Area Sport Fishing Reports
Anchorage

August 29, 2024

Fall Fishing Report-Final

This is the last fishing report for the 2024 fishing season. This fishing report will be updated when additional information is available in the spring. For current seasonal information, please contact the Anchorage office at (907) 267-2218.

Freshwater Fishing

Salmon

• Bird Creek is open to sport fishing for all species except king salmon. Fishing has been slow and the run has basically come to an end. Anglers may find a few late arriving coho (silver) salmon into early September.
  • Reminder: Bird Creek is only open to sport fishing for salmon other than kings from its mouth up to a marker approximately 500 yards upstream. Anglers may still use bait at Bird Creek and the coho salmon bag limit remains 3 per day.
  • Coho salmon fishing on Campbell Creek has been slow and the coho are already beginning to blush up. Campbell Creek may be the best option for coho salmon in the Anchorage area until it closes on September 30th. Coho salmon can be found in deeper holes around the Taku-Campbell Park and Arctic Boulevard. Anglers have found success by drifting roe under a slip bobber or casting medium-sized spinners.
    • Reminder: Anglers may still use bait on sections of Campbell Creek and the coho salmon bag limit remains 3 per day.
  • By emergency order, Ship Creek is closed to all sport fishing until September 30th.

Rainbow Trout/Dolly Varden/Arctic Char

Rainbow trout fishing on Campbell and Chester creeks will be fair to good until freeze up. Try casting small spinners in deep holes on Campell Creek near Taku-Campbell Park, Arctic Boulevard, or Dowling Road or fishing egg patterns behind spawning salmon.

Local Lakes

Rainbow trout fishing will be good throughout the Anchorage management area until ice up. As the water temperature cools down from the heat of the summer, lake fishing can be very productive.
Fall rainbow trout stockings began in late August and landlocked king salmon stocking begins in October.
Shore-based anglers will have good success at Delong, Jewel, and Taku-Campbell lakes in Anchorage and Lower Fire Lake in Eagle River. Try slowly stripping wet flies or fishing bait under a bobber.
If you have canoe or kayak, fishing Mirror, Sand, and Campbell Point lakes are very productive throughout the fall.

Special Species Information

Northern Pike

• Northern pike are not native to Anchorage area lakes. Lower Fire Lake was treated for pike in the fall of 2022, and all pike were eradicated. This lake has been stocked with catchable rainbow trout and is a great location to take a canoe or kayak out to fish. Lower Fire Lake was most recently stocked with rainbow trout on June 18^th.
• If you catch a pike in any Anchorage area lake, do not release it and immediately report it to the pike reporting page online.

Emergency Orders

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

• Emergency Order 2-SS-2-56-24 closes Ship Creek to sport fishing for all species from its mouth upstream to a cable 100 feet downstream of the Chugach Power Plant Dam through September 30, 2024.
• Emergency Order 2-SS-2-51-24 reduces the bag and possession limit for salmon, other than king salmon, 16 inches or greater in length to three fish, of which only one may be a coho salmon for all fresh waters of the Anchorage Bowl Drainages Area, excluding the stocked waters of Bird and Campbell Creeks. Furthermore, this emergency prohibits the use of bait in all flowing waters of the Anchorage Bowl Drainages Area, excluding Bird and Campbell Creeks.

Don't forget to purchase your 2024 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 2024 Southcentral Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet for the area you are fishing before you head out.

For additional information, please contact the Anchorage Area Office at (907) 267-2218.