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

Yakutat Fishing Report

May 12, 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

Steelhead Trout

Water conditions are good on the Situk right now. Current discharge is at 209cfs and slowly rising. Rain is forecast today but then dryer weather is on the way for the weekend and most of next week. Fishing conditions are good right now.

The pulse of fish that moved in with last weeks rains was short-lived. Its looking like this years run is similar to the previous two years low abundance runs. Time will tell with the weir currently up and running what the final counts will be, but based on fishing reports and staff observations, it should be similar to the previous two years. Spawning is currently underway and very few fish are moving in down low. Fishing is decent to slow depending if you can hit the holes first. It should slow down from this point forward. Anglers should be aware that there is no fishing in a 2-mile section of the Upper Situk River through May 15th to protect spawning steelhead.

Saltwaters

King Salmon

Sportfishing for king salmon is open in Yakutat area marine waters. King fishing this last week has been spotty, but fish have been caught. Locations within the islands, the Pinnacles, and out front of the bay are producing. Bait is primarily near the mouth of the bay and to a lesser extent inside the islands, but should improve as water temperatures increase. Most anglers troll spoons or herring behind a flasher.

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

Halibut

There have been more reports this last week of halibut being caught near Yakutat with some nice fish being brought in. Fishing should only continue to improve as spring/summer progress.

Lingcod

Lingcod fishing is closed until May 16th.

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.