The Stocker party finished their annual 4-day trip today. They fished the first three days with Captain Phil and last day with Captain Cobra (Bryan). Mitch, Michael, Les, and Magdalena enjoy fishing this time of year because of the great balance of kings and cohos. Each day of their trip, the program was the same – fish with salmon gear all day targeting salmon and catch lingcod, halibut and rockfish along the way.

The first three days, the weather permitted the group to fish the reliable Mushroom, east of The Cape. Large concentrated bait balls still loom on the structure, which keeps schools of kings and coho nearby to gorge. The group caught their limits of kings with other opportunities for catch and release in the morning. Then, when slack tide slowed the bite, they fished the gravel flat for halibut. They caught one slot lingcod each day of their trip and one large yellow eye. Everyday the anglers were very efficient. They caught their fish and headed back in to enjoy their afternoons in Sitka.

The average size for cohos ranges from 10-12 pounds, while kings are in the mid 20s. John Newton boated a 18-pound coho this week while fishing with Captain Cobra. It is by far the largest we’ve seen at the dock this year. The next few days is forecasted for strong winds and rain. Hopefully it blows through quickly, because next week shows signs of flatter water, which means more options for finding fish.