Area Sport Fishing Reports
Yakutat
Archived Sport Fishing Report
June 16, 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
Red Salmon
Red salmon are passing the Situk weir in good numbers for this time of year. So far the crew has counted over 3,100 fish through June 15th, and this doesn't include the sockeye that migrated upstream undetected when the weir was pulled due to high water over Memorial Day weekend. There are good groups of fish below the weir as well. Fishing should be good right now with the abundance of fish below the weir and lack of fishing effort currently, and should only improve in the next coming weeks.
Dolly Varden
Dolly Varden fishing is good throughout the Situk river right now.
Saltwaters
King Salmon
Sportfishing for king salmon is open in Yakutat area marine waters. King fishing this last week has been spotty. A lot of small "shaker" (sub-legal) fish were caught and released this week and are throughout the area. Fishing should be peaking over the next month. Locations showing better success this week have been Kahntaak Island, Monti Bay, and Johnstone Pass. Bait is scattered throughout Yakutat Bay. 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.
All king salmon less than 28" must be released.
Halibut
Reports from anglers over the last week indicate better fishing for halibut. Some real nice fish were landed this last week. The forecast looks good starting this weekend into next week so anglers should be able to get out front easier. Fishing should improve as spring/summer progress.
Lingcod
Fishing for lingcod has been excellent. 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.