Area Sport Fishing Reports
Yakutat

Archived Sport Fishing Report

July 31, 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

Fishing for red salmon continues to be excellent on the Situk river. There have been over 120k fish counted past the weir so far. There are fishable groups of fish spread throughout the entire river, with the best fishing in the upper part of the drainage away from the majority of the pinks.

Pink Salmon

Pink salmon fishing is excellent in the Situk River. The best area to fish right now is in the lower river downstream of the weir.

Coho Salmon

Coho fishing is still slow on the Situk River, but a few fish are making it past the weir. The best area to fish right now is in the lower river downstream of the weir.

Saltwaters

King Salmon

Sportfishing for king salmon is open in Yakutat area marine waters. King fishing continues to be decent. Locations showing better success this past week have been Ankau, Monti Bay, Point Munoz, and the Log Dump. Bait is scattered throughout Yakutat Bay. A lot of small "shaker" (sub-legal) fish have been caught and released this last week and are throughout the area so anglers should be aware and measure their kings accordingly. Most anglers troll spoons or herring behind a flasher in about 40-80 feet of water along the shoreline or around pinnacles.

  • Anglers are required to have a king salmon stamp when targeting king salmon.
  • All king salmon less than 28" must be released.

Coho Salmon

Anglers continue to be catching some coho this past week, especially around Kahntaak Island. Limits aren't being caught yet, but fishing should continue to improve as the weeks progress. Anglers are troling herring, spoons, and hoochies with flashers, or you can mooch for them once you find a school. Anglers should be able to identify salmon so as not to inadvertently keep a king salmon.

Pink Salmon

Anglers have been reporting more pink salmon encountered over the past week, and fish have been seen jumping within the bay and the islands. Fishing should only improve from this point forward. Pinks are being caught while trolling for coho and king salmon, or pitching lures near the mouths of streams.

Halibut

Reports from anglers over the last week indicate fishing for halibut has improved some but is still considered a little slow. The majority of fish being caught are smaller. As the pink and coho salmon move further into Yakutat Bay fishing for halibut should improve within the islands.

Lingcod

Fishing for lingcod continues to be excellent. Try using jigs, darts, or mooching cut-plug herring near rocky structures or pinnacles.

Rockfish

Fishing for rockfish is 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.

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