Area Sport Fishing Reports
North Gulf Coast/Resurrection Bay

Archived Sport Fishing Report

July 22, 2014

North Gulf Coast Area

Week of July 22 to July 28
Issued July 22, 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.

Halibut

• Halibut fishing has been good in the North Gulf Coast waters outside of Resurrection Bay. Try fishing the headlands toward Prince William Sound.
• Inside Resurrection Bay keep your bait on the bottom and be patient. Halibut can be caught in Eldorado Narrows and in front of Thumbs Cove.

Salmon

• Reports from silver salmon fishers say that the silver salmon are pretty big for this early in the season.
• The Pony Cove-Cheval Island-Agnes Cove Area has been producing some nice silver salmon catches.
• Closer inside Resurrection Bay try trolling around the islands.
• Driftwood Bay, in Day Harbor, has also been a silver salmon hot spot recently.
• Feeder king salmon have been off the bite, or not in the area.

Other salt water fishing

• Lingcod fishing outside of Resurrection Bay continues to be 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
• First Lake continues to produce some rainbow trout for the kids in Seward.