Area Sport Fishing Reports
Northwest

June 5, 2026

This report is intended for both the Northwest and the North Slope Management Areas.

Local Conditions

Rivers are open throughout the Northwest/North Slope Management Areas, but in some places snowpack can still be found in the headwaters, and rivers are still running high. Rapidly increasing temperatures anticipated on the North Slope this week will accelerate snowmelt and bring rivers up quickly. Norton Sound and Kotzebue Sound rivers are dropping and clearing up nicely. Most lakes are still mostly ice-covered, with open leads around the perimeter.

Sport Fishing

Resident Species

• Anglers are starting to target Dolly Varden and Arctic grayling in Norton Sound Rivers as they feed on outmigrating salmon fry. Smolt imitation flies work best, but small jigs and spoons can work, too. Fishing for Dollies can be particularly good on the Sinuk, Pilgrim, Nome, and Unalakleet Rivers. It will be a week or two before river conditions in the North Slope drainages are suitable for fishing.
• Fishing for Arctic char, lake trout, and Arctic grayling in North Slope lakes can be good in the open leads along the shore while the water is still cold, but the lake trout and Arctic char will move into deeper water as the temperatures rise later in the summer.
• Northern pike should be about done spawning now and will soon disperse to feeding areas. The Kuzitrin and Pilgrim Rivers near Nome are good spots, as are the many sloughs and off-channel oxbow lakes of the larger Kobuk, Selawik, and Noatak Rivers.
• A surprisingly large number of sheefish are being caught along the seawall in Kotzebue now. Herring are spawning nearby which might explain why they are there. Sheefish begin their upstream migration to the spawning grounds in the Kobuk and Selawik Rivers around July 1, and fish can be caught near the Kobuk River villages of Noorvik and Kiana about a week later.

Anadromous species

• No salmon have been reported in the nearshore waters in Norton Sound yet, and it will be at least another week or two before they begin to enter area rivers. Kotzebue Sound typically doesn’t see salmon until early July.

Emergency Orders

Please review the Emergency Orders and Advisory Announcements below in their entirety before heading out on your next fishing trip:

• Emergency Order 3-KS-W-01-26 Closes sport fishing for king salmon in all fresh waters from Bald Head to Point Romanof. This closure includes, but is not limited to, the Unalakleet, Shaktoolik, Koyuk, Ungalik, Inglutalik, and Golsovia river drainages. All king salmon caught incidentally in the waters described above while fishing for other species may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately.

ADF&G News

Don't forget to purchase your 2026 sport fishing license! Download the ADF&G Mobile App today. You can purchase and display your fishing license and king stamp, record your annual harvest (i.e. king salmon), access sport fishing regulations and locations, and much more on your mobile device. You can also purchase licenses through the ADF&G online store and print it off at home. Make sure to review Emergency Orders and Advisory Announcements, and the 2026 Northern Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary Booklet for the area you are fishing before you head out.

For More Information

Call Northwest and North Slope Area Management Biologist Brendan Scanlon at (907) 459-7268.