January 28, 2012  Barndoor Halibut for Southeast…2012 Halibut Catch Limits and Regs

In 2011, Southeast Alaska Guided Anglers were kept to below half of their allowable catch by over-restrictive management measures.  In December, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) recommended a “reverse slot-limit” of under 45″ or over 68″ (U45/O68) for the Southeast charter fleet.  The Council’s motion to make that recommendation was adopted without objection.  Those lengths correspond to a fish under about 43 pounds or over 163 pounds.  I can live with that, but would like to get back to 1 of any size or a  2 fish limit with one over one under.  I guess we will just have to keep working on it, but for now this will make for a much better 2012 season for guided halibut anglers in Southeast Alaska.     cm 

January 16, 2012

It’s that time of year again.  International Sportsmans Expo is this next weekend January 19-22 Cal-Expo State Fairgrounds– Sacramento, California.  Capt. Ryan and I will be there again this year meeting new people, old friends and talking Alaskan fishing again.  It’s great to think that in just a few short months we will be back on the water chasing Kings.  This is the turning point each year that marks the home stretch before getting back to fishing!  If all works out, we might even have some time after the show to do some steelhead fishing.  Come to the show if you are in the neighborhood and get the opportunity.  We love to meet people and talk boats, salmon and halibut fishing.  Actually, we like to talk about pretty much any type of fishing.  Come see us!

January 6, 2012 Southeast Salmon Forecast

I just had a look at the ADFG Pink Salmon Abundance Forcast for Southeast.  They are forecasting 17 million fish to return to Southeast Alaska this year.  That sounds like a lot, but it falls within the “weak” catagory for Pinks.  It will be interesting to see what actually happens.  Every year is the same, but different.  The 2011 season is a great example of the variables that come in to play.  We were forcasted to have a bumper crop last year, and we did, but they didn’t  return well to the Southern part of Southeast.  Fishing was slower during the first part of the season, but when the purse seiners realized that catches were better up North,  they almost all left.  Fishing got really good and continued to be that way through the rest of the summer.  There isn’t really any correlation between Kings Salmon and Pinks as far as strength of run, but I suspect that Silvers and Pinks have a closer relationship.  Well I guess we’ll see how it turns out come October.  By the way, Welcome to the Norwegian Wind who will be coming to Ketchikan this summer.  I have a couple of groups halibut and salmon fishing off the Norwegian Wind coming up this summer.  I can’t wait to get back on the water.  Till next time.  CM 

December 21, 2011   Can’t quit Smoking… a.k.a.   Oh very yummy smoked salmon!

I tried to quit again, but I wasn’t able to resist the temptation.  I gave in and lit it up (the smoker that is).  There is something about this time of year that brings out the urge to brine up and smoke salmon.  For me it is the colder weather, having a little more time on my hands, and running out of smoked salmon.  The 2011 season kept me unusually busy, to the point that smoking fish never made the scheduling cut.  Anyone who has ever undertaken this project knows that after the brining process is finished it takes up all of your attention for the next day or two sometimes.  This year I decided to smoke all of the Salmon I still had vac sealed in the freezer, which was about 75lbs of fillet.  I figured that if it hadn’t been eaten by now it was definitely time to preserve it before it started to go bad.  Although it is a lot of work, it brings a great feeling to take something you caught and cleaned all the way to a finished product that is ready to eat.  This year we ended up smoking King Salmon, Coho Salmon, and Chum Salmon.  By far, it was mostly Coho Salmon (Silver).  I used my great big smoker ”Snowball” which I normally use for hams, jerky, and bacon.  The last time I used it for fish it got too hot and I wasn’t real happy with the end result.  This time I stayed with it all the way through and really monitored the air flow and temperature.  It took five batches to get it all done, but it is probably the best salmon I have ever smoked and the best looking.  By the way, this is the same salmon I put out for snacks during charter.  It is also what most of my family gets for Christmas!  I don’t think it will ruin the suprise, I’m sure they already expect it.  Don’t forget:  If you must smoke…Smoke Salmon!

December 13, 2011     Halibut Fishing and Halibut Management Issues

Things have finally slowed down a bit and I had a few minutes to do an update.  NPFMC has recommended a reverse slot limit of under 45 inches or over 68” for Southeast Alaska.  Great improvement from under 37” we had last year, but considering that the charter sector only took about half of our harvest limit (because of restrictions and new CHP program) we were due for a break.  Recommendations will go to IPHC who essentially have the final word.  “Catch Sharing” appears to be on hold until 2013 due to many oversights and lack of good data.  Stopping CSP it is probably our (sport anglers)biggest challenge going forward.  For next year, at least, we should be able to keep some nice Halibut again.

September 30, 2011   Wrap Up

The 2011 fishing season is now in the books.  It was marked by great King Salmon fishing, crazy new Halibut restrictions, and Wind…lots of Wind.  Silvers are still coming in and abundant even on the south end of town.  I haven’t fished them in a little bit, but Jim has stayed pretty busy up until this last week.  The average size out South hasn’t improved much (still 6-8lbs) on Cohos, but numbers are pretty impressive compared to other years.  The windy conditions haven’t subsided yet.  Clarence Strait had winds last night of around 70kt in places.  I hope we can get passed this and have it calm down some, I’d like to get back out and fish coho’s a little more before they are gone.  2012 is shaping up to be another good year and luckily NMFS held off on CSP (due to public comment), which probably would have been the proverbial “straw on the camels back” for Southeast Alaska’s charter boats.  It might still happen, but I don’t think we could have taken another hit 5 years in a row.  It has become so important as recreational anglers to be involved or become involved in the politics of fishing.  It is the same everywhere: East Coast, in the Gulf,  West Coast, as well as up here in Alaska.  There are lots of people working to keep us from fishing or to “manage” and “Share” your fish into the commercial sector so that you can buy them back.  We have a lot planned for next year and hope it all comes together. I will try to keep up to you up to date as best I can over the winter.  CM 

August 20, 2011 

SE Gales to 45kt up to 8” of rain in next 24hrs.  This is the second one in just a few days.  Weather has been pretty tough, but the fishing has been good.  With all of this rain, we may be starting the transition from Pinks to Silvers in the near future.  Have had many good trips in the last 10 days for  Silvers and Chums landing about 20 per trip and getting to do some bottomfishing as well.  Had a slower than expected trip yesterday in close to town.  We landed 9 pinks.  It kinda left me wondering if all this rain has begun pushing them up the streams.  Some other Captains I talked with had slightly better days than I did, with landings in the range of a dozen with a few Silvers thrown in.  I have a halibut trip tomorrow, I hope the weather is going to lay down enough to go. 

Augutst 11, 2011  Ketchikan Fishing Report

I’ve been on the water so much that I haven’t had an opportunity to sit down and update in a while.  Right now, seeing limits on Pink Salmon pretty much every four hour trip.  I have been running combination Halibut and Salmon fishing charters for the last week and have been able to get our halibut/bottomfish and still have enough time for 1-2 hours for Salmon.  In close to town it is almost exclusively Pinks.  There is some pretty good fishing for Silvers and Chums within about an hour of Ketchikan.  I have also heard of some pretty good fishing  for Silvers on the back side of Gravina and Camano, as well as, the inside of Prince of Whales.  Also of note, there seem to be a few feeder Kings around.  Weather has been beautiful, 60′s and sunny.  But today it clouded up and rained off and on.  It’s supposed to be nice this weekend though.  Hopefully the rain will bring in some of the Coho’s that have been holding a little farther out.  I can’t believe it’s already August, this summer is going by too fast!

cm 

 

 July 23, 2011  Ketchikan Salmon Fishing & Ketchikan Halibut Fishing Charter Report

It’s safe to call it now.  King Season is over.  Solid daily landings of 12-16 pinks on four hour charter with some nice Chum Salmon and Coho’s thrown for good measure.  Almost 5 days without a King Salmon.  Halibut fishing has finally turned on really good.  Limits of halibut when we don’t have to release too many oversized ones.  Making up the difference on Pacific Cod, Rockfish, and Lingcod.  Jimmy fished down south near the Canadian border the last four days and reported that it was ”Epic”.  Great bottomfishing and Limits on Silvers (Coho Salmon), it won’t be too long until they will come in close enough for a half day trip.  They already are in reach of all day fishing charters.  Got a great report today from an area that is easily reachable in an all day trip and manageable on a 6 hour charter for Coho’s.  It’s also one of my favorite halibut spots that has begun to produce in the last week and a half.    Weather forcasts have been completely off for about 10 days and it’s been quite Variable.  From Sunny and 65 to sheet rain and 30kt winds within 24hrs and everything in between.  I’ve got about 4-5 more days of fishing before a break, so look for a new report around the end of the month.

See you on the water…Cm

  July 14, 2011  Ketchikan Salmon and Halibut Fishing

Just finished up a ten day stretch on the water.  We have been able to get limits on halibut and we are still catching some Kings.  Some of the best bites are late in the evening or early in the morning.  Mixed bag in town with a little of everything.  Pinks are coming in good, but it’s not really hot yet.  Good friend of mine landed a 23 pound ocean bright chum the other day, wow what a fish.  I also heard of a 53 or 54 pound king that came into the dock this week.  You just can’t tell what you might catch this time of year.  I was halibut fishing in about 250 feet of water about 5 days ago and caught a black cod (sable fish), a first for me.  Weather has been nice, but looks like rain may be coming back into the forcast.  Good luck on the water.  CM

July, 4  2011 King’s aren’t done yet

I may have called it too soon.  I had two trips yesterday. We landed six King Salmon as well as mixed catch of Silvers, Pinks, and Chums.  We lost an equal number of Kings as we landed.  They all had some color to them, but all looked good.  Many thanks to my group of first timers for sticking it out in some fairly snotty weather.

 June 30, 2011  Ketchikan Salmon Fishing

Large spoons and whole herring baits with large flashers have been gradually working their way back into the tackle box.  Hootchies and hotspots are blooming on everyones back deck.  King Season is not completely over but the bite has really died off this last week.  Fortunately a mixed bag of coho’s, pinks, and chums is starting to arrive.  I have heard of quite a few boats with landings in the half a dozen range of mixed bag salmon.  Half day fishing charter two days ago–We hooked up 8 Kings released two that were small, landed two (one just over 30lb) and one ocean bright chum.  I fished offshore two days after my return and had good success on halibut in the right size range.  On one trip, we released 17 halibut.  Tried some salmon fishing on the bottom Eastern side of Duke Island and spot checked all the way to the top of Mary without much action.  It won’t be long until the early coho’s arrive, but they aren’t there right now.  Seems like Clarence is pretty good right now, except for the rough water.  A little weather has come in the last few days and we’ve got small craft advisorys for tomorrow and a few gale warnings further out.  Not calling for less than 20kt in the next few days where I would like to be fishing.  Not exactly the way you expect July to arrive–more like September.

June 25, 2011  Ketchikan

 Have returned to Ketchikan safely after one of the most amazing trips of my life.  We fished around Coronation Island and Cape Decision area for four days and found decent numbers of Kings and amazing bottomfishing.  The scenery was beyond compare and the weather was perfect.  We were’nt getting quite the number of opportunities I would expect from that type of a place, so we moved on to Noyes Island/St. Joseph and fished down to Cape Addington.  Fishing was good, lots of Kings.  One day we had 30 hookups.  We were very lucky and the weather held.  Fished for two days and caught many kings in beautiful weather, just not any big ones.  This trip was all about trying to land Kings that were over 50 pounds.  There were also too many boats in that area (lodges out of Craig), it just didn’t have same feel.  After the second day of fishing, we decided to go go Cape Muzon.  It was too far to travel that evening (86 miles to the anchorage), so we left out for Waterfall Bay on the outside of Dall Island.  We arrived there about dark (11:30 pm) and anchored up.  Bright and early the next morning, the weather was still great.  I could see a place in the distance that I’ve always wanted to visit:  Forrester Island.  We took on fuel and headed out.  Once again, the scenery was breathtaking.  Whales, sealions, sea otters, puffins, and a large ocean swell breaking on the rocks.  We fished the entire backside for about half a day and landed many lingcod and various other pelagic rockfish species while trolling, but no Kings.  It was time to make a move.  I charted a course for Cape Muzon.  Along the way, we happened to have a giant ocean pinnacle directly on our course…Lingcod…Big Ones.  Did catch and release on them for about half an hour keeping only one that was small enough for the slot limit.  Broke off one and lost another that might have reached the magic 55 inch mark.  Arrived at Cape Muzon at around 3 in the afternoon to a serious ripping current.  Hooked up some nice Kings and small Coho’s almost immediately.  It was a place that I would have liked to spent more time at, but by noon the next day we were tired of grinding and our eyes were searching for greener pastures.  It was nice to be back close to home in my backyard so to speak.  I decided to go ahead and make the move to Cape Chacon and on the way took a detour to some rocks to look for Kings.  Hooked up four, but still not the volume of fish.  Pulled lines and headed for Chacon.  Killer whales were working around Nunez so I knew I wasn’t going to fish there, but it was a good sign that there were more fish in the area than where we had been.  They were the first Killer Whales I had seen on the trip.  We came on around the Cape and the water was just moving too fast to fish.  That left only one place close by, Stone Rocks.  When we got closer, I could see boats working.  Boats I recognized.  We dropped lines in and had two fish on within 5 minutes.  Coho’s.  We fished the surface bite for about an hour landing and loosing many fish, but not any Kings.  We decided to drop one a little deeper, 75 ft.  Boom….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  King ON!  During the next four and a half hours, we landed our limit of Kings and Coho’s with the largest being 32 pounds and released/lost/missed and unbelievable number of fish.  I think we went through about 75-80 baits on only two rods.  Epic.  This is what we were looking for.  We decided to call it a day at around 5 o’clock with the fish still biting as we were all very tired.  I awoke early the next morning and something was different.  Weather Change.  I listened to the report  SE 20 to 25.  Not good.  We only had a couple of hours to fish, so we loaded up and headed out.  It was pretty lumpy but bearable, however, you could tell it was building.  Hooked up 4 Kings in two hours and decided to call it a day. Eased back in ridings 5 footers.  Did some sorting and securing and said our goodbys to guests and crew of the Oberon and headed home for Ketchikan.  Rough ride home crossing Clarence in 5-6 footers but it just reminded me how lucky we were the whole trip.  Can’t wait to do it again.  CM

 June 14   Coronation Island

Well, we made it up here!  Great weather made for an enjoyable trip.  Left at 4am arrived at 2pm.  Stopped for an hour or so at Port Protection and trolled some.  I needed a break from the wheel.  Landed a small Coho/Silver Salmon and headed for Coronation off in the misty distance.  Arrived pretty tired from 9 hours of dodging chunks and logs.  We trolled some close to where we were going to anchor up in Aats Bay and landed 2 lingcod, 1 halibut, unknown number of bait stealing pelagic rockfish (mostly blacks, but one was a vermillion).  Going to troll some more today and try to find where the kings are staying.  Oh, by the way,  tons of cute little sea otters all around our anchorage.  later.  cm

June 12, 2011

I am leaving for Coronation Island for ten days of fishing the outside waters for BIG Kings.  Wish us luck.  I wanted to give one more report before I left.  Killer Whales spent most of the morning around the Mountain Point/Herring Cove area today and the fishing suffered accordingly.  The 4 evenings prior were nothing less than spectacular.  One night we landed 5 kings in less than 30 minutes.  All told, we had 33 King Salmon hooked up in 4 evenings and one 4 hr fishing charter.  It should straighten out if the “Black and Whites” will go find fish elsewhere for a while.  I will update when I return. If you are going to be in town during the next couple of weeks, and want to do some evening fishing, call Ryan  www.ketchikan-fishing.com   p.s. all emails and phone calls will be answered as soon as possible by business mgr/wife/moma Miranda.

See you on the water,  CM

June 8th  Ketchikan Halibut Fishing and King Salmon Fishing

I fished June 5th for Halibut and King Salmon on the 6th.  Halibut fishing was ok. We landed three legal halibut, lost a few, and landed quite a few other meat fish (Rockfish, Pacific Cod, etc.).  Had some friends in town on the Norwegian Star on the 6th who had never salmon fished before.  Had a great bite early in the morning and had seven strikes, 4 hookups, and landed one that we released.  Tough fishing, but the number of opportunities made for a busy and fun four hour fishing charter.  Killer whales moved through the area the evening of the 6th and I haven’t fished since to see if things are back to normal after their visit.  Planning to go out this evening and check it out.

June 3,

Night bite was good last night about 9:00  3 Kings Hooked up.

June 2, Ketchikan King Update

King Salmon fishing is picking up.  There is a pretty good night bite that is becoming more predictable and early morning fishing is better.  There is lots of bait around and it looks very good.  I fished for three hours this morning and picked up one 20lb fish, missed one, and released a short one.  I am going back out this afternoon and I will update ASAP.

May 31, 2011 Ketchikan Salmon Fishing

Thanks to everyone who pointed out that I’m not keeping up.  Kings are in thick, but fishing is inconsistent.  I fished the last three days and the first day was slow but productive: two twenty’s and a thirty-five and a half pounder.  The next two days were slow but not productive.  Rumor has it that there was a really good bite at the crack of dawn both days.  If your planning to fish Ketchikan, I can tell you that you haven’t missed the run.  According to the ADFG website, the Terminal Hatchery area around Ketchikan will open up tomorrow.  Hard to believe that there have been that many fish already returned, but tomorrow we will be able to retain 6 Kings per person if we can get them in the net!  No excuses, but don’t ever try to build a house in SE Alaska  90 days prior to the Spring fishing season.  I’ll try to do better. 

P.S.  Big Baits

Tight Lines,  CM 

May 9th Salmon Fishing

The four hour salmon fishing trip went pretty well yesterday.  I had a good group of three from North Carolina:  Grandfather, Father +Son.  I would have liked to had more chances, but it just wasn’t happening.  Kendall (9 yrs)  landed a small King Salmon to kick the skunk off the boat pretty early on, but there just wasn’t a lot of bait activity around.  During the flood tide, we had some trouble keeping the lines clear of kelp (pop weed), which made fishing a little tough.  Near the end of the trip we hooked up a really nice king down deep and he beat us up to the surface.  White water went everywhere as he blew up.  We got a second jump out of him (full cartwheel) before the line went slack.  I was clearing lines and am not sure if he threw the hooks during the jump or if he charged the boat and got slack, but in the end it all works out the same.  LDR…long distance release.  On another topic:  I don’t see the need right now for a fuel surcharge, so our prices are what you see on the rates page.  Also, we added a promotional price for the month of May.  Four hour Salmon Charters in the month of May are $125/person with a four person minimum if paid in full.

May 8th  Ketchikan Salmon Fishing

The day is finally here!  Our Ketchikan fishing charter season begins today.  We have a group off the Disney Wonder that we are taking fishing this afternoon.  Nice that the ship’s schedule will allow us to fish the afternoon high tide.  Went King Salmon fishing yesterday for a few hours and landed one (about 18lbs), and missed one.   Happy Mothers Day! 

April 23, 2011  Ketchikan Salmon Fishing

King Salmon have begun to move in to the area.  Some friends fished the back side of Gravina Island twice this week and had one really good trip (3 Kings) and one scratch.  I had an opportunity to get out yesterday and fished three areas South of Ketchikan.  I was mostly looking for signs of bait and fish moving in.  All in all, the fishing wasn’t nearly as good as the weather.   We landed one King Salmon that was a little bit short (28 inch min), trolled up about a 25lb Halibut, and one small lingcod.  We are going to check some other places here in the next few days

April 8, 2011  Ketchikan Salmon Fishing Report

I landed our first King Salmon of the 2011 season last Sunday.  Captain Ryan, Clay, and myself went out to do a shakedown fishing trip and had two on and landed one.  From some of the reports I have heard, the herring spawn is happening and King Salmon Fishing should really turn on soon.  Some bad weather and a busy Spring schedule have kept us from fishing too much, but we have managed three trips checking out the boats this week.  Bag limits for King Salmon in SE Alaska were set on the first of this month.  They are expecting a very good year on Kings and have set Non Residents at two per day in the month of May and 1 per day for the remainder of the year, with an annual limit of 4-5.  I am not sure which- four or five?  That’s just what it says.  One great thing about the Ketchikan vicinity is that usually during mid to late June they open up the local area where we fish so that residents and non residents can retain up to 6 Kings.  This is because we have several fish hatcheries close by and after they have had all the King Salmon they need return to the hatcheries they want the excess fish caught so that they don’t return to the hatchery.   I would like to get out and do some more salmon fishing next week, but we’ll just have to see how the weather turns out.  It’s still kinda cool and very rainy right now.  Till next time.  CM

March 5, 2011 

It’s almost here!  Some Kings are being caught when weather permits and I’m ready to get line wet.  The boats should be in the water around April Fools day and it is shaping up to be a busy charter fishing season.  I can hardly wait to see the first chromer of the season.  According to the 2011 cruise ship calendar, the first ships to arrive are the Carnival Spirit and Disney Wonder on May 8th.  This is the first year that Disney Cruises are coming to Ketchikan and it should be a good addition.  I have heard that they are one of the most fun ships to take a cruise on.  It looks like the Ketchikan salmon fishing should be very good this year by ADF&G estimates.  There are quite a few King Salmon running  around when the weather begins to cooperate a little more it will be great to get out and do some pre-fishing before the fishing charters really get going. 

January 30, 2011 

Ketchikan fishing season is fast aproaching.  Capt. Ryan and I had a good time at the Sacramento Sportsmans Expo and met a lot of great people.  I can tell you that talking about halibut and salmon fishing charters for four days really made us anxious to get back at it.  King salmon fishing is calling my name.   

January 05, 2011 

Happy New Year!  Finally finished the 2010 Ketchikan Fishing DVD.  It took a lot more work than I expected, but it turned out nice.  Capt. Ryan and I are getting ready for the International Sportsmans Expo in Sacramento January 20-23.  Stop by and see us.  I have had several friends tell me that the winter King Salmon fishing has been really good this last month.  I can’t wait to get back out on the water! 

December 18, 2010 

I have finally gotten the time to begin editing some video from the 2010 Ketchikan charter fishing season.  Sorry it took so long.  I have recently uploaded four or five new videos on youtube and have many more to do.  I am still learning how to use the software features so please bear with me.  I have one of our boat, halibut fishing, and Ketchikan wildlife viewing and sightseeing or at least what we see on a regular basis while we are out fishing.  Hope you enjoy them. http://www.youtube.com/user/claytondmoore?feature=mhum 

December 12, 2010 

Happy Holidays to everyone! It’s the time of year that I begin looking toward the upcoming Ketchikan charter fishing season and worrying over fishing tackle.  I have been considering upgrading my Halibut fishing reels to something with a faster retrieve than my TLD 20’s.  I think I have settled on the new Shimano Tyrnos 20, at 5.0:1 they should bring up baits and fish much faster and save my anglers arms better than the 3.6:1 retrieve speed of the TLD 20.  Captain Ryan McRobert of Best Weigh Guide Svc and I are teaming up to do the Sacramento, CA International Sportsmans Expo.  It is being held January 20-23 at the Cal Expo, State Fairgrounds.  When I get our assigned booth, I will update with an Expo Map showing our booth location.A lot of Halibut issues are still unresolved, but some good news is that the 2011 SE Alaska Pink Salmon Forecast “is predicted to be in the excellent range.” ADFG quote  With about a 55 million fish harvest prediction. A recent article in the Anchorage Daily News declared that 2011 looks to be a boom year for Alaska fisheries. I haven’t seen any news about King Salmon or Coho’s, but I’ll put it up if I come across anything. 

CM   

 December 1, 2010 

Salmon Fishing Techniques – Drag Management 

I was reading an article in a fishing magazine the other day about star drags and drag management.  It never fails that I find an idea that I can use and also things that don’t necessarily fit the way we fish.  The idea that I really liked was to warm up your drags by stripping off about 20 feet of line in three foot bursts before testing your drag setting with a scale.  I always set my drags with a scale, but I’ve never warmed the drag washers up first.  It made good sense.  What I didn’t agree with was the authors’ recommendation to set the drag to 25-35% of the lines rating.  Sure it may be a great setting as far as utilizing the most of the line without breaking it, but I think there are some other things that need to be considered as well.  Things like what size fish are you targeting, structure, and if there are spoilers present.  When we are trolling for salmon, we typically use downriggers.  I like for my initial drag setting to be very light even when we are fishing for smaller salmon species like coho or pinks.  I do this for several reasons.  The first is that you can always add some drag if you find yourself hooked to a fish that is taking a lot of line, but if your drag is set heavy, you may not get a chance to back off before he breaks off or tears out the hooks.  Even in late July and August, we will land 20-30lb King Salmon.  If we used a lighter line and a 30% drag setting to target the smaller Pink and early Coho Salmon (up to 10lb or so for both), we would lose most of those bonus Kings.  The second reason is that where we fish in SE Alaska there isn’t really any structure for a fish to get tangled in.  Many times, even fishing VERY close to shore, we are in 100 feet of water or more.  The only notable exception to this is close quarters fishing with other boats downrigger cables and gear. Essentially, if you don’t give the fish any slack and keep enough drag pressure to keep the hooks in the fish we will land him.  I have not lost a fish because of a light drag, but I have seen way too many fish break off or tear out because of too much drag pressure.  My salmon fishing reels are Shimano Tekota 600’s.  I chose them because of their high line capacity and smooth drags. With the line I use, I can put just over 300 yards on them.  Even with the biggest hardest running fish, you still have plenty of time for boat maneuvering to avoid being spooled.   The third reason is really simple:  it’s just more FUN!  Treat every hookup like it’s the last one you will ever have and you will land a lot more fish. 

My two cents, 

CM 

September 26-October 4, 2010 

This is probably the last actual fishing report of 2010.  I have managed to slip out and do some late season Coho Salmon fishing this last week, as weather permited.  It was very good, we had quadruple hookups each trip and landed 4-6 Silvers each two hour trip.  The Coho’s were all nice sized, ranging from 12-15 pounds each.  Our good weather windows are becoming smaller and smaller.  This last week it was really nice most mornings, but would get nasty each afternoon.  It was very hard to decide not to fish yesterday morning, but we had another “storm force” blow coming in.  So, I suppose it is time to begin to do ”put away” and start working on offseason projects. 

September 15-September 25, 2010 

The Coho’s have arrived just as the season is over.  9/22/10 was my last charter of the 2010 season and on 9/23 our “normal” September weather finally moved in.  Gale force winds moving to Storm Force.  9/24 saw wind gusts in excess of 80mph.  It has calmed down to a range between 25-40kt.  The fish are definitely not being pressured right now.  We completed our fall USCG marine safety exam and received a 5 star rating.  From what I can find out, there are over 3000 uninspected passenger vessels (6 pack charter boats) in Alaska as of 2009.  About 10% are in the voluntary UPV safety program and just over 50 received 5 star ratings.  We have the only USCG 17^TH District 5 star safety rated boat in Ketchikan.   Well, it’s time for off season projects:  Crabbing, Shrimping, Hunting, as well as some actual work.  Looking forward to next season.   

Tight Lines,    

CM 

September 1, 2010-September 14, 2010 

Coho salmon run finally here?  I think so.  There have been some really strong reports from this last weekend out North.  18-20 silvers in a half day trip which is pretty good.  I am about wrapped up for this season, just a few trips left.  I am hoping it will last for just a little while longer.  There is still some good halibut fishing around and the weather has been very good for September.  I am fishing the end of the week and I will post if there is any news 

August 25-August 30, 2010 

It ended up as six halibut trips this week.  Monday started off with a gale force system moving through SE Alaska on a day Jim and I needed to take out a group of 8 split between two boats.  It was breezy, but the system didn’t move in exactly on time.  This was their only chance to go out as a group so we gave it a shot in close.  Weather got worse as the day went on and we turned it into a rockfish tournament.  Had lots of fun and got seriously wet.  Jim won with a “trump card” flatfish; a Starry Flounder.  Weather improved as the week went on.  Halibut fished Wednesday through Sunday with Halibut in the hundred pound range every trip but one (5 total).  Largest Halibut was landed Sunday and was taped at 59 inches, about 107lbs.  Lost one real giant.  I would like to thank my group from the Smokey Mtns for reminding me why I do this and Mr. Joe “Deep Drop” Walker for hanging in there to get his first hundred pounder – which he released unharmed.  I got lots of video this week and as soon as I get a chance, I will try to get some of it up.  Ketchikan Salmon Fishing Update– Pink Salmon almost done, Coho Salmon still difficult to find. 

August 07-August 24, 2010 

Ketchikan salmon fishing has been very steady on Pink Salmon with some Coho’s thrown in each trip.  There have been some very good days Coho salmon fishing around Mary Island and Boca, but it is still hit or miss.  We had some really hard rains yesterday and today and hopefully the Silvers will come on in.  Halibut fishing has been challenging for the last 10-12 days.  The pattern has been that if you can fight through the spiny dogfish sharks and Arrowtooth Flounder you will get your halibut.  We have generally been getting them early in each set or having to sift through a lot of other fish.  I have resorted to doing more drifts over structure in order to avoid calling in sharks.  Three more halibut trips this week and I will try to update the report. 

 July 31-August 06, 2010 

Ketchikan Salmon fishing report.  Pink Salmon are at close to peak run with catches ranging from 4-6 fish per person on a four hour salmon trip.  Some Coho Salmon (Silver Salmon) are being caught each trip- from 1-4 in close to town.  I have some halibut trips coming up and hope to try for some silvers that may be holding a little further out.  Till next week. CM 

July 22-July 30, 2010 

I fished for Halibut yesterday, Salmon for the three days prior and Halibut the two days before that.  Weather has definitely been a factor this week, forecasts have left a lot to be desired in the accuracy department.  Last Friday was a nasty SE blow and Sunday-Tuesday from the NW.  We have been catching good numbers of Pinks and some nice bonus Silvers (3-5) in the 5-12lb range.  It is nice to start catching some larger Coho’s and I’m looking forward to their run which will be beginning soon.  We halibut fished yesterday.  We landed two on the small side plus some great yelloweye’s in the 12-14 lb range.  Had some tough luck and lost two Really nice Halibut, one in the beginning and one right at the end.  Good trip, great group, had lots of fun. 

July 4-July 22, 2010 

We have come to the end of Grab Bag Season.  It has been about a week since I have seen any numbers of King Salmon brought to the dock.  I have not been Salmon fishing much for the last two weeks, but have fished for Halibut at least every other day since the 8^th of July.  All I can really say is what I see brought in to the fish processor and what I see on the dock.  Right now it looks like it is officially Pink Salmon Season.  I have had three groups in the last week that limited out quickly on Halibut and did some trolling for silvers and pinks with pretty good success on Silver Salmon.  On one of those trips we picked up 7 silvers and 10 pinks after bottomfishing.  Halibut fishing, within the six hour range, has been good with limits for most trips and Halibut Ranging up to 45lbs.  I had some time to fish first two weekends of the local Halibut Derby and have 2^nd, 3^rd, 7^th, 12^th, 18^th, Tied for 20^th, 39^th, and 47^th places right now caught on “West Cape”.  Thanks to Ryan McRobert for fishing with me the first weekend and bringing in the largest fish of the weekend with a 67.8 pound Halibut.  The second weekend was Jim, Larry, Randy, and myself with “Big Larry” bringing in a 131.7lb fish.  I have fishing trips for the next 7 days so I don’t think I’ll get to fish the last weekend, but it’s been fun.  I will try to get some of the new video up on youtube or posted here. 

June 21-July 3, 2010 

Catch up fishing report.  I have fallen behind on these because I have been fishing too much.  Definitely in July ”Grab Bag” season everything is available, just in varying amounts.  King Salmon—Still some around but the peak is over I have heard of lots of fresh kings still being landed behind Gravina.  Silvers—Good fishing south of town for this time of year and starting to see some larger ones.  Pinks—are here and moving in more each day.  Halibut—Good Fishing for Halibut with most trips getting a limit.  Size is improving within 6 hour fishing trip range.  Outside waters wide open on all sizes.  Picked up 9 yesterday between two combo trips  smallest 18 lbs largest 45lbs.  Another halibut charter tomorrow then salmon for the remainder of the week.  Tight Lines…cm. 

June 18-20, 2010 

King Salmon Update—Definitely Peak of King Salmon Run for waters close to Ketchikan.  Opportunities on Kings are the best I have seen in a while.  The last few days, we have seen almost all the boats catching fish.  Went out for an evening fishing trip and attempt at getting some on film and landed 3 and missed 8 none lost.  Biting pretty soft but lots of chances.  Filming is Hard.  Just uploaded some video on youtube here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/claytondmoore?feature=mhum  

Halibut fishing trip Friday was good.  We had 5 anglers aboard and landed 6 Halibut (released 2), 1 Yelloweye Rockfish, 8 Quillback Rockfish, 2 Pacific Cod, and 2 large skates in about 4 hours of fishing.   

June 15-17, 2010 

I had some great groups to fish with this week.  Many thanks to the Garces, Kenngott, Estacio, and Gomez families for providing very memorable trips this week.  Tuesday morning, we had a 6 hour salmon charter and began fishing the Mt. Pt. Area early.  We did not see much activity and after about an hour Alex spotted a large group of Killer Whales feeding over at Annette Island.  Went to take some pictures and then moved on out about 9 miles to a different area.  Found fish holding tight to shore and landed 4 or 5 two of which were keepers.  Had a lot of “takes” but for the most part not very aggressive.  Had some humpbacks come through to finish out the trip.  The outgoing tide hasn’t been the best to fish, but early Wednesday morning proves that you never know when fish might be feeding.  Within 10 minutes of setting gear we had our first King Salmon on board.  In 2 ½ hours we landed 5 kings and lost or missed at least that many.  We were back at the dock before 10 am as the bite had shut down at about 9.  Fished Wednesday afternoon expecting it to be wide open on the high tide switch and didn’t find much.  Around tide change, we had three Kings hooked up and landed 1, all in all a very good day of King Salmon Fishing.  A small group of Humpback Whales were bubble feeding for most of the afternoon trip. It was just awesome to watch! I have a Halibut charter tomorrow (Fri.) I’m hoping the weather cooperates and let’s us get out to some good fishing. 

June 8-14, 2010 

And the wind did blow.  This week was most memorable because of the 20-40kt winds that were present for most of it.  We fished Carroll Point to avoid it for the most part.  Kings were present but fairly finicky about feeding just at the tide change.  During charters this week we had 5-7 “takes” per trip, landing 1-3 kings per trip.  The exception was Sunday mornings trip, which was on a strong outgoing tide and we only caught one undersize King and some True Cod.  I went back out Sunday afternoon for some Derby fishing and landed one King in Herring Cove and around 8:30pm got into a good “bite” where Randy and I hooked up 4 Kings and missed one before 9:00pm weigh in.  In total, there were 778 King Salmon weighed in during the three weekends.  The 42.4 lb fish caught by Robert E. Cunningham stuck it out to win. 

May 30-June 7, 2010 

Derby update and Weekend Report–  Second weekend is now over and there have been 453 Kings weighed in so far.  Robert E. Cunningham is now in the lead with a 42.4 pound fish.  Mountain Point fishery had Killer Whales (about 20) Friday and Saturday which slowed fishing considerably.  I fished Saturday afternoon and Sunday landed 7 King salmon  4 Coho/Silver Salmon, and 2 Halibut trolling.  Mountain Point seems to have recovered as quite a few Kings were caught this morning 6/7/10.  

 May 23-29, 2010 

King Salmon fishing remained pretty slow overall through Thursday 27^th when the charter fleet began bringing a few more in.  This was the first weekend of the 63^rd annual King Salmon Derby.  Here is the link to the leader board: http://ketchikankingsalmonderby.com/2010Leader.html . There were 256 King Salmon weighed in the by Sunday.  The largest was a 30.3 pound fish weighed in by Jessie Embree.  From the looks of the leader board, most all of the Kings were weighed in either at Mountain Point or Bar Harbor.  I took my daughter out for her first solo father/daughter trip.  We caught one shaker King, and lost  a double hookup.  She landed her first fish (with help) about an 8lb Lingcod.  The weather report was off and we quit trolling to look for calmer waters. We ended up setting the anchor and Halibut fishing for an hour or so landing one nice 35lb halibut and a mixed bag of other bottom fish.  Halibut charter on Sunday:  Nice group of four landed 7 Halibut/ released 3.  Largest fish about 25 lbs.  Lost one nice fish at double-line.  First limit on Halibut during charter for 2010.  Fished Mt.Pt. Sunday evening and landed 27lb King.  

May 10-22  2010 

Fishing for Kings is beginning to improve again after a lull last week.  We had some visits from Killer Whales that slowed down the fishing some.  Reports of good catches on King Salmon within an hour of Ketchikan starting to come in.  Had a Halibut fishing charter today and landed a nice 80 pounder.  Hopefully some more will start moving in here in the coming weeks.  It’s still just a little early for the waters close in but I have a bunch of spots I still need to check out.  

May 9, 2010 

I fished today with a group from here in town today.  Got off to a pretty late start and missed the morning tide change.  We stopped and talked to a friend at MtPt and he had one King in the boat and had missed two so we decided to fish for Kings for a while.  I didn’t really see any bait to speak of and it showed.  After about two hours, we didn’t have a nibble. The weather was so great we decided to try fishing somewhere else.  We stopped at a spot that has been good for halibut and started doing some bottom fishing.  Same story again.  Nothing for about two hours.  Finally the tide switched and we stayed busy catching Pacific Cod and Rockfish until it was time to come in.  The Halibut just weren’t ready to show up there yet.  Laurel caught her largest fish ever and was very tired by the end of the trip.  Everything considered, a good day on the water.    

May 7, 2010 

“Zimmerman Family Charter”  Left the dock early this morning with Bob, Mike, Jack, and Patrick hoping to pick up up some Kings early and then do some bottomfishing.  But, it didn’t quite work that way.  We stopped at a good spot for King Salmon that I have been having luck at and trolled baits for about 2 hours and missed one.  After that, we decided to move on and try another place that has been good lately.  On the first pass, we found that there was a lot of herring balled up close to shore and started working the area.  It took about 45 minutes to find the depth and Patrick hooked and landed up a nice 12 pound King Salmon.  We made a couple more passes without anything and then Jack hooked up and fought a King to the boat only to have the hooks pull out at the net.  I wasn’t quick enough to get under him.  He looked to be a solid fish in the mid 20 pound range.  Tough luck, but a good first charter of the year. 

 May 4, 2010 

“Capt. Jim Parrott Birthday Invitational”–  Capt. Jim and I went out for our annual birthday trip today.  For us, it marks the official beginning of the Fishing season.  Left out pretty early and started off with some trolling for King Salmon.  Almost immediately, birthday boy hooked and landed a nice 15-16 lb King.  We trolled close to shore on a tide rip for about an hour before I hooked up another nice King.  He was longer but more slender and ended up weighing quite a bit less.  After that, we fished for another hour or so without a nibble.  We decided to try some Halibut fishing at a spot nearby.  It is a good incoming tide spot so we moved and got the anchor set.  It was very slow for about four hours but with the beautiful weather and calm seas we just stayed at it.  Near the end of the tide change, Jim hooked up a nice Halibut in the mid 20’s using a double-hooked herring.  It had begun!  Within an hour and a half we landed three more nice Halibut up to about 40 pounds and 8 other species of bottom dwelling fish. We caught: King Salmon, Halibut, Pacific Cod, Lingcod, Copper Rockfish, Spiny Dogfish, Turbot (Arrowtooth Flounder), Bigmouth Sculpin, Ratfish, and a Quillback Rockfish.  All we needed for a Super Duper Slam was a Yelloweye Rockfish.   We were both pleasantly tired after the trip and came in earlier than we had planned.  Mountain Point tempted us as we came back into town.  We considered trolling for Kings to try for two more, but decided that we had enough to clean for the day.  Great fishing trip!  Capt. Jim, of Alaska Family Charters, can be found at www.ketchikansalmonfishing.com .  He is a founding member of Ketchikan Fish Company as well as myself and Capt Ryan McRobert of Best Weigh Guide Service www.ketchikan-fishing.com 

May 1, 2010 

Great weather, I solo fished for about 2.5 hours this morning.  After yesterday, I decided to go out at daybreak to see if there was a morning bite.  I landed a solid 25 pound King Salmon and missed another.  I talked with a friend this afternoon and there were quite a few Kings caught about sunset on the evening bite. 

April 30, 2010 

Beautiful weather today and I went out fishing for about 3.5 hours.  I hooked up a Halibut within about 20 minutes of putting my gear out.  He was about 20 lbs.  It was a nice fight on Salmon gear and will make several good dinners.  I did not get a King bite until just before I pulled my gear.  I have been solo fishing with one rod and wasn’t paying enough attention when it happened.  I am really excited for tomorrow, because I think I have finally got the speed and leader length dialed in.  We will see.  

April 29, 2010 

The weather cleared some and I have finished the installation of the TR-1 autopilot and kicker.  All I can think of is “Let’s go try it out!”  Still pretty breezy, but kicker and autopilot handled boat nicely.  I fished for about an hour and a half without a bump.  I think I was the only boat out fishing for King Salmon today. 

April 27, 2010 

We finally “splashed” the new boat West Cape this morning and got through sea trials perfectly in windy 3-4 ft. seas.  It has been months of work and more air miles than I like to generate in several years to finally get to this point.  She handled very nice in head and following seas I am looking forward to getting her out fishing.  I have heard that there are some King Salmon being caught close to town in pretty good numbers for this time of year.  

  

Ketchikan Fishing Report for Mon 8/27- Sun 9/2 

Fished Monday through Friday this week, with best catch coming on the 31st. Fishing generally slow, as silver salmon run still tends to be a little far out for our half day trips.Friday August 31, 2007 had best catch of my life! 5lbs 11oz. My wife Miranda and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Looks like I’m going to be wrapping up this season a bit early this year! I haven’t fished since Annabelle was born. Report is that Silvers have begun arriving en-masse on the backside of Gravina Island with good catches being brought in from out North. South end fishing has picked up some too, with some decent catches of 4-5 silvers in the 10-12lb range. Looking forward to next year’s Kings. I am finished for this season and will be visiting family in Texas for a while. Good luck fishing and be safe on the water. 

Ketchikan Fishing Report for Mon 8/20-Sun 8/26  

The last week of fishing in Ketchikan almost surely marked the end of the Pink Salmon run. I am not expecting another group to come in until next season. Silver Salmon are moving in, but recent catches have been spotty.Really good some trips and slower on others. The good news has been the size of the fish.The Silvers we have been catching are 8-10 lbs with some around 12. I took a test trip out yesterday afternoon and found a good bite going on for about two hours. I am eagerly awaiting a run of fish I have heard are just a bit South of us. 

Half Day Charter Breakdown: Mon-Wed Good catches of 2-10 Silvers and Handfull of Pinks, Wed-Sat: Hard Fishing 0-3 Silvers and few Pinks. Sat-Sun Better Fishing 4-6 Silvers 0 Pinks. I will be out Halibut fishing all next week and hope to have good things to report.