Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) divides rockfish into two categories with separate regulations: pelagic rockfish and demersal shelf rockfish (DSR). Our anglers often ask what the terms mean. Let’s start with pelagic. The term comes from the Greek pélagos, which means open sea. The zone of the ocean considered pelagic includes everything from…
DetailsOur clients spend 10 hours a day with their captain who is responsible for their safety, their catch, and making it all enjoyable. We’ve enjoyed great continuity at the helm over the years, but 2017 marked the last season for Captain Bo Breuner and Captain Eric Meiland (The Viking) Bo first fished with AU as…
DetailsThe 2017 season began with Hook It and Cook It in mid-May and finished nearly four months later on September 10. A run down of various stretches of the season are available by looking through this year’s fishing reports. Here’s the high-level summary of the season and the grades earned: Kings Salmon: D We…
DetailsSilvers in Randomland The silver has gone from an automatic to a bit more work for the past two weeks. The fish are mainly offshore – meaning in deep water on their migratory routes. They aren’t heavily schooled and concentrated over bait. Speaking of which, there isn’t a major baitfish concentration offshore and we’re…
DetailsThe fishing world and the corporate world have some pretty clear dividing lines. One that often comes up is when someone asks if Chuck and I hold a formal captains’ meeting each day during which we then designate where each boat goes fishing. I’m occasionally asked if my electronics show me where each of our…
DetailsAllison Godin was born in 1995 to Dan and Michele Godin in Bemidji, MN. She grew up in the small town of Leonard, Minnesota (population 41) where she enjoyed involvement in her school, church, and community. This spring she graduated from Bemidji State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. She earned…
DetailsCoho Ascending It would be hard for silver fishing to get faster than it has been for nearly two months. In truth, it has gotten a little more of a hunt and peck game in the last week. That said, limits or near limits have been attained most days and the silvers are showing their…
DetailsThe Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced an emergency closure of the king salmon fishery throughout Southeast Alaska, effective midnight August 9. In simple terms – all kings will have to be released unharmed for the rest of the season after Wednesday the 9th. The “extreme management measures” apply to the entire Southeast Region,…
DetailsSenator Lisa Murkowski fished aboard Albatross with Captain Tom on Saturday the 29th. Lisa’s son Nick is a good friend of AU’s Captain Bo Breuner who set up the trip. She travelled all day Friday after a late-night session in the senate to enjoy an excellent day of fishing. She brought two kings (resident…
DetailsWe had visitors all the way from the United Kingdom this month. David South, Gill Griffiths and Stephen Hocking made the long flight for four days of Sitka fishing. They enjoyed the calm seas, caught kings, silvers, halibut, lingcod, and a wide assortment of rockfish species. They kept track of each new species of fish…
DetailsCaptain Sarah Levar was born in 1988 to Steve and Diane Levar in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She grew up in northern Minnesota, spending long summer days at the family cabin on the shores of Burntside Lake. There her love of the outdoors and fishing began. She holds a masters degree in Occupational Therapy from the…
DetailsJuly 2017 reigns as the calmest month we’ve ever seen in Sitka. We went weeks on end fishing a dead calm ocean and the wind only blew a few days during the month. We pretty much ran all over the ocean at full cruising speed. The fishing from the beginning to the end of the…
DetailsCalm Seas, lots of silvers, easy halibut, and a bit more struggle than normal for kings. The pattern of the first half of July continues. How long the extreme calm can last? Who knows, but not forever. It appears the silver run will just keep racing along. The kings remain easy one day, hard the…
DetailsI look at times of the salmon season by which species is the cake and which is the icing. June through at least mid-July, kings are typically the main event – the cake. Silvers are the bonus fish – the icing. The first two weeks of July this year, we’ve had a sort of upside…
DetailsThe last 10 days of June have been marked by excellent numbers of silvers and mostly good catches of kings. The king run continues to present the occasional hiccup which seldom lasts more than a day. Even on those days, kings are landed, we just work harder at it. The silvers numbers have been building…
DetailsA guy I know has been fishing king salmon from Washington, through British Columbia and all over Southeast Alaska for over 40 years. Until the early 90’s he cruised the coast in a live-aboard yacht fishing anywhere he wanted. He keeps meticulous records of every fish they catch and his catch rates. After careful…
DetailsThere are signs to watch for. Some show up on our sounders – big schools of baitfish, layers of krill, and marks that are clearly salmon. Some are quite visible without electronics – whales, birds, and well-defined rip lines in the water. After an unusually challenging week in early June, all the signs came together…
Details1. Pacific salmon are different: They don’t behave like most fish and it has to do with how they drive through their feed. Most fish drive into baitfish, grab and turn away. Salmon just keep swimming straight ahead, looking for more. They react to something not being right with what they ate by swimming…
DetailsWe at Angling Unlimited were honored to have six veterans join us for a fishing trip on June 1-4. It was jointly sponsored by the Brady Oberg Legacy Foundation, whose mission is “to promote a happy and healthy life for combat victims who suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).” The event was not only…
DetailsAwesome, incredible, and outstanding are some of the words that I would use to describe our entire experience at the 2017 “Hook It & Cook It” event at Angling Unlimited in Sitka, Alaska. It’s 4 great days of fishing and 4 great evenings of three-course gourmet dishes, all consisting of local fish, prepared and cooked…
DetailsOur season is underway! A full house of guests enjoyed night number one of Hook It and Cook It with chef Ludger Szmania. They are out on the water today. The AU staff has been working hard for the past three weeks, getting all the parts of our well-oiled machine running smoothly. We are ready. The…
DetailsThe adage has it that “most fish are caught the night before”. As for Angling Unlimited’s 2017 season, this time in spring is the night before. Careful, precise, and conscientious preparation is a requirement to take the best care of the people who fish with us and guarantee the best outcomes. That’s what we’re up to…
DetailsThe AU crew in Sitka headed out on the ocean and fished for 3 1/2 hours. The sounder lit up with clouds of baitfish. Individual kings plus one school were also marked. The crew landed 5 halibut and 4 kings, plus they missed or lost a couple more kings (nobody is perfect). This is…
DetailsLet’s begin by gathering our ingredients for Greek Salmon Phyllo Wrap: Ingredients: 1 package frozen chopped spinach 1 package crumbled feta cheese 1/2 cup Greek vinaigrette dressing Phyllo sheets salmon fillet 1/2 cup sour cream 1/4 cup chopped cucumbers 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill Heat the oven to 425º F and layer cookie sheet with…
Details1. In the fall of 2014 my friend Captain Keith Robbins came back from Louisiana with enticing stories of big redfish in shallow water caught on fly rods. Keith charters on Puget Sound for both salmon mooching and salt water fly fishing. 2. In the spring of 2016, my youngest daughter Evelyn (better known as…
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