As this amazing run of trophy kings continues to roll, the Crisman party made sure to leave their mark. Fishing in calm water to the North for the majority of their trip, they enjoyed the new scenery, wildlife, and of course the fishing.

With the open ocean building to tall swells, most of the fleet ran north. Depending on the wind conditions, there are areas to the north to catch salmon where the water is flat. Captain Chuck took this group to one of these spots. They fished this area the majority of their trip catching kings, cohos, halibut, rockfish, and many pacific cod. It was an amazing display of the variety of fish that we catch and they were all in the same area!

Bob caught a trophy 43-pound king, which was the highlight of the trip. Everyone got a look at the fish early in the fight, and with each long run the tension and excitement only grew. During the last long run, the fish surfaced, viciously shaking its head to break free from the hooks. But, Bob kept the line tight and as the fish charged the boat he reeled as fast as he could to keep up. The fish was exhausted. Bob dragged it to the net and the celebration began. High-fives all around and everyone took photos of the beautiful fish.

Another highlight during their time in the calm water was the breathtaking whale action. They saw humpback whales breaching in the distance and a pod of orcas cruising through the channel. Other boats reported that is was so calm that you could see the bubble ring the humpbacks make before breaking the surface while they bubble-net feed.

The last day of their trip, they went around Kruzof. They were set on finding larger halibut. Going to Chuck’s go-to spot, they quickly caught nice chickens. Then they drove south the explore salmon areas and find black rockfish. The salmon fishing was slow and the water uncomfortable, so they went to protected water to bag their rockfish. It was a fast-action bite and quick limit to cap off a memorable trip.

Cohos are in the double digit pound range now and will only get bigger each week before the end of our season. In the upcoming weeks, we should see the occasional 15-pound fish! Those are great fish to hook into and can sometimes be hard to differentiate from a king until you see them. There’s still good overlap with kings and cohos, too, making this a great time to be fishing Sitka!