Area Sport Fishing Reports
Tanana

Archived Sport Fishing Report

June 08, 2023

ADF&G News

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Local conditions

• After several bouts of rain last week, most rivers are beginning to drop and clear but some river boat launches remain muddy. In the Alaska Range, rivers are turbid and will remain high for a while as high elevation snowpack continues to melt due to the first appearance of summer (sunny and seventies) this week.
• Low elevation lakes are ice-free, but higher altitude lakes in the Alaska Range, such as Fielding Lake and Tangle Lakes, are still mostly ice covered but will likely break up by this weekend.

Freshwater Species

Stocked lakes

• As of June 2, a total of 181,128 fish had been stocked in 52 Interior lakes in the last three weeks. More than half of those fish - 86,409 – were catchable-size (9-10 inches) rainbow trout and another 10,355 catchable-size Arctic char were stocked. In addition, 41,101 fingerling (2-3 inches) rainbow trout and 43,263 fingerling coho salmon were stocked. Stocking will continue for the next two weeks extending angling opportunities into more rural locations of the drainage.
• Try fishing small pieces of shrimp under a bobber, flashy spoons, or spinners to entice fish in stocked lakes to bite.
• For a complete list of stocked lakes in the Interior and statewide, check out the Alaska Lake Database. You can see when lakes were stocked, how many fish were stocked and what kind of fish were stocked.

Arctic Grayling

• As Interior rivers drop and clear with the recent hot, dry weather, fishing for Arctic grayling should greatly improve. Anglers with spinning gear can use small spinners to attract the interest of fish while fly fishers can use any number of dry flies or nymphs to catch grayling. Mosquitoes have definitely emerged so mosquito patterns should work well, as will Arctic grayling standbys such as Elk Hair Caddis, Parachute Adams, Irresistibles, Royal Wulffs and Griffith’s Gnats.
• Starting June 1, anglers may keep 1 Arctic grayling a day of any size from the lower Chena River below the Moose Creek Dam. This new regulation is in effect from June 1 through March 31.
• Arctic grayling fishing in the Delta Clearwater River near Delta Junction is reported to be good for both spin and fly anglers. More fish are moving into the river daily and more insects are emerging, giving anglers a plethora of choices to lure in grayling.
• To learn more about fishing for Arctic grayling, check out ADF&G's "How to Fish for Arctic Grayling" video.

Lake Trout/Arctic Char

• Harding Lake is ice free and the period immediately after ice out is the perfect time to troll for lake trout and Arctic char before those fish move deeper in search of cooler water.
• Once the ice goes out in Fielding and Tangle Lakes, lake trout fishing in those water bodies should be very good. You can even try fishing from shore and find success.

Northern Pike

• Water levels in Minto Flats are still on the high side and there is limited to dry land available for onshore use and/or camping but that will be changing soon as water levels begin to drop. Try fishing big, flashy spoons or a hook baited with a chunk of whitefish or herring to lure pike in.
• Remember, as of June 1 the bag and possession limit for northern pike in the Minto Flats area is two fish, only one of which may be 30 inches or greater in length.
• As a reminder, northern pike fishing is not allowed in Harding Lake until the population fully recovers.

Burbot

• Burbot fishing downstream from the mouths of tributaries in the Tanana is great this time of year. Try fishing bait on the bottom of the river in back eddy areas and slow-moving waters in the mainstem of the Tanana River. Bait is currently not allowed in any tributaries of the Tanana River due to the closure of the king and chum salmon fisheries this summer.

Emergency Orders

Please review the Emergency Orders and Advisory Announcements below in their entirety before heading out on your next fishing trip:

• Emergency orders 3-KS-U-6-23 and 3-CS-U-7-23 issued March 29^th closed the sport fishery for king and chum salmon in all flowing waters of the Tanana River drainage effective April 5th. In addition, the use of bait is prohibited in all Tanana River tributaries through September 30.
• Emergency order 3-NP-U-10-23 issued May 1 reduces the bag and possession limit for northern pike in all lakes and flowing waters of the Minto Flats area to two fish, only one of which may be 30 inches or longer, effective from June 1 – October 14.

Additional info

• Both the Delta and Fairbanks offices have fishing rods to loan out as part of the ADF&G Rod Loaner Program. All you need is a current sport fishing license (for resident anglers 18 and older and non-residents 16 or older) to borrow a rod. You’ll have to provide your own tackle but rods are free of charge.
• Be sure to follow the ADF&G Sport Fishing Interior Alaska Facebook page to get the most current information about fishing in the area.
• Check out ADF&G’s public use cabin reservation system to see about renting a free public use cabin on one of five different stocked lakes in the Delta Junction area, as well as George Lake.
• The Tanana Valley Fisheries Center in the Ruth Burnett Sport Fish Hatchery at 1150 Wilbur Street in Fairbanks is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Stop in to say hi and see what’s growing in the hatchery.
• Be sure to review the 2023 Northern Sport Fishing Regulations Summary Booklet for the area you are fishing in before you head out.

For More Information

Call the Fairbanks office at (907) 459-7228 or the Delta Junction office at (907) 895-4632.