Area Sport Fishing Reports
Kodiak

July 7, 2025

Freshwater Fishing

• The Buskin sockeye run continues to be strong and the limit was increased to 10 per day. Fishing reports are mixed, but there has been some success at the mouth on incoming tides.
• Saltery is getting good numbers of sockeye, though it’s a little slower than last year. The limit is still 5 per day until more fish are counted at the weir. There sounds like decent numbers of fish holding from the Bed Springs to the Weir.
• Pasagshak has counted about 1,100 sockeye, though recent rains flooded the weir. From most accounts, there have been a lot of fish coming in the river and fishing has been good with each tide.
• Pinks are starting to show up around town and in many rivers. The Buskin is starting to get pinks and fishing near the mouth and from the beach should be good for bright pinks.
• No word on hatchery king salmon. Returns are expected at Salonie and Monashka this year but have been very small runs recently and expected to be the same in 2025.
• Dollies are still being caught off local beaches now with the mouth of the Buskin, Mission Beach and the beaches in Kalsin and Chiniak being the usual hot spots.

Saltwater Fishing

• King salmon fishing was good for the few days the weather was calm enough. The Fingers area sounds like the most popular spot at the moment but some folks are still finding fish between the Islands.
• Silvers are being caught as well at Buoy 4 and the Fingers. Pinks are starting to get thick as well.
• Halibut are being found in the usual places in Chiniak Bay with fish in the 20-40 lb range being most common. Kodiak Rocks, Buoy 4 and between Woody and Long Islands have been spots with recent success. Some recent reports indicate quite a few small fish (<5 lbs) showing up too.
• Rockfish fishing has been good with most rock piles and reefs in Chiniak Bay producing good catches. Lots of folks are figuring out the new rockfish regulations and having success finding a variety of species after they fill their limit of 2 black rockfish. Duskies can often be found in places that are common for trolling for salmon and are a good option to pursue. They tend to move around more than other species to feed on traveling schools of bait fish.
• Lingcod season opened Tuesday July 1, but with the weather, not many fish seemed to have been encountered so far.

Local Lakes

There are four lakes right in town that are stocked with rainbow trout: Lily, Dark, Island, and Abercrombie. Lily and Dark Lakes have the best fishing by most accounts but fishing from shore is a little tougher due to private land ownership around much of the lake shore. For a quick morning or evening fishing trip, Island and Abercrombie offer lots of spots to fish from shore or even the relatively new dock at Abercombie.

Special Species Information

• New rockfish regulations took effect April 1 for Kodiak and Afognak waters north of Dangerous and Cape Ikolik. This includes all the waters of Afognak, Raspberry and Shuyak Islands as well as Chiniak, Ugak and Marmot Bays and all of Whale Pass, Kupreanof Straight and the Westside of Kodiak Island. It is also in effect for all anglers, both resident and non-resident.
• Anglers fishing in these waters can keep 5 rockfish per day, but only 2 can be of a single species. This is similar to salmon bag limits in the Kodiak Road Zone and an example would be that an angler could harvest 2 black rockfish, 2 dusky rockfish and a yelloweye. Species ID guides are available in the Southwest Alaska Regulation Booklet, on the ADF&G website and in the Kodiak ADF&G office.
• The standard bag limit for yelloweye rockfish is still in effect Island wide, only one fish of your rockfish bag limit may be a yelloweye.
• After similar regulations were implemented last season, many anglers found that shifting their fishing behavior slightly resulted in increased rockfish catches of species other than Black Rockfish, which are typically most commonly caught. Dark Rockfish, Dusky Rockfish and other species can often be found just off the side of a rock pile or reef and in deeper water than black rockfish that typically prefer the top of and middle of these structures.
• Keep an eye out for some of the species you may not have realized we have in Kodiak: Widow, Yellowtail, Canary, Tiger, Northern and Silvergray rockfish are some of these.
• New for Kodiak waters are Emergency Orders restricting saltwater king salmon harvest. The Island-wide king salmon bag limit has been reduced to 1 fish per day, with no annual limit to align with the rest of the Gulf of Alaska for the 2025 season.

Emergency Orders

Please review the emergency orders and advisory announcements below in their entirety before heading out on your next fishing trip.

• NEW! Emergency Order 2-RS-4-22-25 increased the bag and possession limit for sockeye salmon in the Buskin River Drainage to 5 per day effective Wednesday June 18, 2025. This is a combined salmon bag limit, of which all 5 may be sockeye salmon.
• Emergency Order 2-RF-4-19-25 reduced the bag and possession limit for a single species of rockfish to 2 per day, 4 in possession north of Outlet Cape and Cape Ikolik. This emergency order is in effect from Tuesday April 1, 2025 through 11:59 pm. Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
• Emergency Order 2-KS-4-12-25 closed the Karluk River drainage (including the lagoon and its outlet stream) and the Ayakulik River drainage to king salmon fishing and restricted fishing gear to only one unbaited, single-hook artificial lure through 11:59 p.m. Friday, July 25, 2025.
• Emergency Order 2-KS-4-16-25 reduce the bag and possession limit for king salmon in the Kodiak Area to 1 per day from 12:01am Tuesday, April 1, 2025 through 11:59 p.m. Monday, September 15, 2025.

Don't forget to purchase your 2025 sport fishing license and king stamp! You can purchase and display your fishing license and king stamp, record your annual harvest (i.e. king salmon), access sport fishing regulations and locations, and so much more on your mobile device. Download the ADF&G Mobile App today. You can also purchase licenses through the ADF&G online store and print it off from the comfort of your own home. Make sure to review emergency orders, advisory announcements, and the 2025 Southcentral Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet for the area you are fishing before you head out.

For additional information, please contact the ADF&G Kodiak Area Office at (907) 486-1880.