Area Sport Fishing Reports
Prince of Wales Island
Archived Sport Fishing Report
June 15, 2022
Anglers on Prince of Wales primarily target king salmon and bottomfish during June, although the freshwater trout fishing is great too. The Department has technicians sampling sport fishing boats returning from salt water to Craig and Klawock, please cooperate with our staff while they collect valuable information regarding Alaska's saltwater fisheries.
Check out the wefishak page on the ADF&G website for the gofishak interactive map to discover fishing locations and information on species run timing, fishing gear selections, and boat and angler access tips!
Chinook (King) Salmon
King salmon fishing reports have been fair on the west side of Prince of Wales and should improve through June. King salmon fishing on the east side of Prince of Wales finally opened on June 15 and the anglers that have patiently endured the inside water king closure should have good odds of catching king salmon.
Chinook Salmon regulations for 2022
- The resident daily bag limit is two fish over 28 inches.
- The nonresident daily bag limit is one fish with an annual limit of three fish over 28 inches.
- Immediately upon landing and retaining a king salmon a nonresident must enter the species, date, and location on their sport fishing license or on a nontransferable harvest record.
Sockeye (red) Salmon
Sockeye salmon are just starting to enter some of the drainages on Prince of Wales. Systems that get sockeye in June include Hatchery Creek and the Thorne River. Water levels are very low which may prevent sockeye from entering fresh water.
Trout and Dolly Varden
Rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and Dolly Varden are available in many of the freshwater drainages of POW. Fishing can be excellent in June. Dolly Varden and trout feed opportunistically and will take a variety of lures and fly patterns including small spoons, spinners and fry and leech patterns. Productive drainages for trout include Luck, Klawock, and Sarkar lakes, the Thorne River, and Ratz Creek. Regulations regarding size limits, bag limits, and the use of bait can vary by waterbody, so please check the Southeast Alaska Sport Fish Regulation Summary.
Halibut
Halibut fishing is good and should remain so throughout the summer.
Lingcod
Lingcod fishing can be very good around Prince of Wales. Lingcod regulations can be found in the 2022 regulation summary.
Rockfish
Rockfish can be caught year-round. There is a section on the Fish and Game website for identifying common rockfish of POW.
All sport fishing vessels are required to have at least one functional deepwater release device (regardless of the species targeted). Anglers will be REQUIRED to use a deepwater release device to release rockfish to the depth it was hooked or to a depth of at least 100 feet. Please see the Southeast Alaska Sport Fish Regulation Summary or visit your local ADF&G office to see examples of rockfish release devices and learn about their use.
Demersal Shelf Rockfish
The retention of demersal shelf rockfish is now open for residents of Alaska with a daily bag limit of one. Yelloweye remained closed.
Demersal shelf rockfish are closed to harvest for nonresidents.
Demersal shelf rockfish are the following species: yelloweye, quillback, copper, canary, china, tiger, and rosethorn rockfish.
Slope Rockfish
Some slope rockfish are common in marine waters surrounding POW. The most common species are silvergrey, rougheye, shortraker, and vermilion rockfish.
- One per day; one in possession
Pelagic Rockfish
Pelagic rockfish provide good fishing in the marine waters surrounding POW.
- Season: year-round
- Five per day; ten in possession
Please refer to the rockfish conservation page for additional information regarding rockfish identification and management.
Regulation summaries and copies of the news releases are available at the Craig ADF&G office.
For further information, please feel free to contact the Prince of Wales Area Management Biologist: Craig Schwanke (907) 826-2498.