States·AK

Alaska fishing

News-desk briefs whose primary water is Alaska.

US Fishing AKNews deskOctober 1, 2026
Upper Chilkat Inlet king salmon retention returns Oct. 1 after summer sanctuary
ADF&G Sport Fish Emergency Order 1-KS-F-22-26 barred king retention in upper Chilkat Inlet north of Letnikof Cove Light from July 16 through Sept. 30. Retention under existing sport rules reopened Oct. 1, 2026.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 28, 2026
Bristol Bay’s 2026 sockeye run finishes at 45.7 million
ADF&G’s Sept. 22 season summary: the preliminary inshore sockeye run was 45.7 million, 4 percent above the forecast and 8 percent under the 20-year average. Commercial harvest was 30.1 million sockeye. Preliminary exvessel value was about $264 million.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 25, 2026
Southeast drift gillnet Week 40 opens Section 1-B Sunday through Thursday
ADF&G’s Week 40 announcement opens Section 1-B from 12:01 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, through noon Thursday, Oct. 1. Pearse and Portland Canals stay closed north of Akeku Point. Districts 6, 8, and 15 are closed. Week 39’s preliminary harvest is 6,405 salmon, mostly coho.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 25, 2026
Prince of Wales coho hit prime time in the rivers as saltwater slows
ADF&G’s Sept. 17 Prince of Wales report calls mid-September prime time for bright freshwater coho, with Klawock open to bait since Sept. 15, while saltwater salmon slow and halibut stays good.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 24, 2026
Late-September Blue Sheet: Alaska salmon still about 87.5 million
ADF&G’s preliminary Blue Sheet, fetched Sept. 24, puts the 2026 statewide commercial salmon harvest at 87,513 thousand fish — more coho and chum than the desk’s Sept. 10 snapshot, with Bristol Bay sockeye still the bulk of the sockeye total.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 22, 2026
Tanana District 6 subsistence restrictions lift Sept. 22 at 8 a.m.
A Federal Subsistence Management Program bulletin removes Tanana River drainage subsistence restrictions. Subdistrict 6-A and the Upper Tanana open to all species around the clock at 8 a.m. Sept. 22 with 7.5-inch and smaller mesh.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 22, 2026
North Gastineau Channel saltwaters reopen to sport fishing after Macaulay broodstock secure
ADF&G EO 1-CO-E-30-26 reopened north Gastineau Channel saltwaters near Macaulay Hatchery at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 19 through Dec. 31, 2026, after enough coho for broodstock. Coho bag and possession in the reopened area: six of any size.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 21, 2026
NMFS closes blackspotted and rougheye rockfish retention in Central and Western Aleutians
NMFS IB 26-35 prohibited retention of blackspotted and rougheye rockfish in the Central and Western Aleutian districts of the BSAI at noon Alaska time Sept. 9 for the rest of 2026 after the 325-metric-ton TAC was reached or about to be.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 18, 2026
Resurrection Bay Sept. 16: coho pickup in the bay; freshwater still waiting on rain
ADF&G’s Sept. 16 North Gulf Coast report: saltwater coho picked up toward the head of Resurrection Bay and near town; the river and lagoon are still slow on low water. Youth-only Seward Lagoon stays open through Oct. 5.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 17, 2026
ADF&G closes Sitka’s Bear Cove and Deep Inlet to coho through Oct. 31
Emergency Order 1-CO-D-29-26 shut sport fishing for coho in Bear Cove near Medvejie Hatchery and in Deep Inlet from Sept. 15 through Oct. 31 after ADF&G had collected zero of the 2,250 coho needed for broodstock.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 17, 2026
Southeast red king crab opens Nov. 1 as a competitive fishery, GHL 213,076 lb
ADF&G will open the 2026/27 Southeast commercial red and blue king crab fishery as a competitive opener at 10 a.m. Nov. 1 with a regionwide guideline harvest level of 213,076 pounds — the second straight year above the 200,000-pound threshold.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 15, 2026
ADF&G Bristol Bay Sept. 14: Togiak coho good-to-excellent; Wood River fair-to-good
ADF&G’s Sept. 14 Bristol Bay sport report: Togiak River coho good to excellent through mid-to-late September, Wood River coho fair to good, and resident rainbow, Arctic char, and grayling still great to excellent on flesh and eggs.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 14, 2026
ADF&G: Kenai coho still handing out morning/evening limits; Quartz Creek closes Sept. 15 upstream
The Sept. 11 Northern Kenai sport report says Kenai River coho are still producing limits early and late. Quartz Creek above the Sterling Highway Bridge closes to all sport fishing Sept. 15–Oct. 31; Hidden Lake closes Sept. 15–Nov. 30. The two-coho EO stays through Nov. 30.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 10, 2026
Alaska’s commercial salmon harvest climbs past 87 million fish
ADF&G’s preliminary Blue Sheet statewide total is about 87.4 million salmon so far in 2026, led by pink and sockeye, with figures still updating and subject to change.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 8, 2026
Kenai Silver Salmon Derby canceled for 2026
Kenai’s Chamber-run Silver Salmon Derby is sitting out 2026 after organizers cited weak in-season coho data — the same week ADF&G kept the Kenai River coho bag at two fish through Nov. 30.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 8, 2026
Seward Lagoon youth-only coho extended through Oct. 5
ADF&G stretched the Resurrection Bay terminal coho fishery for anglers 15 and under through Oct. 5 — two fish a day, bait OK, adults may help but the kid has to hook it.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 3, 2026
Haines salmon runs look middling — dock prices do not
Alaska Public Media reports Haines fishermen saw mediocre 2026 salmon volume but decades-high ex-vessel prices, with sockeye cited near $3.25/lb and ADF&G saying Chilkoot and Chilkat sockeye still hit escapement goals.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 1, 2026
NMFS closes directed Pacific cod for larger hook-and-line boats in Central GOA
Effective noon Alaska time Sept. 1, NOAA Fisheries prohibited directed Pacific cod fishing by hook-and-line catcher vessels 50 feet or longer in the Central Gulf of Alaska to protect that sector’s 2026 TAC.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskAugust 27, 2026
Kenai River coho stay at two fish through November
ADF&G emergency order 2-SS-1-49-26 keeps the Kenai River bag and possession limit for coho 16 inches or longer at two fish from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskFebruary 9, 2026
ADF&G closes Kenai River king salmon sport fishing for the 2026 runs
Alaska Fish and Game shut both early- and late-run Kenai king sport fisheries, including catch-and-release, to protect a weak return.
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