Sitka, Alaska
I'm just back from a two day fishing trip to Sitka, AK. Catching big fish in a far away place was an awesome experience. I have never fished for either species and it is always interesting to learn how fish are caught in different areas. I was fishing with my uncle and two of his buddies from Washington State.
On day #1 we focused on catching salmon and halibut. We took turns fishing with two rods dedicated for each species. I caught a nice king salmon and lost another one. I also caught two halibut. The big one was 64" (134lbs according to the length & weight tables). Hauling it up from 200' on heavy tackle was an awesome battle. The rough seas also added to the fun. Our limit of 8 halibut also included another one that weighed about 70lbs.
On day #2 we fished for salmon. It was very slow and we picked up fish sporadically throughout the day. There were some long dry spells without any fish being caught. I only caught one king salmon all day but it was another memorable fight. The fish and I circled the boat a couple of times and it made several nice runs when I got it close to the boat. The other guys scored two more king salmon and five coho (silver) salmon. We took a break from salmon and caught a few rockfish but nobody was very excited about it. I'm not sure why the Captain decided to do this.
On the return flight I checked 1 box of frozen & vacuum sealed halibut and salmon fillets that weighed 50lbs. I also had a 10lb box of rockfish fillets. Due to some airline issues my flight back involved visiting 5 airports (Sitka, Ketchican, Seattle, Portland, and San Jose). The fish remained frozen even though my trip took about 4 hours longer than expected.
The other 3 guys that I fished with are veterans of many alaska trips and they thought this was the slowest fishing they have ever experienced. They also weren't crazy about our captain. I have to agree that I think he lost interest about half way through day #2.
On day #1 we focused on catching salmon and halibut. We took turns fishing with two rods dedicated for each species. I caught a nice king salmon and lost another one. I also caught two halibut. The big one was 64" (134lbs according to the length & weight tables). Hauling it up from 200' on heavy tackle was an awesome battle. The rough seas also added to the fun. Our limit of 8 halibut also included another one that weighed about 70lbs.
On day #2 we fished for salmon. It was very slow and we picked up fish sporadically throughout the day. There were some long dry spells without any fish being caught. I only caught one king salmon all day but it was another memorable fight. The fish and I circled the boat a couple of times and it made several nice runs when I got it close to the boat. The other guys scored two more king salmon and five coho (silver) salmon. We took a break from salmon and caught a few rockfish but nobody was very excited about it. I'm not sure why the Captain decided to do this.
On the return flight I checked 1 box of frozen & vacuum sealed halibut and salmon fillets that weighed 50lbs. I also had a 10lb box of rockfish fillets. Due to some airline issues my flight back involved visiting 5 airports (Sitka, Ketchican, Seattle, Portland, and San Jose). The fish remained frozen even though my trip took about 4 hours longer than expected.
The other 3 guys that I fished with are veterans of many alaska trips and they thought this was the slowest fishing they have ever experienced. They also weren't crazy about our captain. I have to agree that I think he lost interest about half way through day #2.
posted by brian | 11:21 PM
2 Comments:
Looks like a pretty good haul to me! Any trip you get to add two new species to your life list is always a plus. What does a run like that cost?
I still want to go up there and catch a few "little" halibut (50# or so) and freeze em whole, bring it back to TX and sneak them into the water on my stringer down around SeaWolf Park when its elbow to elbow. Just stroll aroung fishing with them on my stringer and see what folks say. Tell em I caught em on dead shrimp.
I can scarcely imagine what kind of heat haul it would have been if your guide would have kept pushing hard for the full two days.
Sweet Salmon and Halibut, savor them, I bet it will be a while before you get back up there for a repeat.
Post a Comment
<< Home