Category: Uncategorized

Tyler holding a big buck Silver

Camp Tamarack from Michigan came out for their annual Silver Salmon trip.  Silver fishing has been a bit slow lately and we knew that we would have to work for them today.  There was a total of 31 fisherman on board.  We tried a spot inside Resurrection Bay first, which was full of bait but only managed to entice 2 Salmon to bite.  It wasn’t long before we knew this wasn’t going to be a productive spot.  Soon after we headed east to another Salmon spot that has been pretty good lately.

The wind was blowing about 15 knots in the Gulf but fishable by all means.  We tried drifting but after the first go at it the wind was pushing the boat too fast.  After chumming for a bit the Silvers started to show up.  The kids fished hard, and pulled in a total of thirty-nine Silvers and one Pink Salmon.  There were bait balls all over the surface of the water and a few whales working the schools of small baitfish.  It was a great day of fishing considering the slow bite for the past week, I feel we did pretty good in comparison to the rest of the fleet.

Another good weather forecast tomorrow with NE wind 10 knots coming down to variable 10 by the afternoon.  Tomorrow’s trip is a full day Salmon/ Halibut Combo charter and we plan on going to Montague Island.  It seems the Island is the only place to get a consistent salmon bite, hopefully the big tide tomorrow will push out some of the dogfish.  They have been in thick lately but strong current will usually move them out.  FISH ON!

Full day Halibut and Salmon combo trip.  We started the day off fishing a 240′ hump that used to be a popular spot back in the 90’s, but has since been forgotten.  I like to stop off at this spot once a year and see who’s home.  A few people on the boat caught a couple Lingcod and four 35lb to 40lb Halibut.  At 11 we pulled the anchor and moved to the Halibut grounds to try and limit the boat.  It was a slow pick at first, but when the Halibut caught on to our scent trail the lines started bobbing and Halibut started hitting the rails.  We caught close to a limit then switched gear and started searching for Silvers.

The radio chatter indicated that the Silver fishing was slow for the fleet.  We tried a spot that had not yet been hit by other charter boats.  Only one Silver Salmon was caught even though the spot looked fishy. Unfortunately, it showed no signs of a productive Salmon bite.  Later we pulled in where the rest of the charter boats were picking away at Silvers.  By 5:45 we had caught fifteen and it was time to hit the barn.

The Sea Quest has a full day Salmon trip tomorrow with 31 kids.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring a few more Salmon into the gulf. FISH ON!

Jeremy’s big Lingcod

Our private trip decided to make their charter a full day Halibut trip emphasizing on large Halibut.  I punched in Montague Island into the GPS and we were on our way.  We expected the weather to be uncooperative but leaving the bay it seemed to only get nicer.  The Sea Quest reached the Island at 9:30 and we dropped our lines at the beginning of the outgoing tide.  The current started to pick up around 10:30 and at that point we had only landed 1 fish at 30lbs.  The spot wasn’t looking promising so I made a 15 minute call before our next move.  Just as one of the clients said “sometimes you have to threaten to leave them,” a big halibut struck the 8 oz jig, hard.  It was a battle up to the top tangling lines but we finally landed the 80lb Halibut.  After that the bite got hot.  We were very busy on deck flinging fish after fish over the rail between 30lbs and 100lbs.

At 1:30 we reached a limit of our “over 29″ Halibut” and moved to a spot just a few miles out.  This area is known for smaller fish.  There were a few boats finishing off their day when we arrived so it looked like a sure bet.  Most of the boats were leaving because they were infested by Spiny Dogfish (sand sharks).  It seemed to be a five to one ratio of sharks to Halibut, so we pulled the anchor and tried drifting.  The Halibut will usually bite during the drift but the sharks will not congregate under the boat.  It worked out and we only left 2 fish shy of our limit.

Weather report for tomorrow predicts SW 20 knots of wind and 5′ seas.  Weatherman was wrong about today and hopefully tomorrow will be the same outcome.  Halibut/ Salmon combo trip tomorrow…Let’s get ’em   FISH ON!

Load of fat Silvers

Another great day out on the water.  We eluded the weather by fishing close to home.  It seemed the wind didn’t pick up until 10 miles outside the bay.  We rounded Cape Resurrection and returned to the same area we fished during yesterday’s charter.  Again, it was deep but well worth the extra reeling.  Fourteen Halibut were landed in the morning, the biggest about 60lbs.  The rest of the Halibut caught ranged between 15lbs and 30lbs.  Right when we landed our last big fish, a monster was hooked off the bow.  It was only hooked for about 20 seconds before spitting the hook and returning to the bottom. I was glad this fish got off early considering it would have been released since the angler already caught his big one.  Reeling in a fish at 300′ of water causes a lot of stress and potential injury to it so the fact that the hook popped off in time was a relief.

At about 11:30 we switched to Salmon gear and made way towards a spot we heard was good in the morning.  It took us a bit but we caught a limit of Silver Salmon and few more small Halibut.  When we returned to the bay the wind was smoking out of the North making it the roughest leg of our journey.  I’m looking forward to this coming week of fishing.  The weather is coming way down and the Silver Salmon should really be heating up.  FISH ON!

On our way in yesterday the weather was building and the SW wind blew through the night.  The weatherman predicted up to 30 knots of West wind today so we decided to play it safe and stay close to home.  Our intentions this morning leaving the dock was to remain inside Resurrection Bay to target Silver Salmon.  I got word from a friend who was down the line that the weather wasn’t too bad until the half way point to our fishing grounds.  I have a few spots for Halibut that are good for days when we can’t reach our normal fishing area.  We rounded Cape Resurrection to no wind and a small ground swell and plopped out anchor in about 270′ of water.

The water was a bit deep where we fished but I’ve had great success in the past on a similar tide.  It took no longer than five minutes before we caught our first Halibut.  We only had 8 people and we managed to catch 11 Halibut between 15lbs to 60lbs.  A couple of Salmon carcasses were attached to a few of the lines and what I believe to have been a Salmon Shark grabbed it and snapped the line about 1 minute into the fight.  It took us by surprise as they usually do.  I’m guessing it was in the 300lb range.

The sun peeked through the clouds and it became a beautiful day.  We finished up our Halibut then went on the hunt for Silvers.  It was slow but we picked away at them, running from spot to spot until reaching a limit of 24 fat ones.  Water temperature was a bit hot today causing the salmon to be in the deeper water column, about 120′.  Nobody on the boat including myself predicted today to turn out so good.  Great job on the fish today guys, you all made me proud.  FISH ON!

Me and John with his first 100 pounder

We ran a bit further than usual today for our full day Halibut trip.  It took 3 hours to arrive at our first destination but it proved to be worth the wait.  We caught a plethora of Pelagic and Non-Pelagic rockfish as well as a majority of Halibut in an area we had yet to try this season.  The bite was consistent through the whole incoming tide.  Largest fish on the boat was a 120lb Halibut caught by John.  He had been working a jig all morning and continuously watched people catching Halibut on bait so he decided to switch methods.  The moment his bait hit the bottom it was sucked down and hooked solid by his big Halibut.  At about 1pm we moved over to the western edge of the island and caught the rest of our small Halibut.  It’s sure nice when things go according to plan.  We arrived back at the dock at a reasonable hour and with a large load of white meat.  The weather was a bit rough on the way home but tomorrows forecast predicts that the SW winds are diminishing.  FISH ON!

This morning we left the dock in a torrential downpour, but when we reached our fishing destination the rain cleared and the weather turned out to be quite nice.  It didn’t take long for the Halibut to show up. We started fishing at 9am and by 11:30 we had landed 8 nice fish.  Our largest was about 80lbs and a few more were just shy.  We fished until the current started to slow down then we moved to an area to drift.  We managed to hook a few big lingcod while drifting but the outgoing tide was carrying us too fast to continue.  After soaking for big ones we slid out to the flats to catch the remainder of small Halibut.  We didn’t fill the boat completely but the size of the first 8 fish we caught made up for coming up short of a limit.  It was a great day of fishing and we’re looking forward to the good weather that’s predicted in the forecast.  Check in tomorrow for an update on the day’s charter.  FISH ON!

\We left the dock with a light load, only 9 people on a private charter.  We arrived at the island at the tail end of an incoming tide and had to sit through the slack before the fish started to bite.  As soon as the tide started to roll we hooked up a few Halibut mostly in the 25lb-30lb range but one at 110lbs.  The sun was shining bright and there was a light wind over the fishing grounds.  After catching most of our Halibut and a few Lingcod, we fished some nearby pinnacles.  I positioned the boat at a high spot and drifted 9 jigs down the rocky ledge.  As soon as the angler’s lines hit the bottom, 7 out of 9 rods had hooked giant Lingcod.  It was fast and furious and we only needed two more Lingcod to limit the boat.  Our next drift was just as good, whacking 2 right off the bat.

It was a fantastic day of fishing and the weather was spectacular, we couldn’t have asked for a better day.  Tomorrow will be a bit sporty with southeast winds predicted at 15 knots and 5′ seas.  It looks like the beginning of what will be a pretty good blow.  NOAA weather is calling for winds more or less at 40 knots and 14′ seas for Thursday.  Luckily, reports show that the Silver Salmon are in the bay and the bite is good.  Until then… FISH ON!

The bay was howling this morning and continued to pick up as we made progress into the gulf.  We rounded the Cape and decided that it was a too rough to head directly to the Halibut grounds. After a few uncomfortable slams we stopped at a protected cove and tried for a few Silver Salmon, while the weather came down.  We weren’t able to hook up any more than 5 Salmon do to the slack tide. Salmon usually feed better on an incoming or outgoing tide.

After an hour or so the Sea Quest rolled through the residual towards the Halibut grounds.  The bite was a bit slow so we tried another a little further down the line.  The weather got increasingly better throughout the day.  By 3pm there was little to no wind and the sun was starting to peak through the crowds.  Can’t complain we made lemonade out of lemons.  Caught close to a limit of halibut  and also managed to land a bunch of fat Silver Salmon.

Matty from cooper landing caught and released 12 Ling Cod today keeping this one for the freezer

Today’s charter is one that we always look forward to because July 1 is the opening day for Ling Cod season meaning we can finally get to throw some big ones in the box.  We started the day off targeting halibut on a large rockpile off the southwest tip of Montague. The Halibut bite was slow but we were too busy catching giant Yelloweye Rockfish at this point to care.  Many of the fisherman on the boat limited out on Yelloweye and Black Bass by 11:30.  At 12 we picked up the anchor and moved a few more miles to a more productive area for small halibut and by 1:30 we had landed our last.

Next was the moment we were all waiting for; Ling Cod!  We set up 10 fisherman off one side of the boat and drifted sideways in the current over some large pinnacles.  The fishing was amazing, we had up to five on at one time.  The lings were all very good size ranging from 25lbs to 45lbs.  I think we only threw two back that were under the 36″ size limit.  Everyone on the boat caught one and I think we were short 1 of a twenty person limit.  The weather was perfect, blue skies and flat seas, the day really couldn’t get much better.  The fishing was great creating the ideal start to our combo season.  I can’t wait to see what we come up with tomorrow.  The weather forecast is calling for 72 degrees, flat seas and no wind.  Here we go July! FISH ON!

Monster Yelloweye

The Rollings family from Florida posing with one of their 4 Lings

Clear skies and flat seas set the tone for another good day of fishing.  We left the dock with 12 people who all had derby tickets and hopes for big fish.  It was a great tide this morning, a big incoming starting at 9:40am.  We stopped half way out to the halibut spot to catch some Pink Salmon to use for bait.  We ended up hooking 8 and landing 5 in about 15 minutes.  Looks like the salmon are starting to come in thick.  I hope it’s going to be a good year for silvers, catching them in the ocean is a fight like no other.  Silver Salmon are known for their wiry antics and acrobatic leaps out of water.

We arrived at our big fish spot at about 9:45, right when the tide started to pick up.  We put our live bait down and started chumming.  Within 10 minutes we had hooked a big Lingcod and our first halibut.  The bite steadily increased in the first hour landing 12 for 12 of our big fish.  All the halibut ranged from forty to seventy-five pounds.  Fish this size are a perfect balance of weight and quality and most Alaskans are happy to catch them.

All though the big fish were easy to obtain, the under 29″ halibut proved themselves, as usual, to be more of a challenge than expected.  We tried in the mud flats in about 230′ of water but all we could catch was 30″-32″ halibut.  After about an hour of catching and releasing, we moved to an area closer to home that’s known for tiny fish.  We ended up limiting the boat by 4pm and caught a nice 12 pound King Salmon right at the last minute.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s trip, it’s the last day of the halibut derby and some big fish have been hitting the docks daily. Hopefully tomorrow it will be ours.

Todays Turkey Load

We had a light load today with only 12 anglers for a private charter and we were geared up with enough bait for at least 3 charter boats plus whole pink salmon bait, previously caught the day before.  I wanted to try something new, so we drove around Montague scanning the bottom for some some new pinnacles and structure.  We found a small shelf in about 130′ of water and dropped the anchor right on the high point.  The tide was a large flood starting early this morning and the current was screaming out the back of the boat.  After about thirty minutes of fishing we started seeing our first bites.  It didn’t seem that the halibut had any preference on the bait, for 2 hours they teared apart anything we sent down.  We hooked into 7 fish all over 75lbs with the biggest around 110lbs. It was a spectacular day of fishing and the fisherman definitely got a run for their money.

The tide started to slow down around noon and so did the bite.  We moved out and shot across the island to look for the rest of our halibut.  We were just about limited with all of our big fish and needed to catch the remainder of under 29″ fish.  The first place we stopped at had a ton of bait but we couldn’t keep the bait down long enough before a black bass would take it.  By the time we found some halibut the outgoing tide was picking up and the fish were in frenzy mode.  It only took about 20 minutes to limit the boat.  Great job everyone, you guys killed it!  Rest those sore muscles and come back soon.  FISH ON!