Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet, AK Fishing Guide

Species at Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet

• King Salmon (Chinook)

  feeder/migrant kings stage off points, bite the tide change

  Season: May–Jul · Tide: moving water · Light: low light · Water: 45–55°F

• Sockeye Salmon (Red)

  plankton feeder; salt bite genuinely weak/incidental near stream mouths

  Season: Jun–Aug · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: any light · Water: 48–58°F

• Pink Salmon (Humpy)

  even-year hordes pile into warm bay heads before spawning, snap small spoons

  Season: Jul–Sep · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 50–60°F

• Silver Salmon (Coho)

  aggressive late-summer migrants chase bait on the flood

  Season: Aug–Sep · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: low light · Water: 48–58°F

• Chum Salmon (Dog)

  schools stage at bay heads, hit bright flies and spoons

  Season: Jul–Sep · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: low light · Water: 48–58°F

• Pacific Halibut

  ambush flatfish; you can hold bottom only near slack

  Season: May–Sep · Tide: slack water · Light: any light · Water: 40–50°F

• Lingcod

  reef ambusher; season opens Jul 1, fish the slack to hold bottom over the rocks

  Season: Jul–Oct · Tide: slack water · Light: any light · Water: 42–52°F

• Black Rockfish

  schools over reef tops feed all day on moving water

  Season: May–Oct · Tide: any tide stage · Light: any light · Water: 44–54°F

• Yelloweye Rockfish

  deep, slow-growing; retention closed through June, hold bottom on rough structure near slack

  Season: Jul–Sep · Tide: slack water · Light: any light · Water: 40–48°F

• Kelp Greenling

  nearshore kelp resident, picks bait off the bottom in current

  Season: May–Sep · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 46–56°F

• Pacific (Gray) Cod

  schools move shallow into bays in cool water, easy bottom bite

  Season: Mar–May, Sep–Dec · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 38–48°F

• Starry Flounder

  estuary flatfish rides the flood up onto mudflats to feed

  Season: May–Sep · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: any light · Water: 45–58°F

• Sea-run Dolly Varden

  spring char gorge on salmon smolt along beaches and estuaries

  Season: Apr–Jun, Sep · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: low light · Water: 40–52°F

• Coastal (Sea-run) Cutthroat Trout

  estuary trout chase smolt and fry on the rising tide

  Season: Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: low light · Water: 42–54°F

• Salmon Shark

  warm-bodied predator follows salmon schools into the sounds

  Season: Jun–Aug · Tide: any tide stage · Light: any light · Water: 48–60°F

What's biting at Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet, month by month

Typical seasons for this stretch of coast — a warm or late year shifts them by a few weeks. The live forecast scores today's actual conditions.

How Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet fishes

Open water lies to the south of Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet. A wind out of the south is onshore here — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes stirred-up water inshore, while a north wind flattens the surface and tends to clean it up.

Tide is the clock: moving water pulls bait through the mouth, and the turns around slack are when most of the roster feeds hardest.

Tides here are read from NOAA station 9455963 at 61.3933, -149.8470 — see it on NOAA CO-OPS.

Shops & partners near Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet

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Common questions about Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet

What fish can you catch at Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet?

King Salmon (Chinook), Sockeye Salmon (Red), Pink Salmon (Humpy), Silver Salmon (Coho), Chum Salmon (Dog), Pacific Halibut, Lingcod, Black Rockfish, Yelloweye Rockfish, Kelp Greenling, Pacific (Gray) Cod, Starry Flounder and 3 more. Each has its own season, preferred tide and water-temperature window at Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet.

When is the best time to fish Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet?

September has the most species in season (12 of 15) — Pink Salmon (Humpy), Silver Salmon (Coho), Chum Salmon (Dog), Pacific Halibut, Lingcod, Black Rockfish, Yelloweye Rockfish, Kelp Greenling. Seasons shift by a few weeks in a warm or late year.

Is there anything biting at Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet in winter?

January, February are the quiet stretch — none of the species we track are in their window then. The bite picks back up in March.

What tide is best for fishing Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet?

6 of the 15 species here feed best on the incoming tide. Moving water is what pulls bait through the mouth, so the hours either side of a tide change usually beat dead slack.

Which wind is bad for Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet?

Open water lies to the south, so a south wind is onshore — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes dirty water inshore. A north wind flattens and cleans it up.

Where are the tides for Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet measured?

NOAA CO-OPS station 9455963, at 61.3933, -149.8470. What Inlet? scores the live tide, current, solunar and weather for that station.

Inlets near Goose Creek, Knik Arm, Cook Inlet

• Long Bay Entrance, Culross Passage 72 mi
• Kenai River entrance 76 mi
• Chinulna Point, Cook Inlet 78 mi
• Kalgin Island (north end), Cook Inlet 93 mi
• Day Harbor 99 mi
• Snug Harbor, Knight Island 107 mi
• Snug Corner Cove, Port Fidalgo 116 mi
• Hanning Bay 124 mi

Fishing a different inlet today? Every one has its own species roster and bite pattern.

Browse every inlet in Alaska, or the full inlet directory.