We saw a great turnout at the Northwest Sportshow in Minneapolis this past weekend. We always enjoy talking to new people about our business and fishing in Sitka. Like the Fargo Show, many people are doing their research and planning future fishing trips to Alaska, which is a great sign.
One misconception that many people shared was the fact that king salmon might be closed this summer. I’d like to clear that up right now. The people that expressed this concern had heard it from other people that visited Alaska in recent years and weren’t able to salmon fish, because it was closed. One of the popular fisheries north of us, the Kenai River, was a victim of this closure.
The main difference between Sitka and places such as the Kenai River is that we don’t rely on a specific river for our salmon run. We have the advantage of being located in close proximity to the wide-open Pacific Ocean, which is basically a salmon highway – fish are moving up and down the coast all summer. We see many different schools of salmon during the summer. These fish are bright, healthy, strong salmon that are aggressively feeding before they enter their native streams. We catch fish that are swimming to Alaska, British Columbia or even Oregon. Although the salmon forecast hasn’t officially been released yet, we anticipate another strong year for both kings and silvers. I wish more people would have stopped and talked to us, because I’m sure more people had the same question.
Once again, show attendees came loaded with some great questions. It’s always enjoyable when we can share our experiences and light up someone’s face. Thank you to everyone that came to the show and stopped by the booth to say hello.
-AP