coast Area

Week of July 8 to July 14
Issued July 8, 2014

Emergency Orders and regulation reminders

• Resurrection Bay is always closed to lingcod fishing. If you harvest a lingcod outside of Resurrection Bay you cannot fish in the bay on the way back to port.
• It is illegal to use a rockfish for bait while fishing for lingcod. If you catch a rockfish and a big lingcod grabs a hold of it – the lingcod must be released.
• It is also illegal to use a gaff on any fish that is intended to be released.
• There is a youth only king salmon fishery in the Seward Lagoon and Seward Lagoon outfall stream this July 11 – July 13. See page 58 in the Southcentral Alaska Sport Fishing Regulation Summary for details.

Halibut

• Halibut fishing has been very good in North Gulf Coast waters this past week. The best fishing is still outside of Resurrection Bay to the east. Try fishing the headlands all the way to Prince William Sound.
• Inside Resurrection Bay try fishing around Eldorado Narrows.

Salmon

• There are more than 200 king salmon in the Seward Lagoon for this weekend’s Youth only king salmon fishery.
• Some big silver salmon have been caught right off the Alaska SeaLife center this past week. This is unusual so early in the season.
• The silver salmon fishing at Pony Cove and Cheval Island has been off and on lately. Sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s not.
• Anglers are also surprised to be catching some sockeye out at Pony Cove on artificial lures.
• The sockeye fishery at the head of the bay is pretty much over.
• Trolling for king salmon remains good to very good inside Resurrection Bay for the few anglers that do this daily.

Other salt water fishing

• Lingcod fishing outside of Resurrection Bay is good to very good.
• 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. Avoid venting rockfish intended for release. Vented rockfish do not survive as well as those released at capture depth. For details on deepwater release, see the ADF&G Rockfish Conservation webpage at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingSportFishingInfo.rockfishconservation
• Study your rockfish identification, so you do not harvest more rockfish than they are allowed. Please read regulations and limits for the area that you are fishing.

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

• See sport fishing regulations for details about legal gear and legal area.

Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Arctic Grayling

• Dolly Varden might be tough to find in fresh water right now.

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

• Kids should expect decent fishing for rainbow trout at First Lake. Bead-head nymphs are a good bet to catch these rainbows.