Area Sport Fishing Reports
Yakutat
Archived Sport Fishing Report
June 02, 2023
An excellent resource for planning a trip is the gofishak interactive map for Yakutat which provides information on popular fishing locations, species run timing, fishing gear selections and boat and angler access.
Freshwaters
Steelhead Trout
After the Memorial Day weekend rain event, water levels on the Situk River rose to near 1,000 cfs, making it difficult to fish. Currently water levels are below 400 cfs and very fishable. Steelhead fishing has essentailly come to an end, however a few fresh fish are still coming in down low.
Red Salmon
Department staff observed a few red salmon below the Situk weir yesterday while exiting the river. There were more steelhead than reds. More fish should continue to enter the Situk river and become catchable in a couple of weeks.
Dolly Varden
Dollies are verywhere in the Situk River drainage right now. Fishing is excellent.
Saltwaters
King Salmon
Sportfishing for king salmon is open in Yakutat area marine waters. King fishing this last week has been good. Fishing should be peaking over the next month. Locations showing better success this week have been Kahntaak Island, Monti Bay, and the log dump area. Bait is scattered inside the islands and should improve as water temperatures increase. Most anglers troll spoons or herring behind a flasher in about 40-80 feet of water.
Anglers are required to have a king salmon stamp when targeting king salmon.
Halibut
Reports from anglers over the last couple of weeks indicate tough fishing for halibut. Not only was there a long lasting storm in the area, but anglers are having a hard time finding fish compared to recent years. Fishing should improve as spring/summer progress.
Lingcod
Fishing for lingcod has been good. Try using jigs, darts, or mooch cut-plug herring near rocky structures or pinnacles.
Rockfish
Fishing for rockfish should be excellent in the Yakutat area. Try working small jigs or darts or mooching herring near any rocky structures or pinnacles under the water for the best results.
For further information, please get in touch with the Yakutat Area Sport Fish management biologist Jason Pawluk at (907) 784-3222.