In an effort to keep anglers occupied on the tail end of the summer fishing season, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is rolling out recommendations for an increasing number of sports fish within reach of the Central Peninsula.
For example, in the Resurrection Bay fishing report from the department, the listing of fish species from stream mouths to the pelagic deep include: shrimp, lingcod, halibut, rockfish, Dolly Varden, and of course salmon, both coho and chinook.
Available online, the report has advice on tackle choices for both fly casting from the shallows to open water gear, such as deep-water release mechanisms for rockfish. The Department will give you one for free and show you how to use it, because it can improve a rockfish’s survival chances after being thrown back from near zero to 100 percent.
The department is reporting good catches of lingcod outside of Resurrection Bay, as it is closed within the boundaries.
The report also has a handy reminder on how to tell a silver salmon from a king, and that’s with the dark spots on the lower lobe of the tail that are prevalent in chinook, but not coho.
And if you’re going to fish for coho, don’t forget to get your Seward Silver Salmon Derby ticket. The current leader is a fish just over 16 pounds. The bag limit for coho is six per day and six in possession inside Resurrection Bay, and half that outside the bay.
Meanwhile, the latest emergency order in Cook Inlet is a reminder for dipnetters and setnetters to submit their personal use salmon harvest report for the season.