Area Sport Fishing Reports
Kodiak/Alaska Peninsula
September 29, 2020
Fall Fishing Report 2020
* Just a reminder to all our anglers, please do your part to help slow the spread of Covid-19 by following and reviewing the current State of Alaska Health Mandates in effect. This includes practicing social distancing while sport and personal use fishing and wearing a face covering when fishing and if you are needing fishing supplies from your local store as indicated in Health Alert 010.
* The Alaska Board of Fisheries adopted several proposals establishing new sport fish regulations for Kodiak Island, Alaska Peninsula, and Aleutian Islands at the Kodiak January 2020 meeting and the Anchorage March 2020 meeting. Please see the 2020 Southwest Sport Fishing Regulation Summary booklet for a complete summary of the Kodiak and Aleutian Islands sport fisheries regulations.
Freshwater Fishing
- With September ending with a large amount of rain, most returning coho salmon are in the rivers now. Fishing has been good in most drainages and should continue through at least mid-October. Hot spots have been Pillar, Monashka, and Lake Rose Tead, but fishing has also been good at the Buskin, Olds, and Salonie.
- Steelhead are available in a few rivers on the road system and several remote streams. The Buskin and Saltery have the largest steelhead runs near town and both are catch-and-release only, with no bait allowed after November 1. Steelhead runs peak in mid to late-October, but fish can come in through the winter months.
- The most popular steelhead runs are at the Karluk and Ayakulik rivers and typically are best in the month of October. Other large steelhead runs are at the Dog Salmon, Afognak, and Little rivers.
- Rainbows can be caught in the Buskin and Saltery rivers and lakes as well, and fishing has been great during fall and winter the last several years. However, it is catch-and-release only for rainbows in these drainages.
Saltwater Fishing
- King salmon fishing is typically good during all fall and winter months, but the weather is the biggest limiting factor. Buoy 3 has been the hotspot as of late.
- Halibut fishing can continue to be good through the fall but remember the month of January is closed to halibut fishing. Fall fishing spots include Whale Pass, Chiniak, and Kalsin reef and look to deeper waters as the water cools down.
- Don’t forget rockfish and lingcod can be caught through the fall months but lingcod season closes on January 1!
Local Lakes
- Rainbow trout fishing can still be really good even as the weather cools. Favorite fall fishing lakes include Lily, Abercrombie, Horseshoe, Heitman, and the Bells Flats lakes - Caroline, Aurel, Cicely, and Lee. Anglers are often using fly fishing gear this time of year with leech or scud patterns, but spinners can work as well!
Emergency Orders
Please review the Emergency Orders and News Releases below in their entirety before heading out on your next fishing trip.
- Emergency Order 2-SS-4-54-20 increases the coho salmon bag limit to two fish per day and in possession at the Pasagshak, Olds, and American river drainages effective through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, December 31, 2020.
- Emergency Order 2-RS-4-49-20 reopens sport fishing for sockeye salmon in the Saltery River drainage effective through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, December 31, 2020.
This is the last fishing report for the 2020 fishing season. This fishing report will be updated when additional information is available. For current seasonal information, please contact the ADF&G Kodiak Area Office at (907) 486-1880.
