Sport Show FAQs, Spring Fishing, and a Guest Spotlight🎣

Experience the best of both worlds – two days of fishing on the most productive waters in the North Pacific, plus one day for touring the most picturesque and interesting town in Southeast Alaska. We’re offering a two day fishing/ four nights lodging package in May and June that includes the use of a car for you time on shore. We can point you to all the interesting activities and attractions in Sitka for your day on shore. We’ll guide you to exciting king salmon, halibut, rockfish, lingcod, and blackcod fishing for two thrilling fishing days. Expect to see plenty of wildlife like whales, sea otters, sea lions, eagles, albatross, puffins and more on your fishing days.

2-days fishing / 4 nights lodging

$2,130 /per person

May – June 14

AU hosted a booth at the Fargo Sportsman’s Show early in March. We spoke to anumber of new prospects and enjoyed visits from friends who have fished with us in the past. We took a few minutes to sit down with Bob Stalcup, who learned of AU 14 years ago at the Fargo Show and has been coming up every year since.

 

Question: What keeps you coming returning aside from the great fishing?

 

Answer: “The big reason is the AU crew. Your people make it so much fun. I’m treated like royalty. The equipment is great; everything is top notch. Haven’t met one crew member that I’d call subpar.”

 

Q: What has been your favorite year?

 

A: “2025 was the best. I caught a 42-pound king – my biggest yet. I had to chase that

fish around the boat twice before landing it. But every trip is great for the fishing and the wildlife. We see whales, otters, sea lions, eagles nearly every day.”

 

Q: When do you usually come to Sitka?

 

A: “Most of my trips were in the first part of June. I love the fast, furious king action.”

 

Q: What’s your favorite fish to eat?

 

A: “Halibut and I use the recipes in the AU cookbook.”

 

Q: What captains have you fished with?

 

A: “I fished with Captain James 5 times and all the others at least once. They’re all really good.”

 

Q: Can you describe the feeling of AU when you visit?

 

A: “It’s a family feeling. Like coming home.”

 

Q: Any favorite memory?

 

A: “I had a big fish on when Chuck arrived on the scene ready to fix a minor problem with our boat. He kept yelling at me, telling me how to fight the fish. All in playful fun, but I got nervous. Chuck says I almost lost the fish and it was a salmon. I say I landed it and it was a halibut. Differing memories of the fish, we both recall a fun time of good-natured ribbing.”

Every sport show comes with great conversations—and great questions. We’ve gathered some of the most common ones we hear and answered them below to help keep you in the know.

Q: When’s the best time to come? 

A: The fishing is good throughout the season for halibut and all the other bottom fish species. The big question is what species of salmon matters most to you. Kings are best in May and June. Silvers can arrive in late June, but your best bet is from mid-July until the end of the season. Check with AU regarding open and closed seasons for species like lingcod and yelloweye rockfish.

Q: What’s the difference between salmon species?

A: There are five species of Pacific salmon on the North American side of the Pacific. Kings (chinook) are the biggest and most highly prized. They are the strongest fighters of all five. Silvers (coho) are also highly prized. Though not as strong as kings, they are wild jumpers and tons of fun. Sockeye (reds) are great fighters and excellent table faire, but they are plankton feeders and are not commonly caught with the baits used for kings and silvers. Chum (dog) salmon are the second-best fighters and show up in big numbers some years. Although some people look down their nose at chums for eating, a bright male chum caught on the ocean is excellent either as a dinner fish or for smoking. Pinks (humpies) are the most abundant and smallest of the five. They are decent to eat fresh but don’t freeze well. During the peak of the pink run, they can be a bit of a nuisance by eating your bait before a more desired salmon gets to it. For a more in depth look at the five species click here.

Q: Best age for kids to come? 

A: The best age depends a lot on the kid. 10 years old seems to be a great starting age. We realize that all kids are different and our crew is great with kiddos. We suggest that you make sure that kid in question really likes fishing enough to spend even one full day on the water. Also, find out how prone this kid is to sea sickness. No one enjoys a day on the water if they are sick. Three days on the big Pacific might be too much immersion for a first try at introducing a child to fishing.

Q: Can we add an additional night in town?

A: Of course. Just let us know when you book your trip and we’ll arrange the lodging.

Q: What if we don’t want to fish consecutive days?

A: During the first half of our season (May and June) we offer 2 days fishing with 4 nights of lodging.

Q: My partner doesn’t fish but still wants to see Alaska. Can they come? What’s that price?

A: We can accommodate non-fishing guests and they will have the use of a car to tour town. Non-anglers will just need to pay for lodging. Here’s a list of activities in Sitka.

Q: If I’m interested in 2027, when should I reach out?

A: AU assures that anyone who wants to repeat their dates from one season to the next has 4 weeks to reserve those for the following season. Our rebooking rate is extremely high, but never 100 percent. You can check in with our office any time and put yourself on the list. We’ll contact you as soon as openings appear.

Q: Do you provide evening meals?

A: All our accommodations have full kitchens and the use of a barbecue on the deck. Many of our guests cook their catch of the day or head out to one of the local restaurants for dinner. We provide dinner one night of your stay at our Pavillion Party. Also, AU has two sets of dates where the evening meal is cooked for you: Hook It and Cook It plus our Captains Cook event.

Q: How do we get there?

A: Sitka is an easy 2-hour non-stop flight from Seattle on Alaska Airlines. We will pick you up at the airport and it’s a 15-minute drive to AU’s lodging. No seaplane or shuttle boat connections required.

Q: How far to the fishing spots? 

A: Salmon spots can be as close as 20 minutes or as far as 70 minutes. The longer runs are mostly on protected inside water until we hit the ocean for the last 20 minutes. Halibut can be as close as an hour and only minutes from where you fish salmon. We also head offshore to deep water for halibut and that’s about a 90 minute ride home.

Q: How long do we fish for? What time do we wake up? 

A: The wake-up call comes at 4 AM. We begin shuttling guests on the 1-mile ride to the dock at 4:45 AM. Boats depart at 5 AM. We get back to the dock by 3 PM. We can return earlier if the fishing is lights out or if the guests feel done.

Q: How do we get our fish home? 

A: The fish you catch will be vacuum packed, frozen, and packed in 50-pound waxed (wet lock) boxes. We will deliver them to the airport when you fly out and you check the boxes in as luggage. For guests traveling a long distance, we put an insulated liner in the box. If you aren’t flying directly home Air Freight with Alaska Airlines is another option, but you’ll have to go to your airport to pick it up.