Area Sport Fishing Reports
Tanana

Archived Sport Fishing Report

June 30, 2021

* Just a reminder to all anglers, please do your part to help slow the spread of Covid-19 by practicing social distancing while sport and personal use fishing as well as when shopping for fishing supplies from your local store, and by wearing a face covering when social distancing is not possible.

Sport Fishing

Freshwater Fishing

The Chena River Youth-Only Fishery for Arctic grayling continues this holiday weekend! Any angler 15 years old or younger, can retain 1 Arctic grayling per day of any size from the lower Chena River (downstream from a regulatory marker 300 ft downstream of the Chena River Flood Control Project) on July 3-4. The following weekend (July 10-11) will be the last weekend for this fishery. Weather and water levels are expected to remain excellent for participants this weekend as well. Please remember Arctic grayling must not be retained in the Chena outside of the Youth-Only Fishery dates by anglers of any age.

Watch the ADF&G video, How to Fish for Arctic Grayling, for helpful tips on technique and gear.

Most area rivers are clear and low. The Tanana River and its tributaries are low but will be rising as all our bluebird days intensifies meltwater from glaciers.

Water levels in Minto Flats have dropped. Pike fishing has been good, but there is still limited dry land available for onshore use and/or camping. Reports are also good for George Lake, and water levels in the Tanana have come up enough for access from George Creek. Try fishing for pike with surfaces lure such as artificial frogs or mice. Large silver spoons and rubber fish patterns also work well.

Lake Fishing

Fishing Lake Trout in Fielding and 14 Mile Lake was excellent over the last weekend. No bait needed, just a single hook with copper or silver spoons and a splash of bright green or red/orange seemed to work well.

Most of the trails to the stocked lakes are dry with only a few muddy sections, this is the time to get out and explore some of our more remote stocked lakes such as Forrest or Kenna Lake. For those that would like to stick closer to the road system, nice rainbow trout were caught onshore at Quartz over the weekend. Try shrimp or cured eggs or even just a small spinner or spoon! To get more information on any of these lakes, or to explore others, check out the Alaska Lake Database.

Salmon

By emergency order, the Tanana River drainage is closed to sport fishing for king salmon. This closure will extend to chum salmon starting at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, July 1, 2021. These closures prohibit all sport fishing for king and chum salmon, including catch-and-release fishing. All king and chum salmon caught incidentally while fishing for other species may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately. For more information, see the Emergency Order information below.

King and chum salmon counting towers and sonar projects on the Chena and Salcha Rivers are currently running. The counting tower on the Chena River is operational, and they counted the first kings past the tower on Tuesday. The Salcha River counting tower began operational on Tuesday, with a pair of kings spotted below the tower setup by the counting and sonar crew while the tower was being installed.

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-CS-U-02-21 closes all waters of the Tanana River drainage to sport fishing for chum salmon. All chum salmon caught incidentally in the Tanana River drainage while fishing for other species may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately.
• Emergency Order 3-KS-U-05-21 closes all waters of the Tanana River drainage to sport fishing for king salmon. All king salmon caught incidentally in the Tanana River drainage while fishing for other species may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately.
• Emergency Order 3-NP-U-01-21 reduces the Minto Flats northern pike bag and possession limit.
• Emergency Order 3-R-U-02-21 restricts Piledriver Slough and Moose Creek to catch-and-release fishing for all fish species.

Don't forget to bring your 2021 sport fishing license. Help maximize social distancing by purchasing your sport fishing license at the ADF&G Online Store. You can print your license from the comfort of your home. Also, be sure to review Emergency Orders and the 2021 Northern Sport Fishing Regulations Summary Booklet for the area you are fishing in before you head out.

Interactive Fishing Location Maps

NEW! Check out the #wefishak page on the ADF&G website for the new gofishak interactive map to discover popular fishing locations and information on species run timing, fishing gear selections, and boat and angler access tips! It is still being fully developed, but there is some good information included on Interior rivers and lakes.

For More Information

Call the Fairbanks office at (907) 459-7200 or the Delta Junction office at (907) 895-4632 with any questions.