Area Sport Fishing Reports
Yakutat

Archived Sport Fishing Report

August 10, 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 is coming to an end on the Situk river. The weir ended with over 127k sockeye counted, the highest ever seen at its current location. Probably the best fishing is in the upper part of the drainage where the pinks are less abundant.

Pink Salmon

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

Coho Salmon

Coho fishing is still slow on the Situk River. Pinks overwhelmingly outnumber coho so its hard to find any right now. The best area to fish would be the lower river early in the morning.

Saltwaters

King Salmon

Sportfishing for king salmon is open in Yakutat area marine waters. King fishing has slowed. 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

Fishing for coho has been good this last week in the salt water. The best fishing has been on the outside of Kahntaak Island, and near Point Munoz and Ocean Cape. Limits are being caught, but it takes finding where the fish are at. Anglers are trolling herring, spoons, and hoochies with flashers, or you can mooch for them once you find a school. Anglers should be able to identify the different salmon species so as not to inadvertently or illegally keep a king salmon.

Pink Salmon

Fishing for pink salmon is good right now. Fish continue to be seen jumping within the bay and the islands, and along the shorelines near streams. Fishing should be peaking soon. 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 is decent. 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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