Area Sport Fishing Reports
Juneau

Archived Sport Fishing Report

July 05, 2022

King Salmon Fishing around the Juneau Area

Since June 20, ADF&G Marine Creel samplers interviewing marine boat anglers in the Juneau area sampled more than 300 king salmon, with most of the harvest coming from within the Juneau Hatchery Sport Harvest Area (HSHA). Most boats found success fishing in Fritz Cove while a few harvested king salmon in Lena Cove. Shoreside anglers were observed at Fish Creek, Lena Cove, in front of the Macaulay Hatchery, and the mouth of Auke Creek. Regulations for the Hatchery Sport Harvest Area are as follows:

Sport Fishing Regulations for King Salmon in Hatchery Areas near Juneau:

The hatchery-produced king salmon regulations for the designated saltwater hatchery sport harvest area (see map 1) will be in effect from 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, June 1 through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, August 31, 2022. These new regulations are as follows:

• The daily bag and possession limit is FOUR king salmon of any size;
• King salmon harvested by nonresidents in the designated saltwater hatchery sport harvest area DO NOT COUNT toward their annual limit.

The department is liberalizing sport fishing regulations in the designated saltwater hatchery sport harvest area due to the number of returning hatchery-produced king salmon exceeding broodstock needs for the hatchery program. See map 1.

Map 1. Sport Fishing Regulations for the Hatchery Sport Harvest Areas near Juneau

Sport Fishing Regulations for King Salmon outside Juneau Hatchery Areas:

Since June 15, anglers have seized additional opportunities to harvest king salmon outside of the Juneau Hatchery Sport Harvest Area (HSHA). Marine boat and shoreside anglers were most fruitful harvesting king salmon along the Breadline and in the southern Gastineau Channel area between the Rock Dump and Dupont, particularly in the waters near Sheep Creek. Further away from Juneau, marine boat anglers who made the trip to the outside waters of Cape Cross and Cross Sound near Yakobi Island were rewarded with king salmon. Please note, as of July 1, the king salmon sport fishing regulations outside the Juneau Hatchery Sport Harvest Area have changed. The new regulations are listed below:

Revised 2022 Regional King Salmon Sport Fishing Regulations for the Juneau Area:

Alaska resident:

• The resident bag and possession limit is two king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;
• From October 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023, a resident sport angler may use two rods when fishing for king salmon; a person using two rods under this regulation may only retain salmon.

Nonresident:

• The nonresident bag and possession limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;
• From January 1 through June 30, the nonresident annual harvest limit is three king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;
• From July 1 through July 15, the nonresident annual harvest limit is two king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length; any king salmon harvested from January 1 through June 30 will apply towards the two fish annual harvest limit;
• From July 16 through December 31, the nonresident annual harvest limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length; any king salmon harvested from January 1 through July 15 will apply towards the one fish annual harvest limit;
• Immediately upon landing and retaining a king salmon a nonresident must enter the species, date, and harvest location on their sport fishing license or on a nontransferable harvest record.

Bottom Fishing around the Juneau Area

Over the last two weeks, ADF&G Marine Creel samplers interviewing marine boat anglers observed a drastic increase in the number of halibut harvested in the Juneau area. Since June 20, anglers reported a total of over 800 halibut caught, over 600 of which were harvested. Most of the halibut harvested came from the waters around north Shelter Island, Lincoln Island, Benjamin Island and west to Lynn Sisters. Furthermore, anglers reported harvesting over 200 rockfish, consisting of mostly Dusky rockfish caught in the waters near Pt. Retreat, False Pt. Retreat, Shelter Island (Saginaw and Favorite Channels), and Lincoln Island.

Please help our marine creel personnel collect their marine boat angler survey information so that ADF&G can continue to sustainably manage sport fish species in our marine waters.

Finally, anglers are reminded that rockfish regulations have changed for the 2022 season. Harvest opportunity for demersal shelf rockfish, excluding yelloweye, opened for Alaska resident anglers on Thursday, April 14, 2022.

Resident anglers:

• The daily bag and possession limit is one demersal shelf rockfish, excluding yelloweye.

Nonresident anglers:

• Demersal shelf rockfish may not be retained.

Demersal shelf rockfish open to residents are quillback, copper, China, canary, tiger, and rosethorn. This action allows the limited harvest of demersal shelf rockfish for residents while protecting the sustainability of yelloweye rockfish. Despite conservative management action yelloweye rockfish biomass has decreased 60% in the last 20 years and will remain closed to retention. A helpful webpage is available on the Fish and Game website to assist anglers with identification.

Other Rockfish regulations

• Slope rockfish: 1 per day, 1 in possession (all anglers).
• Pelagic rockfish: 5 per day, 10 in possession (all anglers),
  • except in Sitka (CSEO area) where nonresident limits are 3 per day, 6 in possession (Map in the Southeast Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary).
• When releasing any rockfish, anglers must use a deepwater release mechanism to return the fish to the depth it was hooked or to a depth of at least 100 feet.
• All vessels must have at least one functional deepwater release mechanism on board and readily available for use when saltwater sport fishing activities are taking place.

Juneau Roadside Fisheries

Pink and chum fry are in the nearshore waters around the Juneau roadside and anglers are reporting catches of Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout in marine and freshwaters.

Fish Creek and Fish Creek Pond

Anglers are reminded that from June 1-August 31, the daily bag and possession limit for king salmon in the freshwaters of Fish Creek and Fish Creek Pond is 4 fish, any size and any king salmon harvested by non-residents do not count toward their annual limit. Please note that within Fish Creek Pond, anglers may use bait, may snag, and may use weighted hooks, lures, and treble hooks with a gap greater than ½ inch between the point and shank. However, anglers may NOT use bait, or snag, or snagging hooks in Fish Creek itself. Although the marine waters surrounding the mouth of Fish Creek fall under Hatchery Sport Harvest Area regulations, anglers cannot snag in saltwater at the mouth of Fish Creek within a 200-yard radius of the creek mouth. Snagging is allowed in salt waters outside of that 200-yard radius.

Dolly Varden/cutthroat trout fishing

Anadromous Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout have moved into saltwater and can still be caught at the mouths of local creeks such as Salmon Creek, Sheep Creek, and Cowee Creek as they feed on emigrating salmon fry and smolts. Using small smolt imitation fly patterns or small spinners and spoons is the best way to catch these fish. There will also be some fish that do not leave their "overwintering" sites and head for the ocean. Known as "residents", these fish stay in their home lake, pond, or stream the entire year. While these fish may move around in the system to take advantage of food or environmental conditions, they will be present for your fishing pleasure all year. Anglers have reported catching a few hatchery-released rainbows in the Dredge Lakes area in Glacier, Moraine, and Crystal lakes. Note that only un-baited, artificial lures or flies may be used year-round in Dredge Lakes. The use of bait is prohibited.

In all drainages crossed by the Juneau road system, as well as the saltwater adjacent to the Juneau road system to a line ¼ mile offshore, cutthroat and rainbow trout bag limits (in combination) are 2 daily, 2 in possession with a 14-inch minimum and 22-inch maximum size limit. Dolly Varden limits are 2 daily, 2 in possession, no size limit. Anglers should check the 2022 Southeast Alaska Sport Fishing Regulation Summary Booklet for special regulations specific to the stream or lake they intend to fish.

Marine Shellfish Fisheries

Shellfish harvesting

Personal use king crab fishing reopened July 1, as did sport and personal use Tanner crab.

King Crab

Personal use 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. Please check for Personal Use 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 later this year using the link above. Harvest must be reported online. Please check the 2022 Southeast Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations for regulations specific to shellfish.

Dungeness and Tanner Crab

For Alaska residents in the Juneau area, licensed resident anglers can keep 20 Dungeness males, 6.5" minimum width. While taking Dungeness crab, 5 pots or 10 rings per person may be used, with a max of 10 pots or 20 rings per vessel. While taking Tanner crab, no more than 4 pots or 10 rings per vessel may be used. In total, no more than 5 pots per person and 10 pots per vessel may be used taking shellfish regardless of pot type.

For non-residents in the Juneau area, licensed non-resident anglers can keep 3 male Tanner and Dungeness crab (in combination). Tanner males need to be 5.5" minimum width and Dungeness males need to be 6.5" minimum width.

Shrimp

Sport and personal use shrimp fisheries in the Juneau area (Section 11-A) 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.

Outside of the 11-A area, sport and personal use fishing remains 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 2022 regulation summary booklet. Reporting of effort and harvest is required and must be submitted to the department even if you did not fish.

Clams

Every spring/summer 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 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