Here we go! 2014 Seward fishing season has begun.  We were honored to once again take out a great group of armed servicemen.  The weather was definitely in our favor with variable winds and flat seas. Lets hope our season continues on this weather pattern.  We’ve been having record temperatures in the 70’s and the fish and bait seem to be plentiful.

We tried for the big one but only had one large takedown on a jig at our first fishing location.  We fished the outgoing tide hoping for a tournament winner but time was not on our side, having to be back at the dock by 4pm.  We called off the hog hunting early and headed for the bio-mass.  By 12pm we were able to create a feeding frenzy at one of our hotspots.  Although nothing over 25lbs, the fish were all very healthy and aggressive for this time of year.

We had a limit of 38 halibut by 1:45 which left us some time to do a bit of whale watching on the way home.  We found a large pod of Humpback whales alone the coast about 6 miles off shore.  They put on a magnificent show for the boat for a good 25 minutes.

Next trip is tomorrow, we will be heading to Montague island on a full day halibut trip.  Hopefully we can find some big flatties.  Check in tomorrow night for an update! FISH ON

77 Degrees In Seward Today

After a month straight of 12 hour days.  The Sea Quest is finally ready to go back into the water.  We have given her a full makeover.  Much blood and sweat has been spilled on the deck, this time not from fish.  Proud to splash her in time for the Combat Tournament on May 22nd.  We will be donating an exclusive charter to our armed service members of Alaska.  Hopefully we get the big one..Wish us luck

 This saturday was the third annual king salmon derby in Seward.  48 participants entered the derby and untied from the dock between 6-7 am.  The rules were derby style, lines in at 8am and lines out by 4pm.  1st through 3rd place took a percentage of the entry fee and a captains prize and wildcard were also on the table.

We were on a sailboat so we left the dock a bit before the rest.  Our top speed is 7 knots so we left the untied 6am to mark bait and establish a good position in the bay.  The countdown started at 7:55 and by 8am lines were in the water and fishing.

1st- 15lbs

2nd- 12lbs

3rd- 8lbs

Wildcard- Sean Carlin

Although not the biggest King Salmon, it was large enough to take 3rd place.  We knew that there weren’t going to be many kings caught and catching one of any size would probably put us on the board.  It was a great day on the water with good friends and good fisherman.  Looking forward to next years derby!

$700 Cash Prize

Thailand

REDTAIL CATFISH (35lbs)

I was staying at a fishing camp in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  Here you rent a bungalow on the lake and attached is a fishing porch equipped with an arsenal of killer bait rods and gear.  I caught three around this size and a few other native carp species.  In this lake are 300 lb Mekong Catfish and 400 lb Arapaima.  This was the best I could do in 18 hours of straight fishing in the heat.

Indonesia

45lb Snake Mackerel

Lombok

Our new deckhand Wisna is from Lombok, Indonesia, we were 2 miles outside his village fishing for various reef fish.  later we cooked the fish over dried coconut husks.  The water is extremely good visibility and a strong current between Bali and Lombok carries nutrients into the area creating great reef structures and fish habitat.  The schools of fish were in such massive concentrations that I could only wonder of what Hawaii was like 100 years ago.

#286lbs Steve Pernsteiner landed a 286 pound halibut on August 13th aboard the M/V Sea Quest with Captain Sean and deckhands Lewie and Tyler. This fish weighed in overall as the 2nd largest halibut of the season- great job Steve!!

Many July and August afternoons look like this.  For the deckhands the work has just begun.

Ressurection Bay, Seward

2014 Season Starts May 24th, 2014.
BOOK YOUR TRIP TODAY

Here we are again, it’s that time to book trips! Come see us at the Mat-Su Outdoors Show. We will be booking halibut and combo charters until Sunday so visit us in Wasilla or next weekend at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage for the Great Alaska Sportsmans show. We have new spring special prices- check us out!!

Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show
2013 SHOW DATES!

MARCH 22, 23, & 24th
Friday – noon to 7 pm
Saturday – 10am to 6pm
Sunday 10am to 5pm

After fishing in Wyoming we jumped on a plane to Panama City.  We took off for the villa we would be staying in for the first two weeks on Perico Island, just outside Panama city.  From there we were able to access various fisheries in the area. Our first trip was with Rich from Panama Canal Fishing.  We entered the Panama Canal and worked our way into Lake Gatun.  Lake Gatun is known for excellent Tarpon, Snook and Peacock Bass fishing.    We were warned that the Tarpon fishing was going to be slow but Matty and I still wanted to give it a shot.  We saw 2 Tarpon but they would not take to the fly.  In the afternoon we trolled around the lake trying to hook a Snook.  Matty hooked one up but the fish immediatly spit the Rapala lure.  Slow start to the day but the sights were amazing and our guide Rich was extremely knowledgeable about the area as well as the history of the Panama Canal.

Peacock Bass

 In the afternoon, Rich routed us to one of his well known Peacock Bass areas where we found great success. We hooked and retained at least 30 1-3lbs bass.   We used 5-7 weight fly rods equipped with small top-water poppers.  It was a great trip, we both had always wanted to catch a peacock bass and we did…a whole lot of them.

After fishing the canal, Rich introduced us to one of his good friends; Jim Dertien.  Jim is also a local, an   American at birth who relocated to Panama in the late ’60s.  Jim has a 62′ yacht called “The Cheers,” which he uses primarily to run charters out of Panama City and around the Gulf for Tuna, Sailfish and Marlin.  Jim took all 12 of us out on his boat for a great day of fishing.  The weather was perfect and the fishing was pretty hot.  We caught 5 nice 30lb tuna and 1 Bluefin Jack.

We quickly learned that Jim is an amazing guy, he pilots 100′ to 1200′ ships through the Panama Canal.  Jim informed us that the canal’s daily revenue is between 4 and 12 million dollars a day and his job of piloting submarines through the canal is impressive.   Jim continued to show us a great time by inviting the crew to his great beach house 90 Kilometers away from the city.  We surfed and relaxed for a few days on a secluded beach.

Dorado (Mahi-Mahi)

My Pet Sloth

Matty and I were both getting the itch to fish so we departed Casa Del Jim and headed to a small local fishing village called Pedasi.  Pedasi is an undeveloped area that has access to the Tuna Coast.  Against everything I have ever learned about the ocean, we decided to trust a non-english speaking commercial fisherman with our lives as he took us on his 22′ open panga 28 miles off shore.  We were a little uneasy about the idea at first but Matty and I prepared for at least a week at sea by packing 16 sandwiches and 6 gallons of water.  I figured if we were dumb enough to get ourselves into this situation we should at least be prepared for the worst.

40lb Yellow Fin Tuna

In just two days of fishing out of the panga, we hooked up on 12 Dorado; 1 of which I hooked on a fly
rod, and 5 nice Yellow Fin Tuna.  Great trip so far, and it’s not over yet.

FISH ON!!!

Matty with his first Dorado

Platt River Wyoming

My friend Matty and I are in pursuit of fish in warmer climates.  I left Alaska last friday for Denver and headed straight for the Platt River in Wyoming.  The Platt is known for its epic ‘Brown Trout’ and ‘Rainbow Trout’ fishing.  We timed the weather perfectly arriving just after the first snow fall of the season.

The Platt seemed to be as productive as the Kenai River and between the two of us in four days we had caught over 150 trout.  Morning seemed to be the consistant hot bite.  By the time the sun was over the horizon the frenzy would die off.  We didn’t have much use for dry flies or streamers because the orange beads were on fire.  The use of up to three hooks is allowed so we spaced a series of 2 orange beads trailed by a San Juan (red worm imitation).  This setup has proven to be the ticket for the Platt in the fall.

22″ Rainbow Trout

This ‘particular’ area we fished has a reputation for monster Brown Trout exceeding 30 inches.  On day 2 of the trip I hooked and landed a 30 inch Brown and Matty caught a 28 inch Brown on day 3.  We talked to a few guides whom all claimed to have not seen a Brown over 27″ all season. If that’s the case, I’d say Team Alaska represented well. The fishing techniques we use on the Kenai River produced the same successful results in the lower 48.

30″x16″ Wyoming Brown

Tomorrow morning we take off for Panama for three weeks of bone fishing.  We plan on targeting an array of species including Tarpon, Permit, Tuna, Giant Trevally, Cubara Snapper, Snook, Peacock Bass, Marlin and Sailfish.  We are equipped with 5 – 14 weight fly rods and various conventional gear along with over 400 new saltwater flies to toss at multiple species of pelagic and non-pelagic fish. It should be a good time and we are excited to get back in the deep blue.

I’ll be sure to keep you up to date with our journey with photos and reports.  PESCAR EN!!

Miles and I were worried that we wouldn’t catch a fish over #200lbs this season.  Better late than never!  Local fisherman, Kaleb hooked into this barn door on a lightweight jig rod rigged with a 16oz Disco Jig.  After about a 20 minute fight we were able to harpoon and subdue this behemoth of the deep.  Great end to another awesome season fishing with Alaska Northern Outfitters.  FISH ON!!!

We went to the same area as yesterday in persuit of some more big halibut.  They were biting good there yesterday but today was a different story.  Although our first fish of the day was 80lbs the bite never seemed to pick up for us.  We ended up with 9 at our first spot and 1 80 pounder at the next fishing spot.  We gave it a good shot but the fish didn’t want to bite for us leaving no choice but to pull anchor and try our jigging rods.  We drifted the same general area picking up 9 big lings in the process.  We later moved out to the honey hole and filled the boat up quickly.  Blue skies and no wind made up for the slow fishing.  Looks like tomorrow will be a good one too. Thanks guys. FISH ON!!!