Area Sport Fishing Reports
Prince of Wales Island

August 27, 2024

As Sepember approaches silver salmon begin to transit from salt to fresh water in ernest on Prince of Wales Island and that means good fishing for river anglers. Marine fishing is still productive for coho salmon as well as halibut, rockfish and lingcod in marine waters. Rain this weekend finally brought water levels up which will entice silvers to enter their freshwater destinations and distribute other salmon throughout drainages.

Check out the wefishak page on the ADF&G website for the gofishak interactive map to discover fishing locations and information on species run timing, fishing gear selections, and boat and angler access tips!

Chinook (King) Salmon

It has been a great year for king fishing around POW but king salmon fishing closed on August 26 due to allocative concerns. King fishing will reopen on October 1, 2024.

Coho (Silver) Salmon

Saltwater coho fishing is currently good around POW and should remain so through August. Fall run coho are now entering freshwater systems and will peak in mid-September. Drainages from medium sized creeks to the larger river drainages support fall coho salmon. Good angling options include Staney Creek, Harris River and the hatchery return in the Klawock River.

Pink and Chum Salmon

Pink and chum salmon are now present in the salt and freshwaters of POW. Pink salmon are now present in most creeks and their numbers will build through August as they start spawning.

Sockeye (Red) Salmon

Sockeye salmon are present in several drainages and are getting close to spawning. Most drainages with lakes have sockeye salmon but run timing can vary by drainage with fish spawning in some drainages such as Hatchery Creek. Drainages with sockeye salmon include the Thorne, Sarkar and Karta rivers and Hatchery, Eagle and Ratz creeks.

Trout and Dolly Varden

Rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and Dolly Varden are available in many of the freshwater drainages of POW. Trout and Dolly Varden are opportunisticaly feeding on salmon eggs, insects and sculpins. Productive drainages for trout include Luck, Klawock, and Sarkar lakes and Ratz Creek. Regulations regarding size limits, bag limits, and the use of bait can vary by waterbody, so please check the Southeast Alaska Sport Fish Regulation Summary.

Halibut

Halibut fishing is good and should remain so through the summer. Halibut are managed by NOAA fisheries and the size limit for guided anglers has been reduced from 40 to 36" or greater than 80" as of July 15 with a daily bag limit of 1 fish. In addition, guided anglers may not retain halibut on Fridays beginning July 19 and ending September 13, 2024.

Lingcod

Lingcod fishing can be excellent near rocky structure throughout the summer.

• The resident limit for lingcod is one per day, no size restrictions.
• The noresident annual limit for 2024 is one lingcod between 30 and 35 inches and one lingcod over 55 inches.

Rockfish

Rockfish can be caught year-round. There is a section on the Fish and Game website for identifying common rockfish of POW.

All sport fishing vessels are required to have at least one functional deepwater release device (regardless of species targeted), and anglers will be REQUIRED to use a deepwater release device to release rockfish to the depth it was hooked or to a depth of at least 100 feet. Please see the Southeast Alaska Sport Fish Regulation Summary or visit your local ADF&G office to see examples of rockfish release devices and learn about their use.

Demersal Shelf Rockfish

The retention of demersal shelf rockfish is open for residents of Alaska with a daily bag limit of one. Yelloweye remained closed.

Demersal shelf rockfish are closed to harvest for nonresidents.

Demersal shelf rockfish are the following species: quillback, copper, canary, china, tiger, and rosethorn rockfish.

Slope Rockfish

Some slope rockfish are common in marine waters surrounding POW. The most common species are silvergrey and vermilion rockfish.

• One per day; one in possession

Pelagic Rockfish

Pelagic rockfish provide good fishing in the marine waters surrounding POW.

• Season: year-round
• Five per day; ten in possession

For additional information regarding rockfish identification and management, please refer to the rockfish conservation page.

Regulation summaries and copies of the news releases are available at the Craig ADF&G office.

For further information, please contact the Prince of Wales Area Management Biologist: Craig Schwanke (907) 826-2498.