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July 2008 June and Early July – Not Easy, Not Fair |
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| Fishing in June and early July verified the low abundance forecast for the 2008 king salmon season. The schools of kings were fewer and farther between than we’ve ever seen in 16 years of fishing Sitka. | |
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On the plus side, our long held belief that Sitka on a bad day is better than most places on a good day proved true as many of our customers were able to land limits of kings during their stay, plus halibut and rockfish. |
Still, the spottiness of the fishing did leave even seasoned fishermen scratching their heads at times. Luck always plays a hand in fishing, but when the fish are scattered, it’s even more a factor. The right place at the right time includes not only being over the fish, but having your bait at the right depth, often a short lived opportunity. A school of kings at 50 feet doesn’t do you much good when the baits are spinning at 160 feet. By the time everyone frantically cranks up to that school – the fish have moved on. All our research and contacts in the world of salmon science indicates this season’s short comings are not a trend but a result of very poor ocean conditions in 2006. We expect a full rebound in coming years. We also think the tighter than normal salmon restrictions for 2008 appear necessary to make sure enough fish get back to spawn. Silvers had not shown in strong numbers by July 8, but with all the bait and productivity in the ocean, we expect them any day. Halibut fishing improved as the month of June progressed and boats ventured into deep water. Although nobody landed anything monstrous, a fair number fish in the 80 to 100 pound range hit the dock. More on halibut regulations below. |
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Website Update The Tide's In! AU's New Website is here! |
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Angling Unlimited’s web site underwent an extreme makeover including links to Sitka weather, up-to-date catch information, current regulations, and lots of photos of our guests enjoying themselves in Sitka. The site will be updated on a regular basis throughout the season with photos of the day, fishing reports and guests receiving their own photo album to view on-line! |
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| So log on often for the latest and greatest from AU and Sitka at www.AnglingUnlimited.com. | |
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Regulation Watch Halibut Bag Limit Restored – For Now Halibut bag limits were reduced to one per person per day as of June 1, 2008. The charter industry, led by the Charter Halibut Task Force (http://www.charterhalibut.org/) with support from SEAGO went to court and won a temporary restraining order, then an injunction to preserve the two daily bag limit with at least one halibut under 32 inches. We hope to continue fishing under the two per day bag limit through the rest of the season, but cannot guarantee this result. We will keep you up to date on our new web site, which is up and running. Visit now and visit often: http://AnglingUnlimited.com King Conservation: There is a clear and present conservation issue with these king salmon which requires lower impact fishing coast-wide. Our king (Chinook) regulations for the remainder of 2008 are: There’s no candy coating the July 16 through end of season 48 inch minimum – it’s a non-retention of king salmon regulation unless you hook a once in a lifetime monster. For perspective, a 48 inch king that is long and lean will weigh over 50 pounds. A stout 48 incher will exceed 60 pounds. The State of Alaska estimates that one in 1500 kings is greater than 48 inches long. We understand that many of our late July/early August anglers come for the king/silver combo. This will still be available from the catching side of the equation, but for the take home – it’s a silver show. |
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| Working to Keep Fishing Great | |
Alaska’s fisheries are managed sustainably, which is why fishing in Southeast Alaska is so great. But as guided sport fishing has become more popular, it has increasingly come into conflict with commercial fishing over a fair sharing of the resource, and frankly, into conflict with itself, as fishing pressure increases in certain areas. Recognizing the need to organize and present its own voice on conservation and allocation issues, guides and lodges in Southeast Alaska have formed SEAGO – the Southeast Alaska Guides Organization – to be the effective voice for our clients and ourselves. |
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| As a valued customer of guided sport fishing in SE Alaska, you can help, too. You and your fellow customers spend over $800 million a year in Alaska, employing over 8,000 people. That’s a lot of value, especially in the small, isolated towns of Southeast Alaska. We will be sending SEAGO information out via email and regular mail soon. Visit our web site: http://www.seagoalaska.org |
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Fuel Prices Angling Unlimited is running into the same crisis with the cost of fuel that affects businesses and families across the country. Our diesel prices are up by over 50% from last year and almost 5 times higher than they were in 2003. We run a lot of gasoline through our complimentary cars for our guests and our vans. Everything shipped into Sitka now comes with a robust fuel surcharge. We’ve stayed away from a fuel surcharge in 2008 because we believe in honoring our commitments to our clients – a deal is a deal. Captain Tom Ohaus and Captain Chuck McNamee |
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Angling Unlimited • Sitka Alaska Fishing Charter |
