King Salmon: We had our earliest Sitka fishing report ever in late April. It's difficult to predict what the King salmon fishing will be like year after year. After a slow May '17 and May '18 season for the Kings, we figured May '19 would be about the same. That has not been the case so far in 2019. The King salmon fishing has continued to be good, with limits (1 per person per day) to be expected on most days. One of the closest fishing grounds that we fish - the Vitskari rocks - has been the hot spot for most of May. Lots of bait and consistent King action. We have also been to Cape Edgecumbe a few times this May and the King salmon has been just as good, if not better. Size has not been the greatest for us thus far, consistently in the 30 - 35 inch range. But reports of a couple 30+ pound Kings have been caught at Vitskari this May. We look forward for what's to come from now through June!
Halibut: Consistent halibut fishing has been found off Cape Edgecumbe. As long as the weather is half decent, limits should be the expectation. Historically, May is the best month to catch halibut in Sitka because there is less boating activity (less fishing pressure) out in the open ocean.
Lingcod: Cape Edgecumbe reports have been good. Always tough to catch them in the slot (30-35 inches).
Rockfish: We caught 20 yesterday in the Sitka Sound in about 15 minutes. Think bass fishing, but with more action.
Blackcod: This is the only fish that hasn't had good fishing thus far this season. Tyler went out once in April and caught 7 - but spent the majority of the day doing so. Reports from longliners also say it has been slow. We remember June - August 2018 so will keep you updated. Four electric reels on each boat should help.
Deadliest Catch: Set our first pots yesterday morning. We are letting them soak overnight and checking today. The whole experience is beautiful. We seen a brown bear and we almost had an excellent video (via drone).
Wildlife: We seen at least a dozen humpback whales yesterday. A brown bear. Bald eagles. Sealions. Seaotters. We got it all here in Sitka, Alaska.
Summary: If we would have known the King salmon fishing was going to be this consistent, we would have been running charters all of May. We can only go off what happened last year and the year before that. One thing is for sure- May 2019 has been awesome. The boats are ready. The lodge is ready. Our first guests arrive May 19 with May 20 the first official fishing day. We look forward to this summer and the summers to follow.