Captain Phil Carlson has another big fish story to add to his personal experience library. This time the big fish didn’t get pulled from the ocean outside of Sitka where he is a fishing guide for Angling Unlimited during the summer months. This time Captain Phil was ice fishing on Pokegama Lake in Northern Minnesota. …
Last night in Anchorage the NPFMC(North Pacific Fishery Management Council) passed a motion that will recommend to the IPHC(International Pacific Halibut Commision) regulations for halibut in 2012. The IPHC will meet in Anchorage in late January to finalize. Without getting into too much confusing detail, this is what the 2012 halibut regulations *might* be for…
Captain Tom and several others from our industry will be traveling to Anchorage this week. They will be working together to come up with the best possible outcome for those of us that want to fish for halibut next summer. It’s too early to know what the possible regulations might be, but it is safe…
The 2011 seaon got underway with Captain DJ Gross taking American service men fishing along with other boats in the Sitka fleet. It’s Angling Unlimited’s and the charter industry’s way of thanking them for their service. The king fishing has been spectacular with large schools of fish, limits, and plenty for catch and release –…
Lots of fish refusing to grow up It might be easier to explain quantum physics in a paragraph than clarify the halibut situation. First, halibut are currently at record abundance in the North Pacific – more individual fish and more pounds (1.8 billion) than ever. Sounds great until we drill down and discover that the…
King Salmon: The king salmon abundance index, a number derived by complex biological and mathematic inputs, drives our king salmon regulations and doesn’t become available until April. In the meantime, we’re left to read the tea leaves which include near record ocean productivity off Washington, Oregon and British Columbia in the last few years. We…
Spectacular for Kings: 2009 turned in one of the best king seasons we’ve seen in years. It started with a little scare – the kings were a week late, making our first few days of operating in mid-May on the slow side. Then, the fish showed in force during the last 10 days of the…
The 2009 season hit a brief pothole for a few days beginning on July 8. For some reason the bait flushed from the west side of Kruzof Island and the silvers left with it. Most of our boats were able to find enough kings to bring in limits and halibut fishing filled in for the…
Fishing Report July 8, 2009 The red hot king fishing of June 2009 continued through the last 10 days of the month. Limits with plenty of catch and release action were the rule. Silvers have done a here today, gone tomorrow and back again the next day thing through the first week of July, making…
The good old days returned to Sitka in the second week of June. The ocean came alive with a massive plankton bloom that kicked the food chain into high gear. Whales numbering in the hundreds worked the fertile waters as did big schools of kings. The Wong group enjoyed three days of excellent king fishing…