A district map of the Wrangell and Petersburg areas highlights which sections will be reopened to king salmon sport fishing next Friday. The hashed sections of districts 6, 7, 5, 9 and 10 will see restrictions lifted on June 15. The dotted sections of District 8 and a portion of 7 will remain closed for another month.
Districts 5, 6, 10 and most of 7 will soon reopen to sport fishermen for king salmon, according to emergency regulations put in place earlier this spring.
Chinook harvest opportunity has already opened in hatchery areas at Anita Bay, Blind Slough and Petersburg's City Creek, opening up last Friday. On June 15 the next wave of openings will take effect, following a wide scale closure to the fishery at the start of April.
Most of the marine waters in the Petersburg-Wrangell area will reopen later next week, with districts 8 and a portion of 7 in the Back Channel remaining closed until July 15. Most of Southeast Alaska was put on restrictions by the Department of Fish and Game due to poor returns of king salmon expected this year. The 2018 preseason forecast for Stikine River king salmon had been 6,900, well short of the 14,000 escapement minimum. Forecasts for other wild king salmon stocks in Southeast were also below thresholds, spurring the wider closure in the region.
The closures also impacted commercial and subsistence fisheries, including the federally-managed Chinook subsistence fishery on the Stikine River. Retention of king salmon was prohibited there except as bycatch, and a fishery targeting sockeye is scheduled to begin later this month.
While the closures have affected to some degree the various sport-related businesses and events like Wrangell and Petersburg's King Salmon derbies, alternative fisheries have offered some opportunity to area anglers.
ADFG wildlife biologist Patrick Fowler reported halibut have anecdotally seen a slower than average catch rate this season, those tend to increase as the summer progresses.
For those interested in Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout, now is a perfect time to try catching them, he added. Dollys and cutthroats can often be found feeding in nearshore marine environments, as juvenile salmon start to exit their freshwater habitat. Warming water temperatures make for more active fish at this time as well, offering fishermen a more fun experience. Sport users are encouraged to try casting along cutbanks, confluences, pools and around large woody debris.
For further information contact Fowler at the Petersburg ADFG office at 772-5231.
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