Area Sport Fishing Reports
Kodiak

Archived Sport Fishing Report

June 05, 2024

Freshwater Fishing

• Sockeye are starting to build up in the Buskin though counts have been slow at the weir. With all the rain and high water in the last week, fishing is slow and they will be few passing the weir until the water clears up and comes down.
• Litnik had a decent push of fish last week but counts slowed down with the rain. Sounds like the water is pretty high but there are some fish in the lagoon.
• Dollies are still in the Buskin with some in the lake and throughout the river too. Fishing can be good at times with the high water in places with some slower water or eddies. The Lake and Beaver Pond are good bets right now.

Saltwater Fishing

• June is prime time to fish dollies from local beaches. Mission Beach, the mouth of the Buskin, and the beaches in Kalsin Bay and Chiniak are great spots to try.
• King salmon fishing was pretty slow and not much effort occurred over the last week due to the weather.
• Halibut, cod and rockfish effort was low and few reports of folks venturing out to fish came in due to the weather.
• This week looks nicer and most of the halibut and king salmon effort has been focused on the Fingers/Buoy 4 and between Woody and Long islands when the weather cooperates.
• Rockfish are also being found at most reefs and rock structures in Chiniak Bay. Black rockfish are found at nearly every rock and reef, but other species such as dark, dusky, yellow tail and widow rockfish can often be found by fishing just a little bit deeper and to the sides of the same rocks and reefs.
• Don’t forget that lingcod season doesn’t open until July 1! There are already lots of reports of anglers catching lingcod, so plan ahead to release them unharmed.

Local Lakes

ADF&G and Pillar Creek Hatchery staff will be working on stocking rainbow trout throughout the road system over the next 7-10 days. Rainbows are stocked in 17 lakes at about 2 grams. No catchable rainbows are stocked on Kodiak Island and these fish will take about 3 years to get to catchable size. An up-to-date list of stocked lakes is available in the 2024 Southwest Alaska Regulations Summary and all of our stocked lakes have established public access. Contact the Kodiak ADF&G Sportfish office if you have any questions about access, we also have some maps of access trails available too!

Special Species Information

• New rockfish regulations took effect June 1 for Kodiak and Afognak waters north of Dangerous and Outlet Capes. This includes all the waters of Afognak, Raspberry and Shuyak Islands as well as Chiniak, Ugak and Marmot Bays and all of Whale Pass and Kupreanof Straight. 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 for 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 non-pelagic and yelloweye is still in effect Island wide, only 2 of your rockfish bag limit may be non-pelagic species and only one of these may be a yelloweye.

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-RF-4-17-24 reduced the bag and possession limit for a single species of rockfish to 2 per day, 4 in possession north of Outlet Cape and Dangerous Cape. This emergency order is in effect from Saturday June 1, 2024 through 11:59 pm. Tuesday, December 31, 2024.
• Emergency Order 2-KS-4-16-24 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. Tuesday, December 31, 2024.

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 ADF&G Kodiak Area Office at (907) 486-1880.