The word on the street in Sitka is there are lots of kings out there – right now – in the middle of the winter. There’s also a lot of weather out there, but when the commercial trollers are able to make it to Cape Edgecumbe, they’re finding king fishing as good as anyone can recall for winter. There are also reports of good king catches coming from the inside waters near to Sitka and as far inland as Hoonah Sound.

From the opening date of the winter troll season on October 11 through mid-January, the troll harvest of kings was 24,000 fish. Over 80% or roughly 19,000 were caught out of Sitka. Biologists from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game say it’s the highest winter catch since 1993/1994 – the best in over 20 years. All this bodes very well for another excellent king season with favorable regulations. We won’t get the official word on regulations around April 1, but we’re expecting good things. Keep the fingers crossed and make plans to come up for another great king run in May and June.