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FISHING CALENDAR · ALASKA

Alaska Fishing Calendar

Alaska's fishing runs from salmon rivers like the Kenai, Kasilof and Susitna to Interior lakes and the salt water of Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound and Southeast. The good months come from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game's run-timing charts (Southcentral unless the note names another region). Closed months come from ADF&G's 2026 regulations and emergency orders and NOAA's 2026 halibut rules.

Government fish & wildlife updates

Month by month

Peak (source says best)In season / caughtSpawningClosed seasonOpen, no official month data
FishJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNotes
Salmon
King (Chinook) salmon - Cook Inlet riversADF&G's chart puts the river peak in June and July, but in 2026 kings were closed on most Southcentral rivers. Kenai River: closed, even catch-and-release, May 1-June 19 and June 20-Aug 15. Susitna drainage (incl. Deshka, Lake Creek): closed May 1-July 13. Kasilof: hatchery kings only (1 a day, 20 in. or longer), May 1-Aug 15; wild kings must stay in the water. Always check emergency orders.[1][6][7][8][9][10][27]
King (Chinook) salmon - salt waterCook Inlet, Prince William Sound and Resurrection Bay: feeder kings are around all year; ADF&G marks peaks in winter (Nov-Feb) and May-June. In 2026 Cook Inlet salt water north of Bluff Point was closed to kings May 1-Aug 15; south of Bluff Point it was 1 a day April 1-Aug 31, and the winter fishery (Sept 16-March 31) allows 2 a day.[1][5][12]
Sockeye (red) salmonKenai Peninsula fresh water: peak June-July, still around into August (Kenai mid-July to mid-Aug; Russian River early run mid-June to mid-July). Kenai River limit was 6 a day June 20-Aug 15 in 2026, 3 a day otherwise. The middle Kenai and Russian River area is closed to all fishing May 1-June 10.[1][2][11]
Coho (silver) salmonKenai Peninsula and Anchorage/Mat-Su fresh water: peak August-September, runs start late July and last into fall. Coho enter streams July-November and lay eggs September-February. Kenai River: no coho may be kept Dec 1-June 30. Freshwater limit on the Kenai Peninsula is 3 salmon a day, only 2 coho.[1][2][3][4][10][11][23]
Pink (humpy) salmonPeak mid-July through August in Southcentral rivers. Runs are much bigger in even-numbered years in places like Bird Creek and the Susitna. Counts in the 3-a-day salmon limit on the Kenai Peninsula.[1][2][3][4][24]
Chum (dog) salmonSouthern Southeast fresh water: peak in August, around July-October. In the Mat-Su they run mid-July to mid-August but are not very abundant.[1][4]
Trout & char
Rainbow troutKenai Peninsula: here all year, best June-October. Many waters are catch-and-release or 2 a day with only 1 over 20 in.; the middle Kenai is closed to all fishing May 1-June 10.[1][10][11]
SteelheadKenai Peninsula: fall run peaks September-October, fish hold over winter into May. Kasilof and Anchor River steelhead are catch-and-release only; rainbow/steelhead caught in Cook Inlet salt water must be released.[1][2][10][12]
Cutthroat troutSouthern Southeast fresh water: here all year, best in May and June.[1]
Dolly VardenKenai Peninsula: here all year, best June-October. Spawns September-November in small streams, so fall fish may be on the redds. Kenai Peninsula streams: 2 a day (combined with Arctic char).[1][10][17]
Arctic charTanana (Interior) chart: here all year, best July-September. Spawns in lakes August-October.[1][18]
Lake troutKenai Peninsula and Upper Copper/Upper Susitna lakes: best through the ice (Jan-May) and again in fall (Sep-Dec). Spawns on rocky lake bottoms in September-October. Kenai Peninsula: 2 a day 20 in. or longer, 10 under 20 in.[1][10][19]
Interior freshwater
Arctic graylingTanana (Interior) chart: here all year, best May-September. Grayling run upstream to spawn in spring. Kenai Peninsula limit: 5 a day.[1][10][25]
Northern pikeInterior and Bristol Bay: here all year; ADF&G marks no peak. Spawns in spring soon after ice-out. On the Kenai Peninsula pike are invasive: no limit, and you may not release one alive.[1][10][22][28]
BurbotTanana (Interior) chart: best in October-January and again in May. Spawns under the ice February-March. Kenai Peninsula limit: 2 a day.[1][10][20]
Sheefish (inconnu)Tanana (Interior) chart: best June-September. Spawns late September to early October.[1][21]
Saltwater
Pacific halibutSport season Feb 1-Dec 31; ADF&G's chart peak is about mid-May to mid-August. Most halibut spawn deep, November-March. Unguided: 2 a day, any size. 2026 charter rules: Area 3A (Southcentral) 2 a day, one 27 in. or less, no keeping halibut on Tuesdays and Wednesdays June 2-Aug 25, one trip a day. Area 2C (Southeast) 1 a day, must be 34 in. or less or 80 in. or more, no keeping on Thursdays June 18-Sept 10.[1][12][13][14][15]
LingcodCook Inlet & Kachemak Bay: open July 1-Dec 31 only, 1 a day, at least 35 in. with head on. Spawning starts in early December and peaks mid-January to mid-March; males guard nests into spring.[1][12][16][29]
RockfishHere all year; ADF&G marks no peak. 2026 Cook Inlet & Kachemak Bay: pelagic 2 a day, non-pelagic 1 a day, no yelloweye kept April 1-June 30. A deepwater release device must be on board.[1][12][30]

Never keep: No fish is banned statewide, but in 2026 Kenai River king salmon could not be fished for at all (not even catch-and-release), wild Kasilof kings had to be released in the water, and rainbow/steelhead trout caught in Cook Inlet salt water must always be released.[6][7][8][12]

Bait & rig for each fish

King (Chinook) salmon - Cook Inlet rivers

Bait: Whole or cut-plug herring and anchovies.

Lures: Hoochies and spoons behind a flasher, spinners and plugs in the rivers.

Leader: 20–30 lb fluorocarbon, 4–6 ft behind a flasher.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Sockeye (red) salmon

Bait: Sockeye eat plankton and rarely take bait. Where bait is allowed, a small piece of yarn or a bead is used, not to feed the fish but to make a visible hook.

Lures: Coho flies, Russian River flies and small sparse flies; small spoons and spinners in lakes and saltwater.

Leader: 20–30 lb fluorocarbon, 4–6 ft behind a flasher.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Coho (silver) salmon

Bait: Herring and anchovies.

Lures: Hoochies, spoons and bucktail flies trolled fast near the surface; spinners in the rivers.

Leader: 20–30 lb fluorocarbon, 4–6 ft behind a flasher.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Pink (humpy) salmon

Bait: Rarely needed; small pieces of herring or shrimp in saltwater.

Lures: Pink lures, really: pink spoons, pink spinners, pink buzz bombs, pink flies and small pink hoochies.

Leader: 20–30 lb fluorocarbon, 4–6 ft behind a flasher.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Chum (dog) salmon

Bait: Cured salmon eggs and shrimp where bait is legal.

Lures: Chartreuse, pink and purple flies, spoons, spinners and jigs under a float.

Leader: 20–30 lb fluorocarbon, 4–6 ft behind a flasher.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Rainbow trout

Bait: Salmon roe and nightcrawlers where bait is legal.

Lures: Beads that look like salmon eggs, flesh flies, sculpin and leech streamers, small spinners and spoons.

Leader: 3X–5X tippet (4–8 lb), 7½–9 ft.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Dolly Varden

Bait: Salmon roe where bait is legal.

Lures: Egg beads, flesh flies, smolt patterns, small spoons and spinners.

Leader: 3X–5X tippet (4–8 lb), 7½–9 ft.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Arctic char

Bait: Rarely used.

Lures: Small spoons and spinners (pink, orange, silver), and streamers and egg flies.

Leader: 10–15 lb fluorocarbon.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Lake trout

Bait: Cut cisco or smelt on the bottom, or a minnow on a jig.

Lures: Spoons, white tube jigs, big swimbaits and blade baits.

Leader: 10–15 lb fluorocarbon.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Arctic grayling

Bait: Small worms or insect larvae where bait is legal.

Lures: Dry flies (mosquito, elk hair caddis), small nymphs, and tiny spinners.

Leader: 3X–5X tippet (4–8 lb), 7½–9 ft.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Northern pike

Bait: Whole dead herring, smelt or cisco under a float or on the bottom where bait is legal.

Lures: Red-and-white spoons, big inline spinners, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits and topwater baits.

Leader: Wire or 60–80 lb fluorocarbon leader, 12–18 in — pike teeth cut regular line.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Pacific halibut

Bait: Herring, squid, octopus and salmon bellies on a spreader bar or circle hook.

Lures: Big jigs and leadheads with large grubs, tipped with bait.

Leader: 20–30 lb fluorocarbon, 3 ft.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Lingcod

Bait: Live rockfish, sanddabs or greenling (where legal), herring and big squid.

Lures: Heavy swimbaits and jig heads, leadhead jigs with a big grub, and metal jigs.

Leader: 30–50 lb mono.

Full guide, knots & rigs →

Local fishing reports — what’s biting now

Sources

  1. ADF&G Alaska Sport Fishing Guide (run-timing charts by region)
  2. ADF&G Kenai Peninsula run timing
  3. ADF&G Anchorage run timing
  4. ADF&G Mat-Su Valley run timing
  5. ADF&G Prince William Sound & Resurrection Bay run timing
  6. ADF&G Emergency Order 2-KS-1-08-26: Kenai River early-run kings closed
  7. ADF&G Emergency Order 2-KS-1-07-26: Kenai River late-run kings closed
  8. ADF&G Emergency Order 2-KS-1-18-26: Kasilof River kings (corrected)
  9. ADF&G Emergency Order 2-KS-2-12-26: Susitna drainage kings closed
  10. ADF&G 2026 Southcentral regulations: Kenai Peninsula fresh waters
  11. ADF&G 2026 Southcentral regulations: Kenai River
  12. ADF&G 2026 Southcentral regulations: Cook Inlet & Kachemak Bay salt waters
  13. NOAA Fisheries / Federal Register: 2026 Pacific halibut catch sharing plan (charter rules 2C & 3A)
  14. NOAA Fisheries: 2026 unguided sport halibut FAQ
  15. ADF&G species profile: Pacific halibut
  16. ADF&G species profile: lingcod
  17. ADF&G species profile: Dolly Varden
  18. ADF&G species profile: Arctic char
  19. ADF&G species profile: lake trout
  20. ADF&G species profile: burbot
  21. ADF&G species profile: sheefish
  22. ADF&G species profile: northern pike
  23. ADF&G species profile: coho salmon
  24. ADF&G species profile: pink salmon
  25. ADF&G species profile: Arctic grayling
  26. ADF&G Kodiak & Aleutians run timing
  27. Alaska Sport Fishing Guide (ADF&G Division of Sport Fish) - run timing charts
  28. Fairbanks Fishing Report - Fish Alaska Magazine
  29. Lingcod: Alaska Fish Species Guide - Fish Alaska Magazine
  30. Rockfish: Alaska Fish Species Guide - Fish Alaska Magazine

Checked October 2026. BigJoe does not invent facts: every month on this calendar comes from the sources above. Empty boxes mean no official source gives those months. Rules change — check the agency page before you keep a fish.

On the bay, in the mangroves or on the ocean, the everyday struggles get left at the dock — for those few hours it’s just you, the water and peace.