Plenty Of Fishing Options For Prince Of Wales Island, Led By Coho

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

Prince of Wales Island Fishing Report

August 08, 2022

Sport fishing opportunities on Prince of Wales Island during August consist of marine fishing for king, coho, and pink salmon and bottomfish such as halibut, lingcod, and rockfish. Freshwater opportunities exist for trout, Dolly Varden, sockeye, pink, chum, and summer run coho salmon. Marine coho fishing is currently exclellent and should remain so for the next couple weeks.

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

King salmon fishing has been slow compared to recent years, but fish will be around through August.

Chinook Salmon regulations for 2022

• The resident daily bag limit is two fish over 28 inches;
• The nonresident daily bag limit is one fish with an annual harvest limit of three fish over 28 inches through June 30;
• From July 1 through July 15, the nonresident annual harvest limit is two king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length; any king salmon harvested from January 1 through June 30 will apply towards the two fish annual harvest limit;
• From July 16 through December 31, the nonresident annual harvest limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length; any king salmon harvested from January 1 through July 15 will apply towards the one fish annual harvest limit;
• Immediately upon landing and retaining a king salmon a nonresident must enter the species, date, and location on their sport fishing license or on a nontransferable harvest record.

Coho (silver) Salmon

Silver salmon are currently very abundant in marine waters around Prince of Wales and fishing has been and should remain excellent through August.

Sockeye (red) Salmon

Sockeye salmon are present in some of the drainages on Prince of Wales. Systems that get sockeye include Hatchery Creek and the Thorne, Sarkar, and Karta rivers.

Pink and Chum Salmon

Chum salmon catches in the salt waters of western POW have been higher than usual. This is likely due to the hatchery chum salmon release at Port Asumcion on Baker Island. Chum salmon are present in freshwater drainages such as Staney Creek and the Harris River. Pink salmon are present throughout the marine waters of Prince of Wales and have started entering most freshwater drainages.

Trout and Dolly Varden

Rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and Dolly Varden are available in many of the freshwater drainages of POW. Fishing is currently very good for small to medium size Dolly Varden in most creeks. Dolly Varden and trout feed opportunistically and will take a variety of lures and fly patterns including small spoons, spinners and fry and leech patterns. 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 is good and should remain so throughout the summer.

Lingcod

Lingcod fishing can be very good around Prince of Wales. Lingcod regulations can be found in the 2022 regulation summary.

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 the species targeted). 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 now 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: 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, rougheye, shortraker, 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

Please refer to the rockfish conservation page for additional information regarding rockfish identification and management.

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

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