Area Sport Fishing Reports
North Gulf Coast/Resurrection Bay

Archived Sport Fishing Report

September 08, 2016

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

Emergency Orders and regulation reminders

• Lingcod fishing opened on July 1.
• Snagging is allowed in salt water of the North Gulf Coast. Snagging is not allowed in fresh water.
• Resurrection River downstream of the Seward Highway and Nash Road opened on June 16. Only unbaited, single-hook, artificial lures are allowed; snagging is not permitted in this freshwater portion of Resurrection River.
• For king salmon in Resurrection (Res.) Bay there is no annual or seasonal king salmon harvest recording requirement. You are still required to have a king salmon stamp if you are going to retain a king salmon. Starting September 1st the bag limit is one per day and 1 in possession.

Saltwater

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. Anglers reported that halibut were in the small to medium size range.

Halibut fishing inside Resurrection Bay continues to be spotty and requiring patience. Try fishing large baits (e.g.- herring or salmon bellies) near the islands on the east side of Resurrection Bay.

Salmon

Kings:
The king salmon limit in Res. Bay is currently one per day, any size. Boats trolling for silvers continue to pick up the occasional king salmon. Try trolling herring with a chartreuse/green flasher or mooching with a hoochie squid.

Silvers:
Silver salmon fishing in the North Gulf Coast continues to be slow. Anglers from boats are having better success than shore anglers.

 As a reminder, the coho limit outside of Res. Bay is 3 per day/3 in possession and in Res. Bay is 6 per day/6 in possession. Anglers that have caught 6 silvers inside Res. Bay may not leave the bay.

Other salt water fishing

Lingcod:
Lingcod fishing is closed year-round within Res. Bay. Lingcod fishing opened on July 1 to areas outside of Res. Bay. See page 79 in the regulation booklet for location specifics if you are unsure of where you are allowed to target lingcod. Lingcod catches continue to be slow this week. To catch lingcod fishermen are having to search out new locations that have received less fishing pressure. Try fishing near capes or pinnacles in the North Gulf Cost. Use large diamond jigs or jigs with a large twister-tail grub to entice a strike from these toothy critters.

Rockfish:
Rockfish are easy to catch and have a fairly conservative bag limit, so target your rockfish last. Black rockfish continue to be a reliable sportfish to target this season. They have been reported be in good numbers and of great size near the entrances of the major bays of the North Gulf Coast, including Resurrection Bay. A wide variety of non-pelagic rockfish species can be caught near the rock cliffs off of Cape Resurrection. 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. Often, Pacific cod are incidentally caught while going after other species. Many fishermen are retaining them since they also make a good meal. Personal use dipnetting for smelt (hooligan) is closed.

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
The only fresh water open to salmon fishing is a small section Resurrection River, downstream of the Seward Highway and Nash Road (See map in Southcentral regulation summary on pg. 78). High water will make fishing difficult this week in the fresh water.
The remainder of the fresh water drainages in Resurrection Bay are closed to salmon fishing at this time.

Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Arctic Grayling
Dolly Varden are beginning their migration into freshwater; typically following in the pink and chum salmon. Try casting small lures or swinging bright maribou flies.

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
Lake fishing in the Seward area is fairly limited. Grouse Lake should be seeing a few sea-run Dolly Varden char; fishing will likely be slow, but this fishery has been known to produce some very nice char.