2024 Wrap-Up
AU’s 2024 fishing season has taken its place in the rear-view mirror. Despite changes over the decades, Sitka remains the most productive fishing spot anywhere in the North Pacific and beyond. A slow day in Sitka would rank as an epic day in many other ports. We consistently catch salmon, halibut, and rockfish every day we go out. We find lingcod in good numbers. This year the blackcod moved to deeper water – off the shelf to depths over 1200 feet which made pursuing them a chore most people aren’t up to. The big surprise of the year was the landing of two albacore on Skute in the second week of September. That was a first for AU.
Our captains have sent in their grades for the season. We’ve averaged them and (drumroll) here are the scores:
Kings Grade: B-
Our captains’ grades for kings ranged from A to C, with most landing on B or B-. The king numbers were good in the early season, but the fish were often confined to small areas which led to boat crowding and the need to get there first. Too many boats fishing over a small area leads to king salmon lockjaw. The early season fish were smaller than the long-term average and our guests suffered a short stretch in the second half of June when the kings were scarce. The best king fishing for size and numbers came from mid-July through the first three weeks of August when the limit had dropped to one annually, but the numbers were epic. The late-season king closure knocks the grade down a bit more. B- feels a wee bit generous.
Biggest King: 47 pounds by long-time guest and friend Jim Kelly fishing with Jack McNamee.
Silvers Grade: C-
The silvers showed up late and seldom gave us the sustained periods of the solid, limit-producing action we’ve come to expect. The redeeming quality was the size as we entered the middle of August with plenty of coho over 10 pounds and a fair number in the teens. It should be noted, this grade of C- is based on the lofty target of 6 silvers per angler per day, thus catching 3 or 4 big silvers per angler rates as slow. Which gets us back to the lofty standards for Sitka fishing. Where else would catching a dozen big silvers for four anglers be considered a bit disappointing?
Biggest Silver: Not sure but a number of them in the mid to high teens.
Halibut Grade: A
The halibut fishing throughout the season proved highly dependable and often took place close to the salmon grounds. Although we did take the long offshore runs some days, a quick limit of halibut just a few miles from the hot salmon bite was a daily option. We often found halibut near the maximum size limit of 40 inches through the first half of the season and 36 inches the second half. The GAF (link to website) program provided a big shot of adrenaline to our halibut program allowing our guests both the dream and the reality of bringing in a bard door.
Biggest Halibut: 75 inches (approximately 225 pounds) Caught by Mastin Party with Captain Conner Cooke.
Rockfish Grade: A
Not much to say about rockfish (aka swimming tacos), other than abundant and willing. Any time the fishing gets a bit slow for other species or we need to add excitement to the end of the day, the rockfish deliver.
Lingcod Grade: B
The captain’s scores ranged from A to C. The availability of lingcod within the narrow 30-to-35-inch slot was generally darned good, but it’s still a tight target. Lingcod retention was prohibited from June 15–July 31, which translates to an F for that period.
Blackcod Grade: Incomplete
We enjoyed an abundance of blackcod mixed in with halibut in depths of 500 to 700 feet for the previous 3 seasons. This was the result of a couple of very strong year classes. Unfortunately, as blackcod grow bigger and older, they move deeper and deeper. The only consistent catches this season came from occasional ventures into 1200 to 1400 feet which is borderline (or beyond) unfishable without electric reels. Most of our captains gave blackcod a C which seems generous given the limited numbers landed in 2024. Let’s stick with incomplete.
Miscellaneous Species Grade: A-
Chums: For three or four weeks in July and August we experienced nearly endless numbers of chum salmon. Although some guests look down their noses at them, a silver bright ocean chum is a hard fighting, good eating fish. As the season goes on and the chums color up, their food quality diminishes, but they are still a handful on the end of your line.
Salmon Sharks: P (passing). We saw a lot of them and landed more than a few. These hard fighting compact relatives of makos and great whites make a challenging target. Most are caught incidentally while halibut fishing. They are excellent to eat if properly bled (our job) and marinated (your job).
Most Unusual Catch: On September 10, Captain Tyler took the Spangler party out to 700 feet in search of big halibut. In hopes of finding an added silver or two, the group opted to put one salmon rod out and set it at 150 feet, The strategy provided the surprise of the season, decade, and our entire history in Sitka. Instead of the extra silver, they hooked and landed two albacore tuna. We’ve heard rumors of albacore way offshore of Sitka during warm water El Nino years, but the water temperature that day was 53, colder than normal. Pleasant surprise as albacore is white meat tuna and about as good to eat as anything that swims.
Weather Grade: B
The season began with mostly cool, bordering on cold, rainy days. Thankfully, the winds weren’t too strong and we were able to fish the ocean throughout May and June. By late June the weather warmed up and we had lovely stretches of calm through mid-August. The late season featured two big blows which forced the fishing to the inside waters. Other than those couple of rough days, we continued to have safe access to fishing the ocean which provides our most productive action.
Overall Grade for the 2024 Season: B
The Sitka standard demands a lot. To get an A we need to see daily limits caught over a wide area. Despite falling short of that, 2024 featured weather that allowed ocean access 98 percent of the time, daily limits of halibut and rockfish, nearly daily limits for kings, and decent action for silvers. When you toss in a massive chum run, solid lingcod fishing, and some exotics like salmon sharks and albacore, you end up with a solid B. And that would be an A+ in most any other port in the world.
Planning for Next Season
You know the drill, you get dibs on the same slot next season as you had this season. After that, bookings are first-come, first-served basis. Secure next year’s fishing trip to Sitka today!
Questions? Give us a call! You can reach Kim at 218-732-4744 or get in touch!
