Schoenborn Party joined us to fish with Captain Jack M end of June
If you read our fishing reports over the course of the summer, you saw some persistent themes. Inconsistent best described salmon fishing. Fast and consistent applied to halibut and lingcod. Rockfish delivered their usual excitement, but occasionally demonstrated a bit of lock jaw. We had a decent run of chum salmon, too many pinks, and some unusual encounters. We didn’t spend a lot of effort on blackcod, yet the results were good most days when our guests ventured off the edge of the shelf into the deep, deep. The weather was cool and wet for the first half of the season. The second half delivered drier days and warmer temperatures much of the time.
What the grades can’t describe are the intangibles that come with the experience of fishing the salt water wilderness with Angling Unlimited. How do we put a grade on the memories that families and friends create while fishing with us? How do you quantify the sight of a breaching whale with snow capped mountains in the background or the sight of a mother otter doing the back stroke with her baby on her chest?
Drum roll… Here we go with the grades:
Kings – B-: We started the season with greatly improved regulations, the result of a much improved run forecast. The higher abundance didn’t deliver hot fishing on a daily basis. We had some great days, but the kings carried the crown of inconsistency throughout the season. They seldom showed up in the same place from day to day, they occasionally went almost entirely missing, and the average size was small. The regulations were liberalized a couple times over the summer in an attempt to get the sport fishery to hit our quota. All this said, our guests boated and brought home a fair number of kings.
GregWilliams Party joined Captain Ryan July 19-21
The Trilogy party fished with Captain Jack B August 16-18
Silvers – B: Silvers earned a slightly higher grade than the kings. They demonstrated the same, here today, gone tomorrow inconsistency. Our guests did enjoy some wide open silver bites which could be followed by a day of grinding out a half limit. The saving grace of the run was the average size. Our guests consistently caught double digit silvers (10 pounds plus) with a few reaching the stratospheric 20 pound mark.
Chum salmon – B: We don’t focus on chums, but sometimes they focus on us. These mint bright ocean chums that reach weights well into the teens, fight hard and are excellent for table-fare or smoking.
Swanson Party fished with Captain Sarah May 27-30
The Placek party joined Captain Sarah end of July
Halibut – B+: As the saying goes, halibut fishing isn’t much fun, but halibut catching sure is. We didn’t find halibut spread out in all their usual haunts, but we found a few spots that delivered pure catching the moment the bait hit the bottom. Our guests brought in a good number of big GAF halibut, too.
Rockfish – B+: The frenzied rockfish catching delivered as expected most days, but there were times when they got downright fussy. Why? Who knows? And, that fussiness seldom translated into not catching them. It was more a matter of how hard you had to work at it.
The Emmons Party fished with captain Jack M August 26-30
The Marshall party fished with Captain DJ May 24-26
Lingcod – A+: Our captains were unanimous on this one. Lingcod were abundant, willing, and limits of slot cod (30 to 35 inches) were the rule when they were open.
Blackcod – P for passing: It’s hard to grade blackcod because many of our guests don’t opt to run out to the edge of the continental shelf and fish in 1200 feet of water with an electric reel. Yes, it’s sort of an exotic adventure, but it carves a big chunk of time out of the fishing day. Those that ventured out generally got them, but nothing in fishing is 100 percent.
Puzel Party joined Captain Jack M August 13-15
Weather – B: We had some long stretches of calm weather. We also endured periods of rough water. Other than a couple of days, the ocean was open for business – meaning it was safe to go. We always have a calm water option but the best action often involves venturing out on the big Pacific.
Unusual Catches and Sightings:
Ocean Sunfish – First seen on August 25th aboard Discovery with the Kulseth-Zalewski Party. Sighted a second time on Purple Reign, August 27th, Mascaro Party. Click the link to view a video from the encounter.
Humboldt squid – Caught on September 4th aboard Raefen with Glaeser Party while blackcod fishing.
Baby Salmon Shark – Caught aboard Skute on September 1st with the Reckers Party
King Crab – Caught aboard Aurora on August 17th with the Bilben Party
Sperm Whale – Sighted on Purple Reign on June 22 by Gulden/Biggs Party. Click the link to view a video from the encounter.