CFN Fish Off 2026 in the Yukon

The CFN Fish Off, Canadian Fishing Network’s annual online multi-species fishing tournament, runs its 2026 Yukon edition from the Saturday of the May long weekend through July 3, following the same format that anchors the national competition: catch as many different qualifying fish species as possible within the tournament window, photograph each alongside the angler, submit through the mobile app or the event’s social media page, and accumulate ballots for weekly prize draws. The Yukon region entry draws anglers from Whitehorse and across the territory, but the competition’s online submission format means any licensed angler fishing Yukon waters through July 3 can participate regardless of their proximity to Whitehorse. Registration is free; participation requires only a valid Yukon fishing license and access to the CFN submission system.

The Yukon’s multi-species potential across this window is exceptional by any national comparison. The late-May to early-July calendar coincides with breakup and the immediate post-ice-out period when arctic grayling, northern pike, lake trout, and burbot become concentrated and active in patterns that experienced Yukon anglers read as the year’s most predictable fishing. Whitehorse’s position at the confluence of the Yukon River and the Takhini River, with Schwatka Lake directly within the city and Miles Canyon immediately upstream, gives the competition the unusual quality of a fishery accessible without a vehicle from the territory’s largest city. The team with the most species earns the overall championship; youth anglers 17 and under have their own prize category, and weekly mystery pack draws keep the competition actively engaged through the full six-week window.

Whitehorse and the Yukon River

Whitehorse, the Yukon’s capital and home to roughly 75 percent of the territory’s 45,000 residents, sits where the Yukon River exits Miles Canyon, a basalt-walled gorge that served as one of the most dangerous sections of the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush supply route. The S.S. Klondike National Historic Site, a restored 1930s sternwheeler that operated on the Yukon River until 1955, is preserved on the Whitehorse waterfront and provides a tangible connection to the territory’s transportation history that no museum exhibit replicates as directly as the vessel itself. The Yukon Wildlife Preserve, eight kilometers north of Whitehorse on the Alaska Highway, maintains accessible habitats for caribou, muskox, Alaska moose, mountain goats, and northern lynx in a 700-acre sanctuary that families consistently identify as the territory’s most focused wildlife encounter.

Good to Know
Whitehorse experiences effectively continuous daylight through June and into early July, with the sun setting briefly around 11:30 p.m. before rising again at 3:30 a.m. The extended light hours allow fishing through what would conventionally be considered nighttime in southern Canada, and evening fishing in full daylight is one of the more disorienting and memorable experiences available to visitors from the lower latitudes. Pack an eye mask if daylight sleep is required.

Where to Stay

Whitehorse has a range of hotels and wilderness lodges within the city and along the Yukon River corridor accessible from downtown. For visitors combining the tournament with a broader Yukon wilderness itinerary, look on Lake.com for properties in the Yukon and northern British Columbia area that provide river or lake access relevant to the multi-species competition format.