The 2013 season got off to a windy and productive start. The annual Hook It and Cook It event began with some cool temperatures and moderate southerly winds, yet we did well with a combination of king salmon and halibut. The kings were mainly 18 to 22 pounds but Carl Malone managed a 28 pounder. By the end of the four days of fishing by day and cooking by night by Ludger Szmania, the wind turned around into the northwest and blew steadily for nearly a week. The seas were bouncy but limits of kings and halibut have been the rule along with lots of rockfish and some lingcod. We’ve mainly fished just out from Cape Edgecumbe and at Sitka Point. Due to the wind, we’ve exercised a bit more patience than normal Sitka fishing, staying put and waiting for the fish to come to us. We endure a slow couple of hours, then the fish show and then a bite of pandemonium breaks out. In the stretches between catching kings, decent chicken halibut have been taking cut plug herring. We’ve also seen a couple bonus salmon with a few chums, one pink, and one coho landed. When the ocean has calmed down in the past week, we’ve taken advantage of the opportunity to deep water for halibut. We’ll have most of our fleet out this coming week and the wind forecast is very calm which will allow for wider ranging and exploration. At first blush, this looks like a good king run underway. Stay tuned.