Sitka Fishing Report: May 2021 Review
Fishing Report
Kings
The kings took a short hiatus in the latter part of July and were replaced by large numbers of silvers. That translated to limits of silvers on a lot of days with a scattering of random kings mixed during the last week of July and first week of August. On August 9, we had an epic summer storm with wind gusts up to 45 knots that kept us off the ocean for two days and pretty much blew out the 9th with boats mainly bringing in catches of rockfish plus a few halibut and lingcod. The day after the storm, the boats fishing more protected waters found some kings and silvers, lots of rockfish and some halibut.
Day 3 after the storm, we found the ocean fishable and much larger numbers of kings returned to the catch with solid coho fishing. The COVID-19 regulations of 3 kings per day, 9 annually for nonresidents are a bit unattainable, but for the past three days, boats have been coming in with 4 to 8 nice kings to compliment the silver catches. It’s hard to say that the current salmon fishing is anything but epic.
Halibut
Another COVID-19 regulation our guests enjoy is the 45-inch size limit on halibut, up from the original 40 inches for 2020 and 37 inches in 2019. We’ve found excellent numbers of halibut within a few short miles of the salmon action in 280 to 300 feet of water. Halibut pushing the 45-inch maximum are brought in every day. The short-run and the fast halibut action yield lots of time to keep on the salmon hunt.
Rockfish and Lingcod
What can we say other than the same old, same old fast action for rockfish. The slot limit for lingcod of 30 to 35 inches is a challenge and with king salmon regulations at 3 per day, people aren’t devoting a lot of time to lings. The choice of king or ling favors king for most anglers.
Travel
Our customers continue to report easy flying to Sitka. For compliance with the Alaska mandate of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of departure, AU’s option with Strataclear has gotten rave reviews.
AU has been operating at near capacity for most of July and August. We have scratched all social events to avoid large gatherings and we continue to do all we can to make our boats and lodging as safe as possible. If you are concerned about the safety of flying, consider that once your board your flight to Alaska, almost all onboard have tested negative for COVID in the past 72 hours. You might also check out this link.
We at AU know that each of you has your own risk factors and comfort level with travel. We are here to serve those who are ready and willing. We fully understand and respect the concerns of people who choose to stay home.
Going, Going, Gone
Last chance to fish the fantastic 2020 season with AU!
Remaining Dates:
Arrive August 30, fish on August 31, September 1-2 (room for 2 anglers)
Arrive September 2, fish on Sept. 3-4-5 (room for 4 anglers)
Arrive September 7, fish on September 8-9-10 (room for 2 or 4 anglers)
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