07-24-2004, 03:00 PM
Summary of Juneau Hotspots 7/12- 7/18, 2004
King Salmon: Backside of Douglas Island; Pt. Retreat; Skagway
Coho Salmon: Shelter Island; North Pass; Backside of Douglas Island; Cross Sound
Halibut: Poundstone Rock; South Shelter; Pt. Retreat; Icy Strait
SALMON
King Salmon: Catch rates last week for chinook salmon at some ports remained decent, and ranged from 5 rod hours per harvested chinook salmon in Skagway and Elfin Cove to 70 rod hours in Juneau and Wrangell.
In comparison to the five-year average catch rates for chinook salmon, last week's catch rates were better at Craig, Petersburg, Sitka, Wrangell, Skagway, and Elfin Cove, while poorer than the respective five-year averages at Juneau, Ketchikan, and Gustavus.
King Salmon fishing in Juneau continued its seasonal decline. It took marine boat anglers and average of 70 rod hours to land a king salmon. This is almost twice the amount of time that it took to land a king salmon the previous week. The five-year average is 63 hours and last year during the same week, it took 50 hours to land a king. Nearly all the king salmon included in the Juneau survey were harvested from the Auke Bay/Fritz Cove terminal harvest area, the backside of Douglas Island, Point Retreat, and South Shelter Island.
As king salmon become more mature and approach spawning condition, their skin will darken. The flesh of these dark fish will eventually become less firm and less desirable for eating; however "blush" colored fish or even some darker fish may still be of good eating quality.
[left]Shoreline anglers fishing for king salmon near the mouth of Auke Creek should be aware that an emergency order (EO) has been issued that prohibits snagging in salt water at the creek mouth. The purpose of this EO is to protect the small run of sockeye salmon bound for the Auke Lake drainage. This EO prohibits all incidental snagging as well as the act of snagging, regardless of whether or not a fish has been hooked. Anglers using large, weighted treble hooks will be considered as being in violation of this EO. All fishing sport fishing regulations for this area will be strictly enforced. Sport fishing violations observed in this area will result in the area being closed to all fishing.[/left] [left]To reduce incidental snagging, anglers should avoid using lures with treble hooks and try using lures that have single, smaller hooks (one-half inch or less between the point and shank). Also, casting and retrieving whole herring or salmon roe from a bobber is a good way of catching these king salmon while reducing incidental snagging[/left] [left]The area where snagging is prohibited is in the immediate area of the mouth of Auke Creek. By definition, this area encompasses all saltwater inside of a boundary line that from the Auke Bay Laboratory's boat dock south to the buoys marking the location of the laboratory's salt water intake pipe, and finally extending to a departmental regulatory marker on the Fritz Cove Rd. shoreline [/left]
King Salmon: Backside of Douglas Island; Pt. Retreat; Skagway
Coho Salmon: Shelter Island; North Pass; Backside of Douglas Island; Cross Sound
Halibut: Poundstone Rock; South Shelter; Pt. Retreat; Icy Strait
SALMON
King Salmon: Catch rates last week for chinook salmon at some ports remained decent, and ranged from 5 rod hours per harvested chinook salmon in Skagway and Elfin Cove to 70 rod hours in Juneau and Wrangell.
In comparison to the five-year average catch rates for chinook salmon, last week's catch rates were better at Craig, Petersburg, Sitka, Wrangell, Skagway, and Elfin Cove, while poorer than the respective five-year averages at Juneau, Ketchikan, and Gustavus.
King Salmon fishing in Juneau continued its seasonal decline. It took marine boat anglers and average of 70 rod hours to land a king salmon. This is almost twice the amount of time that it took to land a king salmon the previous week. The five-year average is 63 hours and last year during the same week, it took 50 hours to land a king. Nearly all the king salmon included in the Juneau survey were harvested from the Auke Bay/Fritz Cove terminal harvest area, the backside of Douglas Island, Point Retreat, and South Shelter Island.
As king salmon become more mature and approach spawning condition, their skin will darken. The flesh of these dark fish will eventually become less firm and less desirable for eating; however "blush" colored fish or even some darker fish may still be of good eating quality.
[left]Shoreline anglers fishing for king salmon near the mouth of Auke Creek should be aware that an emergency order (EO) has been issued that prohibits snagging in salt water at the creek mouth. The purpose of this EO is to protect the small run of sockeye salmon bound for the Auke Lake drainage. This EO prohibits all incidental snagging as well as the act of snagging, regardless of whether or not a fish has been hooked. Anglers using large, weighted treble hooks will be considered as being in violation of this EO. All fishing sport fishing regulations for this area will be strictly enforced. Sport fishing violations observed in this area will result in the area being closed to all fishing.[/left] [left]To reduce incidental snagging, anglers should avoid using lures with treble hooks and try using lures that have single, smaller hooks (one-half inch or less between the point and shank). Also, casting and retrieving whole herring or salmon roe from a bobber is a good way of catching these king salmon while reducing incidental snagging[/left] [left]The area where snagging is prohibited is in the immediate area of the mouth of Auke Creek. By definition, this area encompasses all saltwater inside of a boundary line that from the Auke Bay Laboratory's boat dock south to the buoys marking the location of the laboratory's salt water intake pipe, and finally extending to a departmental regulatory marker on the Fritz Cove Rd. shoreline [/left]