Lots Of Sockeye Passing Through Situk River Weir

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

Yakutat Fishing Report

June 26, 2023

An excellent resource for planning a trip is the gofishak interactive map for Yakutat which provides information on popular fishing locations, species run timing, fishing gear selections and boat and angler access.

Freshwaters

Red Salmon

Red salmon continue passing the Situk River weir in good numbers for this time of year. So far the crew has counted over 13,600 fish through June 25th. There are good groups of fish spread throughout the river. Fishing is good right now and should be for the next few weeks.

Dolly Varden

Dolly Varden fishing is good throughout the Situk river right now. Try drifting small beads or flesh patterns through deep runs.

Saltwaters

King Salmon

Sportfishing for king salmon is open in Yakutat area marine waters. King fishing this last week was spotty, but with some good days sprinkled throughout. A lot of small “shaker” (sub-legal) fish have been caught and released this last week and are throughout the area so anglers should be aware and measure their kings accordingly. Fishing should be peaking over the next few weeks. Locations showing better success this week have been Monti Bay, Johnstone Pass, and the Log Dump. Bait is scattered throughout Yakutat Bay. Most anglers troll spoons or herring behind a flasher in about 40-80 feet of water along the shoreline or around pinnacles.

Anglers are required to have a king salmon stamp when targeting king salmon. 

All king salmon less than 28″ must be released.

Halibut

Reports from anglers over the last week indicate good fishing for halibut. Some nice fish continue to be landed. The forecast looks decent this week and into the holiday weekend so anglers should be able to get out front occasionally. Anglers are catching some nice fish jigging while drifting out front.

Lingcod

Fishing for lingcod has been excellent. Try using jigs, darts, or mooch cut-plug herring near rocky structures or pinnacles.

Rockfish

Fishing for rockfish should be excellent in the Yakutat area. Try working small jigs or darts or mooching herring near any rocky structures or pinnacles under the water for the best results.

For further information, please get in touch with the Yakutat Area Sport Fish management biologist Jason Pawluk at (907) 784-3222.