A guy I know has been fishing king salmon from Washington, through British Columbia and all over Southeast Alaska for over 40 years. Until the early 90’s he cruised the coast in a live-aboard yacht fishing anywhere he wanted. He keeps meticulous records of every fish they catch and his catch rates. After careful examination of those records he sold his yacht and bought an island home in Sitka along with a boat that covers the local waters. Why? Because when he distilled his information, it made no sense to drive his yacht any farther than his boat takes him from his house on the island. I picked Sitka as a place to operate at about the same time my friend bought his island house near town.
My reasons began with the fishing but don’t end there. Here are my 7 reasons to choose Sitka:
1. Extremely high catch rates for kings, coho, halibut and nearly everything else the swims in the North Pacific.
2. Outer coast location gives us access to the ocean and diversified salmon runs. We aren’t dependent on one salmon run headed to one river.
3. Protected inside waters in case of windy weather. We can always find a lee shore to look for fish regardless of weather.
3. Sitka is the outer coast town in Southeast Alaska or British Columbia the can be reached by a commercial jet flight – a mere 2 hours from Seattle and no additional seaplane or water-taxi connections.
4. Lots to see and do like the Raptor Center, Fortress of the Bear, Sheldon Jackson Museum, and much more.
5. Restaurants – a wide selection of places to enjoy an evening meal after fishing ranging from MacDonalds to an exclusive bistro.
6. The scenic beauty of a jagged coastal range rising right out of the saltwater and a majestic volcano, Mount Edgecumbe.
7. Angling Unlimited. We’ve been at it in Sitka for 25 years. We’re not big on tooting our own horn. Read our customer comments, read our reviews – they speak for themselves.