Chatanika Personal Use Whitefish Spear Fishery
Overview

Chatanika River Personal Use Whitefish Spear Fishery

A permit is required, and this fishery is open to Alaska residents only. Permits are issued using a lottery system. Applicants need to submit an online application through the ADF&G Online Store during a specific time frame, typically the first two weeks of August.

The spear fishery permits are household permits. Only one application can be submitted per household. All members of the household who are 18 years old or older must also have an Alaska resident sport fishing license, ADF&G senior license or ADF&G Disabled Veteran's license to participate, and all household members must be named on the application.

Reporting: Whitefish harvests must be recorded on permits before leaving the fishing site, and permits must be reported online to the Fairbanks Fish and Game office or permit holders will not be able to receive a permit the following year.

Season: The fishery is open from approximately mid-September to mid-October each year, with the exact dates announced during the lottery and printed on the permit..)

Limits: There is an annual household limit of 10 in combination of humpback whitefish, round whitefish, and least cisco, with no size limits. Be aware there are other fish species in the Chatanika, and some of them are legal to spear under the general regulations, while others are not.

Arctic grayling and sheefish may not be speared or retained.

Northern pike, burbot and suckers may be legally speared but do not need to be recorded on your permit and do not count against your whitefish bag limit. PRIOR to spearing, please review the current seasons, methods and means, and bag limits for these species to ensure you will be in compliance.

Allowable gear: Spear.

Area: The fishery is open only from the Elliot Highway Bridge downstream to the Alyeska Pipeline crossing (approximately seven miles downstream of the Elliot Highway Bridge).