Area Sport Fishing Reports
Juneau

May 7, 2026

No Retention of King Salmon in the Juneau Area

There is no retention of king salmon currently allowed in the Juneau area. However, the Terminal Harvest Area will open on June 1st, offering some early-season opportunities. The broader area will reopen to king salmon retention starting June 15th.

For comprehensive details on specific areas, including maps, bag limits, and possession regulations, please refer to our latest advisory announcements and emergency orders. Stay informed on the most current regulations and any recent changes.

Creel Samplers Are Now on The Docks!

Marine boat anglers returning to docks where ADF&G creel sampling is occurring (Juneau is included in this area): from now through September 13, 2026, you may not fillet, mutilate, or de-head sport-caught lingcod, nonpelagic rockfish, and king or coho salmon at sea. These fish must remain whole until your vessel is tied up at a docking facility where the fish will be offloaded, unless they’ve been consumed or preserved on board.

The purpose of this restriction is to maximize the information collected through ADF&G creel sampling and angler interviews—critical data that helps manage and sustain our fisheries.

ADF&G creel samplers will be present on the docks, so please be patient and respectful as they carry out this important work.

Other Fishing Opportunities

Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout Fishing

As temperatures rise and ice melts across Southeast Alaska, spring marks the return of active Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout. These anadromous fish migrate from their over-wintering lakes and ponds to feed in saltwater, especially around lake outlets and stream mouths. Shoreline fishing in coastal areas becomes productive as they congregate at creek mouths to feed on salmon smolts. Small spoons, spinners, and smolt-imitating flies are effective for targeting these fish during this active period.

In all drainages crossed by the Juneau road system, as well as the saltwater adjacent to the Juneau road system to a line ¼ mile offshore, cutthroat and rainbow trout bag limits (in combination) are 2 daily, 2 in possession with a 14-inch minimum and 22-inch maximum size limit. Dolly Varden limits are 2 daily, 2 in possession, no size limit. Anglers should check the 2026 Southeast Alaska Sport Fish Regulation Summary or special regulations specific to the stream or lake they intend to fish.

Halibut

It’s still a little early for halibut fishing in the Juneau area. Most of the fish are still holding out on the coast, and current catch rates remain a bit low. That said, anglers can expect more halibut to move into local waters as the summer progresses—so stay patient and be ready as the season picks up!

It's important to note that halibut fishing is federally managed. For detailed information on sport fishing regulations and guidelines for charter (guided) vs unguided halibut regulations in Southeast Alaska, please visit NOAA’s website.

Rockfish

Deepwater release devices are mandatory for all saltwater vessels. All vessels must have at least one functional deepwater release mechanism on board and readily available for use when sport fishing activities are taking place regardless of species targeted.

All rockfish not retained must be released at the depth they were caught or 100 feet, whichever is shallower.

Please visit our link to view deep water release device examples and tips and how these mechanisms are a helpful tool for conservation

Pelagic Rockfish

• All anglers: 3 per day, 6 in possession, no size limit.

Pelagic rockfish include, Black, Dark, Deacon, Dusky, Widow and Yellowtail rockfish.

Nonpelagic rockfish (demersal shelf & and slope rockfish)

• Demersal shelf rockfish (yelloweye, quillback, tiger, China, canary, copper and rosethorn rockfish)

  • Alaska residents: 1 per day, 2 in possession, no size limit.
  • Nonresidents:
    • Season: July 1 – August 25;
    • 1 daily, 1 in possession, annual limit of ONE fish.
    • Immediately upon landing and retaining a demersal shelf rockfish, a nonresident must enter the species, date and location on the back of their sport fishing license or on a nontransferable harvest record.

• Slope rockfish

  • All anglers: 1 per day, 2 in possession, no size limit.

Slope nonpelagic rockfish include, Blackgill, Blackspotted, Blue, Bocaccio, Brown, Chilipepper, Darkblotched, Greenstriped, Harlequin, Northern, Pacific Ocean Perch, PugetSound, Pygmy, Redstripe, Redbanded, Rougheye, Sharpchin, Shortbelly, Shortraker, Silvergray, Splitnose, Stripetail, Vermilion, and Yellowmouth.

Not all rockfish species found in Alaska are listed above. For a complete list of species you may encounter in Alaska, please visit our website.

Shellfish Harvesting

King Crab

Personal use red and blue king crab fishing closed on March 31^st and will reopen on July 1st, exclusively for Alaskan residents. To participate, anglers must hold a valid sport fishing license along with a 2026/2027 Southeast Alaska Regional Personal Use King Crab Permit. These are available at the ADF&G online store. Please check for Personal Use Emergency Orders, legal-size and pot configurations, and restrictions online. Section 11-A is currently CLOSED to Alaskan resident PU king crab fishing. Stay tuned for the Juneau area PU announcement later this year using the link above. Harvest must be reported online. Please check the 2026 Southeast Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet pages 40-45 for regulations specific to shellfish.

Dungeness and Tanner Crab

For Alaskan residents in the Juneau area, licensed anglers can keep 20 Dungeness males, a 6 ½" minimum width. While taking Dungeness crab, 5 pots or 10 rings per person may be used, with a max of 10 pots or 20 rings per vessel. While taking Tanner crab, no more than 4 pots or 10 rings per vessel may be used. In total, no more than 5 pots per person and 10 pots per vessel may be used for taking shellfish regardless of pot type.

For nonresidents in the Juneau area, licensed anglers can keep 3 male Tanner and Dungeness crab (in combination). Tanner males need to be 5 ½" minimum width and Dungeness males need to be 6 ½" minimum width.

Shrimp

Sport and personal use shrimp fisheries in the Juneau and Tenakee area will remain CLOSED until further notice. The closed area consists of all marine waters of Section 11-A north and west of a line extending from a regulatory marker near point Bishop to the Coast Guard marker and light on Point Arden, extending to a line at the latitude of Little Island light, and east of a line from Little Island light to Point Retreat light. And the Tenakee closed area consists of all marine waters in Tenakee Inlet west of the longitude of Corner Point at 135° 06.50' W long. Check the Sport and Personal Use Advisory Announcement.

Outside the Juneau 11-A and Tenakee Inlet areas, sport and personal use shrimp fishing remains open. Sport and personal use shrimpers who have a valid sport fishing license must also have a free shrimp permit available on the ADF&G online store. Participating anglers must sign their permit in ink to make it valid and have the permit in possession while taking shrimp in Southeast Alaska. Shrimp limits and gear requirements for sport and personal use shrimp fishing cab be found on pages 40-45 of the 2026 Southeast Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary. Reporting of effort and harvest is required and must be submitted to the department even if you did not fish.

Clams

ADF&G does not recommend harvesting clams from any waters in the Juneau area due to the possibility that the clams may contain Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins. Currently, no beaches in the Juneau area are monitored on a regular basis (i.e- "certified") for PSP toxins. If you harvest, you do so at your own risk of PSP poisoning. Sporadic sampling has been conducted by the Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research (SEATOR) project, but clams of any species and at any time during the year may still contain toxic levels of PSP. Please navigate to the following Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) web page for more information about PSP.

Interactive Fishing Location Maps

Check out the wefishak page on the ADF&G website for the new Juneau-Glacier Bay Interactive Map to discover popular fishing locations and information on species run timing, fishing gear selections, and boat and angler access tips through the Sport Fish gofishak application.