Nothing live is published for this water, so there is no reading or verdict today. The readings section below says what we checked.
Ella Creek is a freestone river in Alaska, listed as Catch and release by Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish lists 2 species, including cutthroat trout and steelhead. No guide or shop nearby is listed yet; the nearest destination hub is Ketchikan & Revillagigedo Island.
Ella Creek is a freestone river in Alaska. Our destination hub Ketchikan & Revillagigedo Island is 23 mi away in a straight line and lists it among its waters. Alaska has 2 waters named Ella Creek in the USGS Geographic Names Information System; this page is the stream whose mouth is in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, the one the agency list names.
No real-time gauge on this water. We found no active USGS gauge on Ella Creek or on its stream system within about 25 miles, and no dam operator publishes data for it. A missing gauge says nothing about the water itself. Find the gauges nearest Ella Creek
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Restrooms within 2 miles of Ella Creek in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.
Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Steelhead / salmon waterKetchikan Creek Falls, Ketchikan, Alaska. Photo: Larry Syverson from Richmond, VA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Special-regulation trout waterBakewell Lake, Misty Fiords, Tongass National Forest (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Manzanita LakeSweetwater Lake, Prince of Wales Island, Tongass National Forest (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Manzanita Lake.
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Fish CreekThe Thorne River on Prince of Wales Island at the end of the day (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Fish Creek.
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Naha RiverThe Indian River in Sitka, Alaska. Photo: James Crippen, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Naha River.
Steelhead / salmon waterRepresentative photo · not Ward CreekPink salmon running up Montana Creek, Juneau, Alaska. Photo: Joseph from Cabin On The Road, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Ward Creek.
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout, salmon & steelhead.
On the ADF&G Southeast sport fishing regulations, Ketchikan: catch-and-release for rainbow/steelhead or cutthroat trout, Arctic char/Dolly Varden, lake trout or Arctic grayling list (Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, read 2026-10-23). All waters with this designation
On the ADF&G Southeast sport fishing regulations, Ketchikan: unbaited artificial lures or flies only (all or part of the year) list (Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, read 2026-10-23). All waters with this designation
Measured from the National Hydrography Dataset (large scale) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.
Whole Ella Creek, not only this reach.
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
No guide within 40 miles yet.
No shop nearby yet.
The species the agency lists here; presence varies by reach and season.
Listed by the state agency
Species guide
Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii), photographed by James E. Johnson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: James E. Johnson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Winter steelhead fishing on the Skagit River, Washington (Doug Wilson, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). Photo: Doug Wilson, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Ketchikan sits on Revillagigedo Island at the southern end of Southeast Alaska, with no road connection to the rest of the state; Ketchikan Creek runs through the town, and Ward Creek and the Naha River drain the island to the north.
Destination hub · 23 mi away in a straight line
Matched on the fish the agencies list for both waters first, then the same water type, an official designation or flagship listing on both, and a similar mapped size where USGS hydrography covers both.
At most two waters per country. A shared fish is a listing, not a promise: presence varies by reach and season.
Like the Ella Creek? Same fish, overseas.
Freestone river
Freestone riverThe Santa Cruz River from National Route 40, downstream of Lago Argentino. Photo: Fredlyfish4, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons
Freestone riverRepresentative photo · not Dean RiverThe Chilko River at Lava Canyon. Photo: Kevin Teague, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Dean River.
Southern seasons open while ours close.
Flagship waterPenstock Lagoon, Central Highlands, Tasmania. Photo: Mike Cline, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Freestone riverRepresentative photo · not Río PetrohuéThe Río Puelo at Las Gualas, Cochamó. Photo: Nicolás from seno de reloncaví, Chile, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Río Petrohué.
Lake or reservoirRepresentative photo · not Lago LlanquihueThe Río Simpson passing Coyhaique, Aysén. Photo: Manxuc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Lago Llanquihue.
Lake or reservoir
Flagship waterRepresentative photo · not Mataura RiverThe Oreti River near Lumsden, Southland. Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons Not Mataura River.
Flagship waterGreat Lake, Tasmania. Photo: Peripitus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A steelhead and salmon fly-fishing checklist: a switch or spey rod (or 9′6″ single-hand) in 7–8 weight, Skagit lines and sink tips, swing flies, studded boots and cold-weather layers, with estimated prices and where to buy.
11′–13′6″ two-hand rod, 7–8 weight, Skagit head + sink tips · Steelhead and Pacific salmon
Open the checklistSeams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on reading water
Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on nymphing
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Ella Creek.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: a point on the mapped channel of “Ella Creek” near the middle of its length in Alaska, from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset, read 4 Nov 2026. It marks the water, not a particular access or reach. Water type is our own classification.
Steelhead / salmon waterKetchikan Creek Falls, Ketchikan, Alaska. Photo: Larry Syverson from Richmond, VA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Special-regulation trout waterBakewell Lake, Misty Fiords, Tongass National Forest (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Manzanita LakeSweetwater Lake, Prince of Wales Island, Tongass National Forest (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Manzanita Lake.
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Fish CreekThe Thorne River on Prince of Wales Island at the end of the day (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Fish Creek.
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Naha RiverThe Indian River in Sitka, Alaska. Photo: James Crippen, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Naha River.
Steelhead / salmon waterRepresentative photo · not Ward CreekPink salmon running up Montana Creek, Juneau, Alaska. Photo: Joseph from Cabin On The Road, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Ward Creek.
