ADFG’s Haines/Skagway Fishing Report

April 26, 2022

Check out ADF&G’s new gofishak interactive map to discover popular fishing locations and information on species run timing, fishing gear selections, and boat and angler access tips!

Salt Water Fishing

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.

Char and Trout

Many Dollies and cutties emigrate in late spring to feed in salt waters near the Chilkat and Chilkat River mouths for the summer.

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.

Fresh Water Fishing

Char and Trout

Spring fishing conditions still prevail, with low and clear water in the Chilkat River and Chilkoot River. Emigrating salmon fry are the major food source for Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout.

Dolly Varden and Cutthroat Trout spend the winters in lakes or in deep waters of the Chilkat River. Many Dollies and cutties emigrate to salt waters near the Chilkat and Chilkat River mouths.

Chilkat Lake and Mosquito Lake have special regulations to protect cutthroat trout:

• Bait is not allowed.
• Cutthroat and rainbow trout: 2 fish bag and possession limit, with a slot limit of 14-inch minimum to the 22-inch maximum length required to keep a fish.

In the remainder of the Haines and Skagway area fresh and salt waters, bait is allowed, and the regional length limit for cutthroat and rainbow trout is 11-minimum to the 22-inch maximum.

Chilkoot Lake and Chilkoot River have a special Dolly Varden bag limit:

• Dolly Varden: 4 fish bags and possession limit, no size limit.

In the remainder of Haines-Skagway area salt and fresh waters and most of Southeast Alaska, the Dolly Varden bag and possession limit is 10 fish.

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 Richard Chapell at 907-766-3638.