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Sport Fish Division of the Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game

Prince William Sound Area Fishing Report

Current Report



Current Sport Fishing Report

September 02, 2009

Emergency Order and Regulation Reminders

  • Shrimp season closes on Wednesday, September 16. Remember to send in your catch reports.

Fresh waters

Salmon

  • Anglers report good catches of coho (“silver”) salmon on Ibeck Creek near Cordova. The Eyak River remains turbid, but fishing conditions have improved over the week.  Coho are distributed throughout the delta streams and fishing opportunities abound.
  • Coho salmon can be found in many of the streams throughout the sound, although it may take some exploring to find good numbers of fish.
  • For coho salmon, try Pixie spoons, Vibrax spinners and Egg-sucking Leech flies. Work through your tackle box to find what works best.

Trout, Dolly Varden, Grayling

  • Sea-run cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden are feasting on salmon eggs and flesh this time of year. Try olive-colored leeches, fly patterns or beads that imitate salmon eggs, or silver spinners.
  • Dolly Varden will begin moving into higher tributaries over the next month to spawn.

Salt waters

Halibut, Lingcod & Rockfish

  • Halibut angling is starting to taper off, though fish continue to be caught near Montague and Hinchinbrook.
  • Lingcod can often be found in mid-water feeding on salmon and will chase a jig up to the boat if you retrieve it quickly from the bottom.
  • Remember to move to another location when you start to catch demersal rockfish as they have conservative bag limits and do not survive release well.

Salmon

  • Silvers are now distributed throughout the sound. Watch for jumping fish or try trolling with a Hootchie or cut herring. Trolling at depths between 20 and 60 feet has been the most productive.
  • Silver angling around Whittier continues to be spotty – persistent anglers have been rewarded with a few nice fish.
  • Silver fishing at Allison Point and the Valdez harbor was consistent last week with most anglers returning with limits after a half-day of fishing.  

Shellfish

  • Shrimping continues to be productive in the sound with most catches being reported at depths around 600 feet.