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Sitka Fishing Report

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

The outer-coast jewel: Sitka's ocean kings, halibut barn doors and whale-blown mornings where Alaska's blue water meets the volcano.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
High 12:01 AM
Air / High
45 / 47 F
Wind
E 6 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 9451600, 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.

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

Sitka is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings cloud cover, wind E around 6 mph, falling pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 47. Tides: high 11:34 AM, low 5:17 AM and 5:53 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 9:39 AM-11:39 AM and 10:14 PM-12:14 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rockfish (Pacific)Excellent

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.

SurfperchGood

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 salmonFair

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

Tomorrow: Warmer at 53 F. 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 9451600 (Sitka). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW5:17 AM1.6 ft
HIGH11:34 AM9.9 ft
LOW5:53 PM1.0 ft
Sat
HIGH12:01 AM9.0 ft
LOW5:53 AM1.7 ft
HIGH12:04 PM10.6 ft
LOW6:31 PM-0.1 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp45 F
High / Low47 / 36 F
WindE 6-17 mph
Pressure1028.9 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain87% cloud, 27%
Sunrise / Sunset07:51 / 17:37
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 Sitka this week

Today is the pick of the week on Sitka, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:39 AM-11:39 AM and 10:14 PM-12:14 AM
Minor period
4:10 AM-5:10 AM
Sun
07:51 to 17:37
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 7 mph
Rain chance
27%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Sitka: 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 Sitka 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 Sitka today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

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 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

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 7 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 52 F, wind to 20 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. Halibut: federal charter rules (size/day limits): check current. Rockfish: descending devices required.

Access

Crescent, ANB, Eliason harbors: charter fleet throughout: Starrigavan ramp north.

About this water

The outer-coast port of Baranof Island, AK. Ocean kings at the volcano's foot.

Fishing Sitka: the full guide

The outer coast advantage

Sitka faces the open Pacific from Baranof Island's outer shore: no long inside passage runs: the ocean fishery starts at the harbor mouth. Kings feed here year-round (the winter fishery is a local secret), the summer charter season stacks silvers and chinook at the sea-lion rocks, and halibut grounds spread within sight of Mount Edgecumbe's cone.

The salmon program

May-June kings run the outer coast's bait (herring balls under birds: trolled or mooched), July-August silvers school everywhere (limits by mid-morning routine), and the terminal returns bring fish to the harbor's doorstep. Sitka's fleet fishes tides and bait, not luck: the ocean's pantry sits unusually close.

Bottom and barn doors

Halibut trips work the 200-400-ft flats (whole herring and jigs: 100-pound fish true annually), yelloweye and lingcod fill the rockfish grounds (descending devices mandatory: the ethic is law here), and black bass swarm the kelp lines for light-tackle days. The combo trip: salmon dawn, halibut midday: is the Sitka standard.

Island practicalities

Sitka's harbors (Crescent, ANB, Eliason) serve the charter fleet and DIY skiffs: the ferry and jets connect: and the weather rules everything: the outer coast takes its swells seriously: fish the windows, respect the bar-less but reliable ocean. Bears on the streams and whales on the bait are the commute's scenery.

Common questions

When is king salmon season in Sitka?

May-June peaks the ocean troll, but Sitka's outer coast holds feeding kings essentially year-round: the winter fishery is the town's quiet pride. Check current AK/charter rules.

How big are Sitka halibut?

Charters average 20-40 pounds with 100-plus-pound fish weekly: the barn-door photos are real. Federal charter limits apply: check the current year's rules.

Is fishing good at Sitka 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

Ketchikan185 miSituk River227 miSeward549 miKenai Lake556 miRussian River573 miSkilak Lake585 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 9451600 β€” Sitka
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 11 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 57.0500, -135.3400 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.