• Permits are mandatory for all noncommercial shrimp fishermen. Permits are available at local Fish and Game offices and at select vendors.
• Lingcod season is closed until July 1 to protect nest-guarding males.
• Cutthroat and Rainbow/Steelhead trout fishing is closed until June 15th.

• The marine waters remain very cold.
• Halibut angling typically starts to pick up inside the Sound and at the ocean entrances this time of year.
• Try in Strawberry Channel and Hinchinbrook Entrance this week.
• Rockfish angling is quite productive with herring jigs and bait near herring spawning sites. Remember to move once you catch your limit.
• AND REMEMBER if you are targeting multiple species, target rockfish last, and use a deepwater release mechanism on all released rockfish (these devices can turn the chance of survival for a rockfish from near zero to near 100%!)

  What’s deepwater release? http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingSportFishingInfo.rockfishconservation

• Trolling for winter kings generally tapers this time of year.
• Hatchery returns to Flemming Spit and the Old Town site in Valdez and Cove Creek in Whittier should start showing up any day now.
• I have had reports of anglers picking up a few king salmon off the Whittier harbor this past week.
• Anglers in Whittier and Valdez should try to troll for king salmon while you are soaking your shrimp pots.
• The presences of killer whales or porpoises will drive salmon to the bottom and make them more difficult to catch.

• Shrimping continues to be great near Whittier and Valdez.
• Don't forget your shrimp permit - everyone needs one.
• Report all suspected shrimp pot theft to your local fish and game office or a state trooper.
• Remember to weight down your trap so that the current won't sweep it away into deeper water.

Area webpage: HYPERLINK "http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Region2/AREAS/PWS/AHPR2PWS.cfm" http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Region2/AREAS/PWS/AHPR2PWS.cfm
Rockfish identification pages: http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/statewide/regulations/2001/html/pdfs/01scrockfish10pdf.pdf
Salmon and trout identification pages: http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/statewide/regulations/2001/html/pdfs/01ayksalmonid.pdf
Sonar estimates/weir counts: http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Region2/Escapement/HTML/query.cfm
River levels: http://aprfc.arh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ahps.cgi?pacr
Southcentral informational handouts: http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/region2/pubs.cfm
Safety in bear country: http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/hunt_trap/hunting/huntak/huntak14.cfm
Enforcement: http://www.dps.state.ak.us/fwp/index.asp
Regulations: http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/statewide/reghome.cfm
Northern pike: http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/region2/areas/anch/pikepage.cfm
OEO/ADA statement: http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/oeostate.php