Area Sport Fishing Reports
North Gulf Coast/Resurrection Bay

Archived Sport Fishing Report

June 02, 2016

 North Gulf Coast Area

Week of June 1 to June 7
Issued June 1, 2016

General Area Description: Includes waters from Gore Point to Cape Fairfield.

Emergency Orders and regulation reminders

• The personal use season for shrimp pot fishing in North Gulf Coast area waters opened on April 15 and closes Sept 15. Permits are required to participate in this fishery and are free at select ADF&G offices and vendors.
• As of June 1, personal use dipnetting for smelt (hooligan) is closed in Saltwater.
• Lingcod fishing remains closed until July 1.

Halibut

• Halibut are federally managed by NOAA. http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=halibut.management
• Halibut fishing in the North Gulf Coast continues to be good for this time of year.
• Few halibut have been reported from inside of Resurrection (Res.) Bay. More fish should be moving into the bay each week as water warms and prey becomes more available. Places to try include near Callisto Head and Fox Island. Targeting halibut inside Res. Bay requires some degree of patience. Pay attention to the tides and the direction food is going to be moving.

Salmon

Kings:

• The king salmon limit in Res. Bay is currently two per day, any size. Try trolling with a small- to medium-sized herring and an oversized flasher or a hoochies for a shot at a feeder king.
• Kings have been caught from shore in Res. Bay near the creek that drains the Seward Lagoon. Large vibraxes or herring under a bobber have been known to produce hatchery run kings from the beaches in Seward. Fishing will be slow, but should improve later into June.

Sockeye:

• Sockeye are beginning to return in good numbers to the head of Res. Bay. Catches of sockeye and the occasional limit have been reported. Only salt water including the open section of Resurrection River downstream of the ADF&G markers (see page 78 of the Southcentral Sport fishing Regulations for more details) are currently open to salmon fishing; all freshwater is currently closed to salmon fishing in Res. Bay.

Other salt water fishing

Lingcod:

• Lingcod fishing remains closed until July 1 to protect nest guarding males.

Rockfish:

• 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

Other species:

• Pacific cod are well spread throughout Res. Bay, and can be easily caught with chunks of herring fished near the bottom in water of 100ft and deeper.
• We have had a few reports of anglers in Res. Bay encountering hooligan while targeting other species. As of June 1, personal use dipnetting for smelt (hooligan) is closed in Saltwater.

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. 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 and at the Seward Fish House.
• Check out page 10 of the 2016 Southcentral Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary for regulations on this fishery, and page 9 shrimp pot requirements.

Fresh waters

Salmon

• There are no freshwater drainages in Resurrection Bay open to salmon fishing at this time.

Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Arctic Grayling

• Pink salmon fry were observed in the harbor area and at the mouth of a few Seward creeks over the holiday weekend. Dolly Varden will be targeting these outmigrating fish. Try casting small spinners or smolt fly patterns from the beach for a chance at a sea-run Dolly Varden.

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 was stocked with catchable-size rainbow trout two weeks ago. The fishing should continue to be good at First lake and it is a great place to take the kids.