UTERJanuary
Winter feeder kings on the herring
Downrigger herring deep off the points near Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau.
Ketchikan to Yakutat
Southeast Alaska fishing
What's biting in Southeast Alaska in October: lingcod at its peak, with Coho (silver) salmon, Chinook (king) salmon and steelhead around too. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows 9 fish here month by month, from Ketchikan to Yakutat.
Last silvers; fall steelhead at Yakutat
The Inside Passage: a thousand islands of rainforest, deep fjords, kelp-lined points and the exposed outer coast off Sitka and Craig, with hundreds of salmon streams and hatchery release sites.
KetchikanCraigWrangellPetersburgSitkaJuneauYakutat
Updated
Now · October
Last silvers; fall steelhead at Yakutat
Bays and terminal areas for late coho; the Situk for fall steelhead.
Coho (silver) salmonSteelheadChinook (king) salmonLingcod
This month here
From the season calendar, best firstPeakLeavingAroundAroundAroundAround
Lingcod
Late fish.
Coho (silver) salmon
Last silvers in the bays and terminal areas.
Chinook (king) salmon
Steelhead
Fall-run steelhead in the Situk and Yakutat streams.
Pacific halibut
Rockfish
The water
The tide here
Mixed semidiurnal, 14–20 ft
Big tides — 15 to 20 ft — through narrow straits. The current at the points is what feeds the salmon; halibut fishing is a slack-tide game.
Structure that matters
Pass / inletLedge / hard bottomArtificial reefChannel edgeBeach / surfMarker / buoyRiver
After a cold front
Fall and winter gales close the outer coast; the inside waters stay fishable for feeder kings. Summer is the window — long days, and the fish run the points on the tide.
Month by month
What's happening, and what to throwFebruary
Winter kings
Feeders on the herring schools; calm days only.
March
Feeders; the first spring kings
Herring spawn draws kings and everything else; check ADF&G's king emergency orders.
April
Spring kings at the capes; spring steelhead; halibut move up
Situk spring steelhead; halibut start on the banks.
May
Returning kings; halibut on the bars; lings open
Herring on a flasher at the points on the change; octopus and herring on the gravel bars for halibut.
June
Peak kings; peak halibut
Sitka, Craig and Ketchikan's Mountain Point; slack-tide halibut; first sockeye and terminal chum.
July
Kings to coho; pinks, sockeye and chum everywhere
Coho (silver) salmonChinook (king) salmonPink (humpy) salmonSockeye (red) salmonChum (dog) salmonPacific halibutLingcod
Coho on the outer coast; pinks at every creek mouth; sockeye at the terminal mouths.
August
Coho derby month; pinks peak; halibut
Flasher and hoochie in the top 40 ft at the capes; a pink spoon off any creek mouth.
September
Peak inside coho; halibut go deep
Coho stack at the river mouths and hatchery sites.
October · now
Last silvers; fall steelhead at Yakutat
Bays and terminal areas for late coho; the Situk for fall steelhead.
November
Feeder kings; late fall steelhead
Winter king season starts on the inside.
December
Winter kings
Feeders on the herring on calm days.
Fish guides for Southeast Alaska
When, where and what to use, fish by fishChinook (king) salmonChum (dog) salmonCoho (silver) salmonLingcodPacific halibutPink (humpy) salmonRockfishSockeye (red) salmonSteelhead
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