Summer sportfishing has begun in Unalaska, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game wants to hear how local anglers are doing.
"There are about five people who regularly contact me and give me updates about what's going on, which I really appreciate," said biologist Tyler Polum. "But more would help too."
Polum is a sportfish biologist for Kodiak, the Aleutian Islands, and the Alaska Peninsula.
This is his third summer compiling weekly fishing reports based on anecdotes from Unalaska's anglers — a project that grew out of concerns about the island's small run sizes.
"The idea was to get information out there regularly to keep people engaged, promote some of the areas that have really good, healthy fishing opportunities, and steer effort away from those that are needing some protection," he said.
Polum said all information is helpful, whether fishermen are casting at streams along the road system or out in the pass.
"Even if you went out and said, 'Wow. We didn’t catch anything in our usual spots,' that's the kind of stuff we're looking for," he said. "Or, 'I went out to Summer Bay and got the first red this year.'"
Sportfishing reports are published weekly from early June until September, whenever the silver salmon run wanes. Here's the first of the season.
Unalaskans can share their fishing accounts by emailing Polum at tyler.polum@alaska.gov or calling 907-486-1879.
