Area Sport Fishing Reports
Petersburg

Archived Sport Fishing Report

May 29, 2020

King Salmon

King salmon regulations for areas where Alaska hatchery produced king salmon will be returning have now been announced. Starting June 1, king salmon will be open to retention inside the Wrangell narrows terminal harvest area and within the Anita Bay terminal harvest area. The City Creek release site will open to king salmon retention on June 15. Please see the link to emergency orders at the bottom of this page for boundary lines along with bag and possession limits. This information is also posted at boat harbors and launches.

Outside of these hatchery areas the majority of marine waters in the Petersburg/Wrangell area remains closed to king salmon retention through June 14 while District 8 remains closed to retention through July 14. For detailed information including maps of areas affected, please see the news release announcing king salmon regulations in the Petersburg/Wrangell area released 2/10/20 which is available on our website. http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/EONR/index.cfm?ADFG=region.NR&Year=2020&NRID=2880

Dolly Varden and Trout

Now is a great time to fish for Dolly Varden and trout. In freshwater these species are actively feeding as water temperatures are warming. Lakes with good fishing opportunity are now ice free. Try fishing around log jams, cut banks, and eddy lines for these aggressive species.

Dolly Varden and coastal cutthroat can also be found in marine nearshore areas as they cruise the shorelines often feeding on juvenile salmon. Anglers may try fishing nearshore areas around the outlet of streams, within harbors and other marine shorelines.

Halibut

Anglers have been reporting good success rates when fishing for halibut. Typically, halibut catch rates increase as we progress into the summer and peak in the early fall.

Lingcod

The sport fishery for lingcod is now open. Nonresident anglers are reminded that size limits are different between northern and southern Southeast Alaska. Please refer to the advisory announcement addressing lingcod to review the regulations for the area you intend to fish. For residents, lingcod regulations are the same across Southeast with a bag limit of 1 daily and 2 in possession with no size limit.

Rockfish

There have been some changes to rockfish regulations since last fishing season. Pelagic rockfish regulations remain the same with a daily bag limit of 5 and possession limit of 10 in the Petersburg, Wrangell, and Kake area. Slope rockfish species now have a daily bag and possession limit of 1. The demersal shelf rockfish species are closed to retention (including yelloweye). A helpful species identification guide has been published on the ADFG website. Please see current emergency orders for a full description of these management actions.

Anglers are reminded that a rockfish release device is now required to be used whenever releasing rockfish and a rockfish release device must be onboard your vessel whenever sport fishing in marine waters.