AU guest Braden Jensen caught the second 40-pound king of the year on July 11 aboard Petrel with Captain DJ. It was the captain’s birthday. Nice present for the angler and the guide.
As we drift into the middle of July, we expect cohos (silvers) to be well established in our ocean
waters, but they aren’t cooperating. Precious few have hit our dock as of July 15, a fact we hope
will change any day as our boats search far and wide. We’re finding lots of baitfish and signs of
life. The water temperature is in the normal range and we’ve been through a few tidal series
ranging from weak to strong. Nothing yet has brought them in. We’re still waiting.
King fishing continues a pattern we’ve seen for weeks now and is best described as super spot
specific. Anchor up in the precise right spot and a limit comes quickly. Anchor 20 yards off that
spot and you get to be a spectator. We see schools of salmon on the sounder but getting them
to bite seems almost impossible some days. This is not normal. Our guests typically enjoy
excellent king action in mid-July and seeing a school on the sounder usually translates into
multiple hookups.
Adding to the not normal theme, we’ve endured three days of rough water, wind, and rain. Mid-
July is statistically the driest and calmest time of the year. As the rest of the nation swelters,
we’re experiencing cool rain, which is okay so long as the wind stays down which is the forecast
for the next 5 days.
Halibut action remains a slam dunk on the ocean. As always, rockfish provide fun times every
day. We’re regularly seeing whales, sea otters, eagles, and the occasional bear. The orcas
continue to show up on occasion which provides exciting viewing but can put the kybosh on the
king action.
