Area Sport Fishing Reports
Upper Copper/Upper Susitna

September 13, 2024

Fall Fishing Report-Final

This is the last fishing report for the summer fishing season. This fishing report will be updated when lakes freeze up and ice fishing gets underway. For current sport fishing information, please contact the Glennallen office at (907) 822-3309.

Local Conditions

• Most rivers are running low and clear. Even glacial rivers like the Klutina clear up a lot in the fall.

Chitina Personal Use Fishery

• The Chitina Subdistrict personal use dip net salmon fishery is currently open and will remain open through the end of the season at 11:59 p.m. Monday, September 30^th. There have been reports of silvers and even some very late sockeye salmon being caught by dipnetters.
• The department urges dipnetters to respect the rights of private landowners in the area and familiarize themselves with the land ownership in the area before fishing. For information on access across private lands contact Chitina Native Corporation at (907) 823-2223 or Ahtna, Inc. at (907) 822-3476.
• Detailed information about this fishery can be found on the Chitina Personal Use Salmon Fishery web page of the ADF&G website.
• Information hotline for Chitina personal use fishery: 907-822-5224.
• If you haven't participated in this fishery before, be sure to watch the 4-part video series How to Dipnet for Salmon at Chitina on the ADF&G website or on the ADF&G Youtube channel.

Glennallen Subdistrict Subsistence Fishery

• The Glennallen Subdistrict subsistence salmon fishery is currently open and will remain open through September 30th.

Online Harvest Reporting

• Harvest information must be reported online. If you got your permit online, the system will recognize you once you enter your permit number. If you got a paper permit at a vendor or an ADF&G office, you may still report your harvest online, but you will have to enter your name, address, and sport fish license number.
• You may also log and report your personal use harvest through the ADF&G mobile app. If you take this route, make sure you open the app when you have service for your logged harvest to upload to the reporting database.
• Please note, if you used the ADF&G mobile app to record your Chitina Personal Use Dipnet Permit harvest but are still receiving this reminder to report, please open the app while in phone service to transmit your records to the department. Any harvest recorded on the app while out of cell service were not automatically transmitted to the department. Simply reopen/launch the app once back in cell service and all logged harvest records will be automatically transmitted.

Sport Fishing

• Lake trout and burbot: Lake Trout are moving into spawning areas in local lakes. Expect good fishing out to about 20 feet of water. Burbot are starting to spread out from deeper waters and should be feeding heavily.
• Arctic grayling: These fish are on the move and good fishing can be had nearly anywhere. Now is the time to hit the main stem Gulkana for good sized fish.
• Dolly Varden: The Little Tonsina River and the upper Klutina River are always a good choice for Dollies. Also try along the Nabesna and McCarthy Roads, the fish may be a bit smaller, but they are more plentiful. For even smaller Dollies try fishing the Tiekel River which runs along Richardson Highway on the way to Valdez.
• Several popular lakes recently received a new batch of stocked rainbow trout. Lakes that were recently stocked include Tex Smith Lake, Pippin Lake, Two Mile Lake, Old Road Lake and Round Lake. For information about stocked lakes in the Upper Copper River drainage visit the Alaska Lake Database.
• For a guide to local area small fisheries, check out Sport fishing Alaska rivers and lakes in the Upper Copper/Upper Susitna River Basin. This guide lists all the fisheries, species available and mile markers along all the major highways crossing the Upper Copper and Upper Susitna Area.
• When releasing fish, practice proper catch-and-release techniques to promote sustainable fisheries and helps ensure Alaska's fishing legacy remains healthy and intact well into the future. It's truly up to the angler to choose to be a steward of the resources that comprise Alaska's unique natural world.

Salmon

• Sockeye salmon: The Gulkana River is the place to go for sockeyes. Target Sourdough Camnpground and above. Most of the late Gulkana River run has moved through the lower river reaches.

Emergency Orders

• There are currently no EO’s in effect in the UCUSMA.

ADF&G News

• You can 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 Northern Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary Booklet for the area you are fishing before you head out.
• The Glennallen ADF&G office has 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 check out the ADF&G Youtube channel for a wide variety of how-to videos, as well as videos that highlight the research projects undertaken by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.

For additional information, please contact the ADF&G Glennallen office at (907) 822-3309.