Alaska Fish Species

King (Chinook) Salmon

When you think of salmon, you probably think of the King salmon. King salmon live up to their name, due to their larger size, epic fight on light tackle, and flavorful taste. They are the largest of the salmon genus found in the Pacific ocean. Typically growing to 15-20 pounds, the largest ever recorded sport fishing was an astonishing 97.25 pounds.

 

King salmon are caught regularly throughout our season, but typically the biggest schools and hottest bite starts around mid May and lasts until mid July. The short season makes King salmon one of the most sought after game fish species in Alaska, and even the world.

 

Interested in catching King salmon? Sitka, Alaska has the highest saltwater catch rates for King salmon in the entire state of Alaska, confirmed by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.

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Silver (Coho) Salmon

When the King salmon numbers start to dwindle, the Silver (Coho) salmon start to pick up. The best Silver salmon fishing occurs between July and early September, with the prime action typically occurring in August.

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Silver salmon are an entertaining catch because of their acrobatic fight on the ocean surface. The average Coho weighs ~8-12 pounds, but the world record in Alaska comes in at an impressive 26.11 pounds. Check us out in Sitka if you're interested in loading up on a boatload of Silver salmon.

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Pacific Halibut

Sitka boasts excellent Alaska halibut fishing all season long and these fish are quite the catch. Hook a halibut and have the potential to reel in the biggest fish of your life! These fish can reach sizes of 400 lb or more and have a very delicious taste. Halibut frequent the offshore coastline of Sitka, with anglers having the best luck fishing on mud or gravel flats in 180 - 700 ft of water.

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Black Cod (Sablefish)

Sablefish, commonly referred to as black cod, is a deep dwelling fish found in the muddy sea beds of the North Pacific ocean. Black cod are caught in depths ranging from 700 - 3000 ft of water. Because of such extreme depths, black cod were once only available to the commercial fishery. With the use of electric reels, we have now made it possible to target and catch black cod sport fishing in Sitka, AK.

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Lingcod

The Alaska Lingcod is known for its prehistoric look and large, toothy grin. It is one of Alaska's most sought after sport fish for its prized meat. These beasts can grow up to 80 lbs. The world record lingcod weighed in at 82.6 lbs.

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Yelloweye Rockfish

A non-pelagic rockfish, the yelloweye is one of the most prized rockfish due to their large size and fillet quality. We catch these pretty consistently throughout the entire fishing season.

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Shortraker Rockfish

A slope rockfish, the shortraker rockfish looks almost identical to the yelloweye but are typically bigger and found in deeper water (600-1200 feet). It is the largest of all the rockfish species found in Alaska, with the sport fishing world record coming in at a whopping 44.1 pounds.

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Black Rockfish

A pelagic rockfish, these fighters are a hit with our guests due to their natural tendency to swarm up under the boat which makes for some wild action. A great tasting white meat, our recommendation is using these for some fish tacos or fish & chips.

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Salmon Sharks

Sometimes described as a mini-Great White Shark, Salmon sharks can grow to over 10 feet long and in excess of 660 pounds. An apex predator, the salmon shark feeds on salmon, squid, sablefish, herring and pollock; eating about 8% of their weight in food each day. Hauling a salmon Shark aboard has been known to take over an hour.