Situk River Fishing Guides
A short, road-accessible Southeast Alaska river that produces one of the largest wild steelhead runs on the continent.
Guides on the Situk River
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About the Situk River
The Situk is barely twenty miles long from its lake outlets to the Gulf of Alaska, which makes what happens in it faintly ridiculous. This small, tannin-stained, spruce-lined river carries a wild steelhead run counted in the thousands, and it does so within a short drive of a town with a jet airport. Very few places in North America put fish of that quality that close to a runway, and none of them are as small as this.
Spring is the headline. Steelhead enter from late March through May, and the peak weeks in April draw anglers from around the world to a river you can wade across in most places. These are wild fish with no hatchery supplementation, bright and strong out of the salt, and Alaska manages them conservatively. Behind the steelhead comes everything else – a sockeye run in June, kings in early summer, and a heavy coho push in September that many locals consider the best fishing of the year.
The river is fished two ways. The upper river above Nine Mile Bridge is walk-and-wade water, intimate and brushy, worked on foot from the Forest Service trail system. The lower river below the bridge is floated, usually as a full-day drift from Nine Mile down to the Situk landing near the mouth. Guides out of Yakutat run both, and in the busy April weeks the float is the civilised way to cover water without crowding the bank anglers.
Access is genuinely easy by Alaskan standards, which is the point, but the river is small and the pressure is concentrated. Etiquette matters here more than tackle. Alaska sets steelhead rules for the Situk separately and they change, so read the current Southeast regulations before a trip. Dolly Varden and cutthroat are present all season and are the consolation prize that turns out to be no consolation at all.
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Access
Nine Mile Bridge - the Forest Highway crossing and the main upper-river and float put-in.
Situk River Landing - the lower takeout near the river mouth.
Situk Lake Trail - a foot trail to the upper river and the lake outlet.
Lower Situk Trail - Forest Service walk-in access to the middle river.
Yakutat - the town, the airport, and every guide and lodge on the river.
Old Situk Trail - a secondary foot approach to the middle river.
Forest Service cabins - Situk Lake and Situk Weir cabins for multi-day access.
Seasons
Spring: the steelhead run, April into May, and the busiest weeks of the year.
Summer: sockeye in June and kings in early summer, with lighter pressure than spring.
Fall: a heavy September coho run that many locals rate above the spring fishing.
Winter: cold, dark and largely unfished, with access limited by weather.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Situk River?
As of Sep 17, 5:30 am, the USGS gauge SITUK R NR YAKUTAT AK reads 253 cfs, with water temperature 53.6 F. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Situk River?
Anglers target Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Cutthroat Trout, Dolly Varden, Sockeye Salmon, Steelhead on the Situk River in Alaska.
Where can you access the Situk River?
Nine Mile Bridge - the Forest Highway crossing and the main upper-river and float put-in. Situk River Landing - the lower takeout near the river mouth. Situk Lake Trail - a foot trail to the upper river and the lake outlet. Lower Situk Trail - Forest Service walk-in access to the middle river. Yakutat - the town, the airport, and every guide and lodge on the river. Old Situk Trail - a secondary foot approach to the middle river. Forest Service cabins - Situk Lake and Situk Weir cabins for multi-day access.
When is the best time to fish the Situk River?
Spring: the steelhead run, April into May, and the busiest weeks of the year. Summer: sockeye in June and kings in early summer, with lighter pressure than spring. Fall: a heavy September coho run that many locals rate above the spring fishing. Winter: cold, dark and largely unfished, with access limited by weather.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Situk River?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Alaska agency site: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishregulations.sport