Area Sport Fishing Reports
Yakutat

May 7, 2026

Freshwaters

Steelhead Trout

Its been a cold wet spring in Yakutat so far. Air temperatures have yet to reach 50 degrees Farenheit, while water temperatures have yet to reach 6 degrees Celsius, which is a benchmark for when steelhead start spawning en masse. Water discharge currently sits at 442 cfs at the time of this writing which is above average and more rain is expected this weekend and next Tuesday which will raise the levels even more. Wade fishing will be difficult for the foreseeable future. Fishing has been slow according to anglers and department observations. There arent alot of fish in the river and to complicate things, large numbers of sea lions have been hanging out in the lower river wreaking havoc. Not sure what they are feeding on, but remnants of hooligan, schools of salmon fry/smolt and even steelhead are all viable prey for them. Anglers have noted that the sea lions have been as far upriver as the weir site which will definately make fishing difficult down low. Based on weather and water temps, it is expected that the run could be late....or just low overall. The best fishing would be in the upper stretches near 9-mile Bridge to avoid the sea lions.

Saltwaters

King Salmon

Sportfishing for king salmon is open in Yakutat area marine waters. Fishing has been slow, but a few are being caught. Marine weather looks to worsen over the next week or so which will make fishing tough. Most anglers troll spoons or herring behind a flasher. Please check the department website below for the recent emergency order and advisory annoucements regarding 2026 regional king salmon regulations for Southeast Alaska.

Halibut

Halibut fishing is picking up. Some decent fish have been brought in over the last week, but its still early and weather has been marginal lately for getting out front. Fishing should start picking up this month.

Lingcod

Lingcod fishing is closed until May 16th. Please check the department website for the recent emergency order and advisory annoucements regarding changes to lingcod regulations in the Yakutat management area.

Rockfish

Fishing for rockfish should be excellent in the Yakutat area. Please check the department website for the recent emergency order and advisory annoucements regarding changes to rockfish regulations in 2026 for Southeast Alaska.

For further information, please get in touch with the Yakutat Area Sport Fish management biologist Jason Pawluk at (907) 465-4224.

Emergency orders can be found on our website.

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