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"Massive 51.3M Sockeye Run Forecast for Bristol Bay's 2025 Season"
Good morning from the Bay, this is Artificial Lure with your fishing update for Friday, May 23, 2025.
Folks, we're looking at the start of what promises to be another monster season here in Bristol Bay. The Department forecasts a sockeye run of about 51.3 million fish returning to the Bay this season, with commercial harvesters expected to land around 34.8 million of those beauties.
The weather today is running typical for late May - we've got partly cloudy skies, temperatures hovering around 52°F, and a light breeze coming in from the southwest at about 8 knots. Sunrise hit at 5:12 AM this morning, and we won't see sunset until nearly 11:15 PM, giving you plenty of daylight to get after them.
For the tide situation, we're seeing a high tide at 10:42 AM, followed by a low at 4:53 PM. That ebb flow has been producing some excellent action as the sockeye start to stage for their river runs.
The early sockeye are definitely showing up in numbers now. Commercial guys are reporting strong catches in the Nushagak District, where they're expecting an inshore run of over 20 million fish this season. Tim Sands from Fish and Game tells me they're anticipating a harvest of about 15 million in that district alone.
What's really got people talking is that the fish size is trending larger than last year. The cooler spring seems to have given them more time to fatten up before heading inshore.
For you sport anglers, bright silver streamer patterns in sizes 4 and 6 have been the ticket, especially with a touch of pink or orange. If you're bottom fishing, fresh herring chunks are outperforming the frozen stuff three-to-one.
Hot spots this week include the deeper channels near the mouth of the Nushagak where the water's running about 6 degrees warmer than the surrounding shallows. The eddies just downstream from Graveyard Point have been particularly productive during the last two hours of the incoming tide.
The Togiak District is also starting to heat up, with early indicators suggesting we'll see numbers building there over the next week.
Remember to keep those hooks sharp and your nets wet. The 2025 run is shaping up to be one for the books, with Bristol Bay continuing its reign as the largest sockeye-producing region in Alaska. With a projected statewide commercial harvest of 214.6 million salmon (including 138.4 million pinks and 52.9 million sockeye), there's going to be plenty of action to go around.
This is Artificial Lure signing off - I'll catch you on the water!
Folks, we're looking at the start of what promises to be another monster season here in Bristol Bay. The Department forecasts a sockeye run of about 51.3 million fish returning to the Bay this season, with commercial harvesters expected to land around 34.8 million of those beauties.
The weather today is running typical for late May - we've got partly cloudy skies, temperatures hovering around 52°F, and a light breeze coming in from the southwest at about 8 knots. Sunrise hit at 5:12 AM this morning, and we won't see sunset until nearly 11:15 PM, giving you plenty of daylight to get after them.
For the tide situation, we're seeing a high tide at 10:42 AM, followed by a low at 4:53 PM. That ebb flow has been producing some excellent action as the sockeye start to stage for their river runs.
The early sockeye are definitely showing up in numbers now. Commercial guys are reporting strong catches in the Nushagak District, where they're expecting an inshore run of over 20 million fish this season. Tim Sands from Fish and Game tells me they're anticipating a harvest of about 15 million in that district alone.
What's really got people talking is that the fish size is trending larger than last year. The cooler spring seems to have given them more time to fatten up before heading inshore.
For you sport anglers, bright silver streamer patterns in sizes 4 and 6 have been the ticket, especially with a touch of pink or orange. If you're bottom fishing, fresh herring chunks are outperforming the frozen stuff three-to-one.
Hot spots this week include the deeper channels near the mouth of the Nushagak where the water's running about 6 degrees warmer than the surrounding shallows. The eddies just downstream from Graveyard Point have been particularly productive during the last two hours of the incoming tide.
The Togiak District is also starting to heat up, with early indicators suggesting we'll see numbers building there over the next week.
Remember to keep those hooks sharp and your nets wet. The 2025 run is shaping up to be one for the books, with Bristol Bay continuing its reign as the largest sockeye-producing region in Alaska. With a projected statewide commercial harvest of 214.6 million salmon (including 138.4 million pinks and 52.9 million sockeye), there's going to be plenty of action to go around.
This is Artificial Lure signing off - I'll catch you on the water!
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By Quiet. PleaseGood morning from the Bay, this is Artificial Lure with your fishing update for Friday, May 23, 2025.
Folks, we're looking at the start of what promises to be another monster season here in Bristol Bay. The Department forecasts a sockeye run of about 51.3 million fish returning to the Bay this season, with commercial harvesters expected to land around 34.8 million of those beauties.
The weather today is running typical for late May - we've got partly cloudy skies, temperatures hovering around 52°F, and a light breeze coming in from the southwest at about 8 knots. Sunrise hit at 5:12 AM this morning, and we won't see sunset until nearly 11:15 PM, giving you plenty of daylight to get after them.
For the tide situation, we're seeing a high tide at 10:42 AM, followed by a low at 4:53 PM. That ebb flow has been producing some excellent action as the sockeye start to stage for their river runs.
The early sockeye are definitely showing up in numbers now. Commercial guys are reporting strong catches in the Nushagak District, where they're expecting an inshore run of over 20 million fish this season. Tim Sands from Fish and Game tells me they're anticipating a harvest of about 15 million in that district alone.
What's really got people talking is that the fish size is trending larger than last year. The cooler spring seems to have given them more time to fatten up before heading inshore.
For you sport anglers, bright silver streamer patterns in sizes 4 and 6 have been the ticket, especially with a touch of pink or orange. If you're bottom fishing, fresh herring chunks are outperforming the frozen stuff three-to-one.
Hot spots this week include the deeper channels near the mouth of the Nushagak where the water's running about 6 degrees warmer than the surrounding shallows. The eddies just downstream from Graveyard Point have been particularly productive during the last two hours of the incoming tide.
The Togiak District is also starting to heat up, with early indicators suggesting we'll see numbers building there over the next week.
Remember to keep those hooks sharp and your nets wet. The 2025 run is shaping up to be one for the books, with Bristol Bay continuing its reign as the largest sockeye-producing region in Alaska. With a projected statewide commercial harvest of 214.6 million salmon (including 138.4 million pinks and 52.9 million sockeye), there's going to be plenty of action to go around.
This is Artificial Lure signing off - I'll catch you on the water!
Folks, we're looking at the start of what promises to be another monster season here in Bristol Bay. The Department forecasts a sockeye run of about 51.3 million fish returning to the Bay this season, with commercial harvesters expected to land around 34.8 million of those beauties.
The weather today is running typical for late May - we've got partly cloudy skies, temperatures hovering around 52°F, and a light breeze coming in from the southwest at about 8 knots. Sunrise hit at 5:12 AM this morning, and we won't see sunset until nearly 11:15 PM, giving you plenty of daylight to get after them.
For the tide situation, we're seeing a high tide at 10:42 AM, followed by a low at 4:53 PM. That ebb flow has been producing some excellent action as the sockeye start to stage for their river runs.
The early sockeye are definitely showing up in numbers now. Commercial guys are reporting strong catches in the Nushagak District, where they're expecting an inshore run of over 20 million fish this season. Tim Sands from Fish and Game tells me they're anticipating a harvest of about 15 million in that district alone.
What's really got people talking is that the fish size is trending larger than last year. The cooler spring seems to have given them more time to fatten up before heading inshore.
For you sport anglers, bright silver streamer patterns in sizes 4 and 6 have been the ticket, especially with a touch of pink or orange. If you're bottom fishing, fresh herring chunks are outperforming the frozen stuff three-to-one.
Hot spots this week include the deeper channels near the mouth of the Nushagak where the water's running about 6 degrees warmer than the surrounding shallows. The eddies just downstream from Graveyard Point have been particularly productive during the last two hours of the incoming tide.
The Togiak District is also starting to heat up, with early indicators suggesting we'll see numbers building there over the next week.
Remember to keep those hooks sharp and your nets wet. The 2025 run is shaping up to be one for the books, with Bristol Bay continuing its reign as the largest sockeye-producing region in Alaska. With a projected statewide commercial harvest of 214.6 million salmon (including 138.4 million pinks and 52.9 million sockeye), there's going to be plenty of action to go around.
This is Artificial Lure signing off - I'll catch you on the water!