Area Sport Fishing Reports
Haines/Skagway

May 2, 2024

May 2, 2024

Char and Trout

As the hooligan run comes to and end and juvenile salmon begin to emigrate, hungry Dolly Varden provide a great angling opportunity as they exit the lakes into the mainstem Chilkat river. Anglers report having good luck on Chilkoot River targeting Dolly and cutthroat trout and out the road on the Chilkat. These fish can be targeted in both fresh water and salt water near the mouths of the Chilkat, Chilkoot, and Taiya.

Shellfish

Pot fishing for shrimp and Dungeness crab is open year-round in the Haines and Skagway area saltwater.

• Non-Alaska residents with a sport fishing license can catch shellfish with these bag & possession limits:
  • Dungeness crab - 3 legal size males.
  • Shrimp - 3 quarts or pounds.
• Alaska residents catch shellfish under subsistence or personal use regulations with more liberal bag & possession limits. See the Southeast Alaska Shellfish Regulation Summary booklet for details.

All shrimp harvesters must print a no-cost permit from the ADF&G online store and record their daily pot fishing effort and harvest on the paper permit. The harvest information must be reported online, or the paper permit must be returned to ADF&G by December 31 each year.

King salmon

To conserve Chilkat River king salmon, retention of king salmon is not allowed from April 1 through December 31 in the Haines and Skagway area.

Sport Fishing Licenses

Alaska residents under 18 years old do not need a sport fishing license. Non-Alaska residents under 16 years old do not need a sport fishing license.

Residents of Yukon Territory in Canada may purchase an annual Alaska sport fishing license for the same price that Alaska residents pay. Yukoners are not Alaska residents, so Yukoners must comply with the nonresident regulations such as the number of shellfish pots, shellfish bag limits, and king salmon bag and annual limits. The Yukoner license is available under the nonresident alien category through the ADF&G online store or from license vendors in Haines and Skagway.

For more information about sport fishing in Haines and Skagway, call Area Biologist Alex Tugaw at 907-766-3638.