With July quickly winding down, August is almost here. Since we still have a few openings at the end of August, we want to share five reasons why you should fish Sitka in late August.
A monster late August silver
1. Silvers – Coho salmon, aka silvers, grow at a rate of roughly a pound a week during the last summer of their lives, but only if there is plentiful feed. That means a silver that was 7 pounds on July 1 could be 15 pounds by the end of August. The last week of August provides a shot at the elusive 20-pound silver and the average size will be well above 10 pounds.
2. Kings – Although the main run of kings has passed, it’s not unusual to catch kings in late August. Most will be maturing fish, destined to spawn in the fall and some will be downright big. We’ve caught kings over 50 pounds in the last week of August. Consider kings the icing on the silver cake for this time of year.
3. Halibut – The big flatties are found in very strong numbers late in the season and if bait is abundant inshore, some very good fishing occurs while pursuing salmon.
4. Light crowds – With kids headed back to school, deer season open, and summer racing to a close, there are fewer and fewer boats on the water. Having a wide-open silver bite all to yourselves with the wilderness shore in the background can’t be beat.
5. Sleeping in – The sun rises later and departure time shifts from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. It’s still early, but that extra hour feels pretty good. Don’t worry, you get the hour back at the end of the day, you won’t be shorted on the fishing.