Area Sport Fishing Reports
Juneau

Archived Sport Fishing Report

March 04, 2021

Winter Fishing Opportunities in the Juneau Area

During winter around Juneau, most anglers take a few months off and prepare for the upcoming spring and summer seasons. Although spring Dolly Varden fishing is still a few weeks away, angling opportunities still exist during March, including winter king salmon fishing, shellfish harvesting, and if the rains let up and we get some more cold weather, ice fishing.

Winter king salmon trolling in saltwater

Good spots to try for winter king salmon around Juneau include Auke Bay, Spuhn Island, and the backside of Douglas Island. Try fishing a bit shallower this time of year than you would in late summer, find the bait balls, and concentrate your fishing around the tide changes. Try running a whole herring or hoochie behind a large hotspot-type flasher. Hot king salmon colors include white, red, and chartreuse, and any flashers with UV reflectivity for the reduced light during the winter hours. With the onset of colder temperatures, anglers are reminded to be aware of icing conditions and weather forecasts. Make sure to check the weather before heading out and let someone know where you are planning to go and when you plan on returning.

Anglers targeting winter king salmon rearing in local marine waters around Juneau may fish under the following Southeast Regionwide Regulations, EXCEPT as modified below during the spring, starting April 1, for the marine waters near Juneau, Seymour Canal (adjacent to King Salmon River), and upper Taku Inlet (adjacent to Taku River):

Southeast Regionwide Sport Fishing Regulations

Alaska resident:

• The bag and possession limit is THREE king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;

Nonresident:

• The bag and possession limit is ONE king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;
• The nonresident annual limit is FOUR king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;
• Immediately upon landing and retaining a king salmon a nonresident must enter the species, date, and location, in ink, on the back of their sport fishing license, or on a nontransferable harvest record.

All Anglers:

• From October 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021 a sport angler may use two rods when fishing for king salmon, a person using two rods under this regulation may only retain salmon.

Marine waters near Juneau except for Seymour Canal and upper Taku Inlet

(The northern portion of District 9, District 10, Sections 11-A, 11-B, 11-C, District 12, Portion of Section 13-C southeast of a line between Nismeni Pt. and a point on the Chichagof Island shoreline at 57°35.59' N. lat., 135°22.33' W. long., Sections 14-B and 14-C, and District 15 south of the latitude of Sherman Rock)

April 1 – June 14:

The RETENTION of king salmon is PROHIBITED, any king salmon caught must be released immediately.

June 15 - December 31:

Alaska resident:

• The bag and possession limit is THREE king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length.

Nonresident:

• The bag and possession limit is ONE king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;
• Immediately upon landing and retaining a king salmon a nonresident must enter the species, date, and location, in ink, on the back of their sport fishing license, or on a nontransferable harvest record.

In the waters adjacent to the Taku River

(upper Taku Inlet north of a line from Point Bishop to Point Greely),

April 1 through June 30, 2021:

All Anglers:

• NO RETENTION of king salmon. All king salmon caught must be released immediately.

In the waters adjacent to the King Salmon River

(Section 11-D, Seymour Canal north of 57° 37' N. latitude),

April 1 through June 30, 2021:

All anglers:

• CLOSED to king salmon fishing, all anglers may not target or retain king salmon.

July 1 - December 31:

Alaska resident:

• The bag and possession limit is THREE king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length.

Nonresidents:

• The bag and possession limit is ONE king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;
• The annual limit is FOUR king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;
• Immediately upon landing and retaining a king salmon a nonresident must enter the species, date, and location, in ink, on the back of their sport fishing license, or on a nontransferable harvest record.

A separate news release will be issued at a later date announcing king salmon regulations for the Designated Sport Terminal Harvest Areas where Alaska hatchery-produced king salmon are expected to return.

Shellfish harvesting

Shellfish are also available throughout the year. Try for some tasty Tanners, Dungeness, and King Crab.

King, Tanner, and Dungeness Crab

King crab fishing is only open to Alaska residents. A sport fishing license and a Southeast Alaska Regional Personal Use King Crab Permit are required. These are available at the ADF&G online store. Personal Use red and blue king crab fishing is closed in Peril Strait, Lynn Sisters, Seymour Canal, Pybus Bay, Gambier Bay, Excursion Inlet, and Juneau Section 11-A. The rest of N. Southeast Alaska is open for crabbing. Residents can harvest ONE male red or blue king crab from waters open to fishing outside of the closed areas listed above. The Department’s 2020 stock assessment survey indicated that the poundage of legal male red king crab available for harvest was below the minimum threshold, warranting conservative daily bag and possession limits to promote stock health while still offering harvest opportunity.

Please check for Emergency Orders, legal-size and pot configurations, and restrictions online. Section 11-A is currently closed to Alaska resident PU king crab fishing. Stay tuned for the Juneau area PU announcement using the link above. Harvest can be reported online. Please check the 2021 Southeast Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet pages 33-36 for regulations specific shellfish.

Shrimp

Sport and personal use shrimp fisheries in the Juneau area will remain closed until further notice. The closed area consists of all marine waters of Section 11-A north and west of a line extending from a regulatory marker near point Bishop to the Coast Guard marker and light on Point Arden, extending to a line at the latitude of Little Island light, and east of a line from Little Island light to Point Retreat light. Check the Sport and Personal Use News Release.

Outside of the 11-A area, sport and personal use fishing remain open. Sport and personal use shrimpers who have a valid sport fishing license must also have a free shrimp permit available on the ADF&G online store. Participating anglers must sign their permit in ink to make it valid and have the permit in possession while taking shrimp in Southeast Alaska. Shrimp limits and gear requirements for sport and personal use shrimp fishing cab be found on pages 33-36 of the 2021 Southeast Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary. Reporting of effort and harvest is required and must be submitted to the department even if you did not fish.

Clams

Every fall/winter season, the Douglas office gets questions about harvesting clams in the Juneau area. ADF&G does not recommend harvesting clams from any waters in the Juneau area due to the possibility that the clams may contain Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins. Currently, no beaches in the Juneau area are monitored on a regular basis (i.e- ‘certified’) for PSP toxins. If you harvest, you do so at your own risk of PSP poisoning. Sporadic sampling has been conducted by the Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research (SEATOR) project, but clams of any species and at any time during the year may still contain toxic levels of PSP. Please navigate to the following Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) web page for more information about PSP.

Interactive Fishing Location Maps

NEW! Check out the wefishak page on the ADF&G website for the new Juneau/Glacier Bay 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 gofishak application