The following is courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game:

Prince of Wales Island Fishing Report

August 11, 2025

August is a great month for fishing on and around Prince of Wales Island. King, coho, pink, sockeye and chum salmon are abundant as they migrate past, or to, Prince of Wales Island to their spawning destinations. Bottomfish such as halibut, lingcod and rockfish fish is very good in marine waters surrounding the island. Sockeye, pink and coho salmon are entering many fresh water drainages. Trout and Dolly Varden fishing is good with a vast number of lakes and creeks on the Prince of Wales road system to target them.

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

The harvest of king salmon reopened to nonresidents on August 4 and king fishing reports have been good on the west coast of Prince of Wales.

Chinook Salmon Regulations for 2025

• The resident daily bag limit is one fish over 28 inches.
• Nonresident annual harvest is one fish over 28″. Any king salmon harvested previously count toward the 1 fish limit.
• Fish such as king salmon, lingcod and demersal shelf rockfish must be recorded on a nonresident anglers license or harvest card immediately upon landing a fish intended for harvest.

Coho (silver) Salmon

Summer run coho salmon are present in some freshwater drainages and fall run coho start entering freshwater systems and will build in numbers into September. Most drainages have coho runs but good options are Staney Creek, Harris River and the hatchery return at Klawock River.

Marine coho salmon fishing is good and should remain so through August.

Sockeye (red) Salmon

Sockeye run timing varies greatly by drainage from June through August but sockeye are currently in many drainages such as Hatchery Creek, Karta and Sarkar rivers. Good sockeye salmon systems are the Thorne, Sarkar and Karta rivers, Hatchery, Ratz and Eagle creeks.

Pink and Chum Salmon

Pink and chum salmon are now present in marine and fresh waters and their numbers will build into August as they migrate to freshwater drainages for spawning.

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 feeding opportunistically on salmon fry, sculpins and aquatic insects. Productive drainages for trout include Luck, Klawock, and Sarkar lakes, the Thorne River, 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 will remain good through the summer.

Lingcod

Lingcod are especially abundant on the west coast of Prince of Wales but can be caught on inside waters as well.

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, including yelloweye is open for residents of Alaska with a daily bag limit of one and possession limit of two.

Demersal shelf rockfish, including yelloweye, will be open for nonresidents from July 1 through August 25 with anannual limit of one fish.

Demersal shelf rockfish are the following species: yelloweye, 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.

• Resident and nonresidents daily bag limit of one per day; one in possession

Pelagic Rockfish

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

• Season: year-round
• Three per day; six in possession

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

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.