Area Sport Fishing Reports
Yakutat

Archived Sport Fishing Report

April 26, 2021

* Just a reminder to all our anglers, please do your part to help slow the spread of Covid-19 by following and reviewing the current State of Alaska Health Mandates in effect. This includes practicing social distancing while sport and personal use fishing and wearing a face covering when fishing and if you are needing fishing supplies from your local store as indicated in Health Alert 010.

Freshwaters

Steelhead Trout

Well spring arrived in Yakutat over the last 10 days in full force. We have had warm days with sunny and clear skies. Temperatures have even got into the 50's and 60's and made fishing conditions cozy for humans. The problem has been overnight lows continue to drop below freezing each night. The forecast calls for some clouds and rain this week which should change things up.

Water conditions on the Situk River have improved a little. Water levels have come down some to around ~250cfs. This is an ideal level for wading in the Situk River....not too deep, not too shallow. The problem that remains is the water temperature is still well below average for this time of year and will most likely stay low until most of the snow melts. The snow pack along the upper river still remains high and isn't going away anytime soon. Just how cold are the water temperatures? They are the coldest we've seen in over 10 years, and colder than 2012 and 2013, when we saw some of the latest run-timing for steelhead on the Situk River on record. Access to the river has improved with the many anglers already out having packed down good trails in the snow along the river.

So what does all this mean for steelhead fishing on the Situk River? Well, as was communicated to staff by guides and returning private anglers, "this is the worst fishing I've seen in over 20 years on the Situk River." Fishing remains to be slow to say the least. In what is typically the peak of fishing on the river, anglers are having a hard time finding fish let alone fish that are interested in striking their gear. There are reports and observations of fish entering the river near the lower landing, but it hasn't translated to increased catch rates. There have been no reports yet of fish dropping down from the lake either. The cold water is leading to lethargic fish behavior, and the sunny clear days are leading fish to hunker down and hide.

There are some very large tides this week, and it will be interesting to see if they push more fish into the Situk River. Until water temperatures warm up significantly and more fish enter the river, fishing will continue to be slow.

Saltwaters

King Salmon

Sportfishing for king salmon is open in Yakutat area marine waters. Fishing reports over the last 10 days have been pretty positive with anglers hooking into kings both inside Yakutat Bay amongst the islands and also outside near "the can." Most anglers are trolling spoons or herring behind a flasher near the shoreline or around rocky structures. Try trolling your gear between 20-60 feet deep.

Halibut

Halibut fishing has also picked up recently. Good marine weather has allowed anglers to fish outside Yakutat Bay and get into some nice fish. Halibut fishing should only improve from this point forward as more fish move onshore.

Lingcod

Lingcod fishing is closed until May 16th.

Rockfish

Fishing for rockfish should be excellent in the Yakutat area.

For further information, please contact the Yakutat Area Sport Fish management biologist Jason Pawluk at (907) 784-3222.

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