Area Sport Fishing Reports
Haines/Skagway

Archived Sport Fishing Report

May 21, 2019

Check out the Haines/Skagway interactive map to discover popular fishing locations and information on species run timing, fishing gear selections, and boat and angler access tips thru the Sport Fish wefishak pages.

Spring char and trout fishing opportunities

The waters in Chilkoot River and Lake remain clear, and Dolly Varden fishing has been good, with a few cutthroat trout also available. Other glacier-fed waters, such as Chilkat River and Taiya River, have become silty now that glaciers have resumed melting. Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout fishing can still be good in clear water tributaries and lakes, such as Mosquito Lake and Chilkat Lake.

Regulations specific to Chilkoot Lake and Chilkoot River:

  • Dolly Varden - 4 fish bag and possession limit, no size limit.

In the remainder of Haines-Skagway area waters, the Dolly Varden bag and possession limit is 10 fish.

Regulations specific to Mosquito and Chilkat Lakes:

  • Bait is not allowed.
  • Cutthroat and rainbow trout - 2 fish bag and possession limit, with a slot length limit of 14-inch minimum to 22-inch maximum length required to keep a fish.

In the remainder of Haines-Skagway area waters, bait is allowed, and the cutthroat and rainbow trout slot length limit is 11-minimum to 22-inch maximum.

Shellfish

Pot fishing for shrimp and Dungeness crab is open year-round in the Haines and Skagway area salt water. Non-Alaska residents catch shellfish with a sport fishing license with the following bag & possession limits:

  • Dungeness crab - 3 legal size males.
  • Shrimp - 3 quarts or pounds.

All shrimp harvesters must print a no-cost permit from the ADF&G online store and record their daily pot fishing effort and harvest on the paper permit. The permit must be returned to ADF&G, or the harvest information must be reported online, by December 31, 2019.

Personal use red and blue king crab fishing is currently closed in southeast Alaska.

Sockeye salmon

The sockeye salmon run in the Chilkoot River will begin in mid-June and continue through August.

King salmon

The Chilkat River king salmon population is critically low at this time, so the following conservation measures are in effect in the Haines/Skagway area:

  • King salmon fishing is closed in Chilkat Inlet now through June 30.
  • The retention of king salmon is prohibited in all waters of Lynn Canal north of Sherman Rock now through December 31. Any king salmon caught must be released immediately and returned to the water unharmed.

Sport Fishing Licenses

Alaska residents under 18 years old do not need a sport fishing license. Non-Alaska residents under 16 years old do not need a sport fishing license.

Residents of Yukon Territory in Canada may purchase an annual Alaska sport fishing license for the same price that Alaska residents pay. However, Yukoners are not Alaska residents, so Yukoners must comply with the non-resident regulations such as number of shellfish pots, shellfish bag limits, and king salmon bag and annual limits. The Yukoner license is available from license vendors in Whitehorse, Haines, and Skagway.

For more information about sport fishing in Haines and Skagway, call Area Biologist Richard Chapell at 907-766-3638.

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