Area Sport Fishing Reports
Kodiak

Archived Sport Fishing Report

August 02, 2016

 Kodiak Area

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

Emergency Orders and regulation reminders

• Marine boat anglers returning to any port on the Kodiak road system from May 31 - August 31 may not fillet, mutilate, or de-head king salmon until they have been brought to shore and offloaded, unless the fish have been consumed or preserved on board.
• Effective June 4, the bag limit for sockeye in the Afognak River (Litnik) is increased from 5 to 10 fish per day.
•  Effective June 9, the bag limit for sockeye in the Buskin River is increased from 2 to 5 fish per day.
• Effective July 6, the bag limit for sockeye in the Saltery River is increased from 5 to 10 fish per day.
• Effective July 14, sportfishing for sockeye salmon is re-opened in the Pasagshak River drainage.

Fresh waters

Salmon

• Department of Fish and Game counting weirs on the Olga, Dog Salmon, Karluk, and Ayakulik rivers continue to operate to count returns of sockeye salmon. Sockeye runs elsewhere are nearing their end for the season and many weirs have been pulled. Returns of coho salmon to the Buskin River will soon be counted at the lower, floating weir near Bridge 2. The goal for this run is 4,700 to 8,700 fish.
• King salmon returns to the American and Olds rivers are virtually over and few fish remain, those that are still in the rivers are very dark and near spawning.
•  More than 9,000 sockeye have been counted in the Buskin River already, but it is past the peak of the run and few sockeye remain in the river.
• Afognak River (Litnik) has more than 30,000 sockeye counted and the run is virtually over, though a few fish may found yet. The bag limit has been increase to 10 sockeye per day but the weir has been pulled for the season.
• Sockeye are in at Saltery Cove and more than 50,000 have been counted through the weir. The run is past the peak now and will be trailing off soon, but most reports indicate that there are still lots of fish in the river. The bag limit has been increased to 10 fish per day.
• The Pasagshak sockeye run has started out weak, but came back strong. The fishery was re-opened for sockeye fishing and the escapement goal was achieved. Fishing has been slow at times but sockeye should continue to come in for about 2 more weeks. The bag limit for sockeye is 2 per day.
• Pink salmon are in at local rivers but numbers are lower than the last several years. By most accounts there are fewer fish this year but they are much bigger. Popular places to fish pinks include Russian Creek, the Olds and American rivers and many of the beaches in Chiniak.
• Silvers should be showing up in the coming weeks. Look to the mouths of rivers on the incoming tides for early silvers. Most silver runs on Kodiak peak in mid-September.
• After Kodiak salmon counting weirs begin operating anglers can find daily updated counts at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/FishCounts/ .

Dolly Varden

• Dolly Varden are prevalent in most of the road side creeks. Popular places to fish dollies are the American River, Buskin River, and the near-shore or intertidal areas of Myrtle and Roslyn creeks. Dollies can be found in any of Kodiak’s into the fall. The Olds River also appears to have a large return of Dollies this year.

Lake Fishing

• August can be an excellent time to fish rainbow trout in the stocked lakes along the Kodiak road zone, as most of the lakes are warm and the fish are actively feeding. Although ADF&G currently stocks only sterile juvenile trout, some lakes with a stocking history dating to the 1950s may also contain spawning populations of adult fish. Be sure to check the local sport fishing regulations for a current list of stocked lakes as harvest of rainbow trout is only allowed in lakes that are currently stocked.

Salt waters

Halibut

• Halibut fishing has been good by most reports and will be nearing the peak fishing productivity now. There have been many reports of anglers catching halibut while trolling for king salmon as well as while targeting them in Chiniak and Marmot bays. Popular places to fish halibut in the spring are Whale Pass, Cape Chiniak and Williams Reef. Reports have been coming in that many fish are larger than the last several years, averaging between 30 and 40 pounds and larger.

Salmon

• Trolling for Chinook (king) salmon in Kodiak’s marine waters has become very popular in recent years. Kings can be fished successfully year-round, though fishing can be difficult to predict.
• Recent reports indicate that trolling has been excellent. Popular places to troll including Buoy #4, Whale Pass, Cape Chiniak and between Woody and Long islands. Kodiak king salmon average 20 pounds, but fish up to 70 pounds are occasionally caught.
• Silver salmon are showing up in Chiniak and Marmot bays and fishing should pick up into early August. Silvers can often be caught just off-shore in places like Buoy 4, and near Woody Island. In the coming weeks look to near shore waters such as Kalsin Bay and near the Buskin River.
• The annual Kodiak King Salmon Derby sponsored by the Kodiak Association of Charter Operators (http://www.kodiakkingsalmonderby.com ) is ongoing.

Other salt water fishing

• Black rockfish are able to be caught near rock-pinnacles and many other sub-surface structures and fishing can be good year round. They can also be caught from shore, with likely places including some of the points in Monashka Bay and the breakwaters at Dog Bay harbor.
• Lingcod season opened July 1 and there are some reports that fishing has been good and the abundance of lingcod has been high.