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Kodiak Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The emerald island: Kodiak's road-system rivers run silvers and reds past the bears, while the harbor fleet works halibut water measured in fathoms.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 1:06 AM
Air / High
44 / 46 F
Wind
SE 5 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 9457261, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Kodiak rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. Today brings cloud cover, wind SE around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 46. Tides: high 12:18 AM and 12:40 PM, low 6:22 AM and 6:58 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 53 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 11:14 PM-1:14 AM and 10:50 AM-12:50 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rockfish (Pacific)Good

Much of the open season along the coast falls in this band. Fish through suspended schools of black, blue and other midwater rockfish, and closer to the rocks for vermilion, copper and China rockfish.

SurfperchFair

Fall through spring is the peak on both the central (October to June) and southern (September to May) California coasts, per the state beach guides. Fish sand crabs, worms or Carolina-rigged grubs near crab beds and bar edges.

Chinook salmonSlow

Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

Tomorrow: Similar at 46 F with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 9457261 (Port of Kodiak). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH12:18 AM7.4 ft
LOW6:22 AM1.2 ft
HIGH12:40 PM8.4 ft
LOW6:58 PM0.8 ft
Sat
HIGH1:06 AM7.7 ft
LOW6:56 AM1.2 ft
HIGH1:10 PM9.2 ft
LOW7:37 PM-0.2 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp44 F
High / Low46 / 35 F
WindSE 5-12 mph
Pressure1025.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset09:03 / 18:43
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~53 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Kodiak this week

The best day on Kodiak this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
11:14 PM-1:14 AM and 10:50 AM-12:50 PM
Minor period
5:23 AM-6:23 AM
Sun
09:03 to 18:43
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 16 mph
Rain chance
4%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

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

Chinook salmon illustration

Chinook salmon

Seasons follow the runs: spring, summer and fall runs on the West Coast, and late summer into fall in Great Lakes rivers

The largest Pacific salmon, caught by trolling and mooching at sea and by drifting and plunking in rivers as adults return to spawn; also stocked in the Great Lakes. Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

Rockfish (Pacific) illustration

Rockfish (Pacific)

Seasons and depth limits vary by state and zone

Pacific rockfish are about 60 Sebastes species managed under the federal groundfish plan, from black and blue rockfish schooling over shallow reefs to yelloweye that live more than a century in deep water. Much of the open season along the coast falls in this band. Fish through suspended schools of black, blue and other midwater rockfish, and closer to the rocks for vermilion, copper and China rockfish.

Surfperch illustration

Surfperch

Best: Oct-Jun central CA, Sep-May southern CA

Barred and redtail surfperch are the large perches of Pacific sandy beaches: barred from northern California into Baja, redtail from Vancouver Island to San Luis Obispo County, overlapping along central California. Fall through spring is the peak on both the central (October to June) and southern (September to May) California coasts, per the state beach guides. Fish sand crabs, worms or Carolina-rigged grubs near crab beds and bar edges.

When to come: the Kodiak 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 53 F (estimated, not a reading).

405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~53 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 Kodiak today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rockfish (Pacific) led the card at excellent. High of 40 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rockfish (Pacific) led the card at excellent. High of 42 F, wind to 22 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rockfish (Pacific) led the card at good. High of 44 F, wind to 19 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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 + king stamp. Bear-country fish handling rules literal. Halibut charter limits federal: confirm current.

Access

City harbors (St. Paul, St. Herman), road-system river access (Buskin, Pasagshak), Anton Larsen ramp.

About this water

The emerald island's port, Kodiak Island Borough, AK. Road-system salmon and fathom-deep halibut.

Fishing Kodiak: the full guide

Island of abundance

Kodiak pairs Alaska's second-largest island with its richest nearshore: the road system's rivers (Buskin, Pasagshak, American) run sockeye and silver seasons anyone can walk to, while the harbor's fleet: America's most storied fishing port: works halibut, kings and the deep. Bears share every stream: the island's rule number one.

Road-system salmon

June's sockeye hit the Buskin and Pasagshak (flossing rigs and patience: combat lite), July-September silvers fill every road river (spinners and eggs: the island's democratic glory), and the surf at Pasagshak's mouth runs a unique fishery: silvers in the waves: cast metal into the break as fish stage. No boat, no guide required: a rental car reaches it all.

The fleet's water

Charters run halibut grounds in every direction (the island's shelf holds fish from chickens to 200-plus barn doors), kings troll the capes May-June, lingcod and yelloweye stack the pinnacles (descenders mandatory), and Dungeness pots soak the bays. Weather windows rule: Kodiak's ocean is generous and serious in equal measure.

Island practicalities

The city harbors serve charters and skiffs: road-system access is Alaska's easiest (paved to the famous rivers): bears demand clean fish-handling discipline (stringers out of the water, carcasses to the current): and the ferry-and-jet logistics reward planning. September's silver peak with the crowds gone is the connoisseur's window.

Common questions

Can you fish Kodiak without a charter?

Famously: the road system's rivers run sockeye and silver seasons on foot: rental car, spinners, bear awareness. The surf silvers at Pasagshak are the island's unique DIY prize.

When are silvers in the Kodiak rivers?

Late July through September, peaking late August: every road river fills. September fishes nearly alone: the island's best-kept simple secret.

Is fishing good at Kodiak right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Naknek River176 miKasilof River180 miSeward191 miKenai River194 miSkilak Lake196 miRussian River203 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 9457261 β€” Port of Kodiak
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 57.7900, -152.4000 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.