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Ketchikan Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Salmon under the boardwalk: Ketchikan Creek pours through town, and in August the pinks and silvers pour through Ketchikan Creek.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
Low 1:44 AM
Air / High
73 / 75 F
Wind
N 4 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 9450460, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Ketchikan feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. Today brings cloud cover, wind N around 4 mph, falling pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 75. Tides: high 6:44 AM and 6:31 PM, low 12:20 AM and 12:01 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 56 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Chinook salmonExcellent

Runs push upriver: back-bounce roe through the deep slots, pull plugs in travel lanes, twitch jigs in the frog water. Fresh fish move on every rise of water.

Rockfish (Pacific)Excellent

Fall's flat days produce the year's best quality: bigger baits, deeper structure, lings mixed in. Jetty and shore casters score blacks in the wash on swimbaits.

SurfperchGood

Prime time builds: bigger barred perch school ahead of spawning. Fish the storms' edges: two days after a blow, the rearranged holes hold concentrated fish.

Tomorrow: Similar at 71 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 9450460 (Ketchikan). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW12:20 AM1.4 ft
HIGH6:44 AM11.0 ft
LOW12:01 PM5.5 ft
HIGH6:31 PM14.2 ft
Sat
LOW1:44 AM1.8 ft
HIGH8:22 AM10.7 ft
LOW1:32 PM6.3 ft
HIGH8:02 PM13.8 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp73 F
High / Low75 / 55 F
WindN 4-11 mph
Pressure1017.1 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain91% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:58 / 19:31
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~56 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 75/55 F, wind 5 mph, rain 0%

Fair or better. Calm and stable: plan around the solunar majors at dawn and dusk.

Species guide

The species that matter on Ketchikan: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Chinook salmon illustration

Chinook salmon

Best: Jun-Sep ocean runs

The king: the Pacific's heavyweight, intercepted trolling the ocean feeding lanes or swinging rivers on the spawning run. Runs push upriver: back-bounce roe through the deep slots, pull plugs in travel lanes, twitch jigs in the frog water. Fresh fish move on every rise of water.

Rockfish (Pacific) illustration

Rockfish (Pacific)

Best: Apr-Oct open season

The Pacific reef's crowd: black, blue, vermilion and twenty cousins stacked on structure, biting like they mean it. Fall's flat days produce the year's best quality: bigger baits, deeper structure, lings mixed in. Jetty and shore casters score blacks in the wash on swimbaits.

Surfperch illustration

Surfperch

Best: Dec-Apr spawning surf

The Pacific surf's honest wage: barred and redtail surfperch schooling in the wash, paying anglers who read the beach. Prime time builds: bigger barred perch school ahead of spawning. Fish the storms' edges: two days after a blow, the rearranged holes hold concentrated fish.

When to come: the Ketchikan calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Chinook salmon
Rockfish (Pacific)
Surfperch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 56 F (estimated, not a reading).

405060JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~56 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Ketchikan today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Chinook salmon led the card at good. High of 71 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Chinook salmon led the card at good. High of 68 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Chinook salmon led the card at good. High of 54 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Alaska requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Alaska license (nonresidents: short-term options). King salmon need a stamp. In-creek closures and marker boundaries change with the runs: read current ADFG Ketchikan-area rules before fishing.

Access

Thomas Basin and the downtown shoreline on foot; City Park upstream; Bar Harbor launches and charters for the salt.

About this water

A short lake-and-rain fed salmon stream through downtown Ketchikan, Alaska, with pink, coho, chum, king, steelhead and Dolly Varden runs.

Fishing Ketchikan: the full guide

The town the salmon built

Ketchikan Creek drops out of Ketchikan Lakes and runs straight through the middle of Alaska’s First City, under the Creek Street boardwalk where tourists watch salmon stack like cordwood below the pilings. It is a compact, steep, rain-fed creek: but the runs are real: pinks in vast numbers in late summer, coho behind them, chum and a few kings off the mouth, steelhead in spring, and sea-run Dolly Varden all season picking off eggs.

Fishing inside city limits

The creek itself has tight special rules (much of the in-town water is closed or restricted during runs: read the signs and current ADFG regs). The dependable play is the saltwater margin: the mouth at Thomas Basin and the shoreline toward Bar Harbor, where fresh salmon stage on every tide. Cast Pixees, Vibrax spinners or twitched jigs on the incoming water. Fly anglers swing clousers and pink-and-white streamers off the drop.

The calendar of runs

Kings pass offshore in June (saltwater fishery), pinks flood mid-July through August in odd-year superabundance, chums mix in, and coho build from mid-August through September: the sport-fishing peak. Steelhead sneak up in April-May and Dollies ride the whole show. Rain moves everything: a wet week fills the creek with fish, a dry spell stalls them in the salt, chrome and biting.

Practicalities of a port town

Everything is walkable from downtown and the cruise docks: Thomas Basin, the fish ladder viewpoint, and City Park up the creek. Charter fleets run from Bar Harbor for the offshore kings, coho and bottomfish. Expect rain (Ketchikan gets 140 inches a year), expect company on the boardwalk, and mind the seals and the occasional black bear working the same run you are.

Common questions

Can I really catch salmon downtown?

Yes: legally it is mostly at the mouth and shoreline, not under the boardwalk. The tidewater fishery at Thomas Basin is a genuine, walkable salmon fishery.

When should a cruise visitor bring a rod?

Late July through early September: pinks everywhere and coho arriving. An afternoon license and a spoon can produce fish an hour off the ship.

Are the fish worth eating?

Tidewater coho and chrome pinks, absolutely. Fish colored up in the creek are past prime: let them finish the journey.

Is fishing good at Ketchikan right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Sitka185 miSituk River410 miElwha River607 miSkagit River619 miBaker Lake624 miHumptulips River650 mi
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