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We hid from the weather today only running about 1.5 hours from Seward.  The weather system has remained off shore for the most part this week so fishing close was far more comfortable.  The fishing was a bit slow, which was expected.  However we did put a few nice fish into the box, with 1 weighing in around 70lbs.  By 1pm we had only eleven halibut and still need another 53.  I was forced to move out of the calm seas and hammer into some chop for about an hour in order to get to the bio mass of halibut.  Once we arrived the bite was ferocious, unfortunately the fish were ranging between 8lbs to 12lbs.  At 3pm we tried another spot where I had caught a few nice fish years back.  Not much size to any of them but we were able to limit the boat out in about an hour.

Fishing should start picking up for us soon here, the silvers are showing up and bait has finally arrived on the shelves.  It’s been a tough spring but I think this fall will make up for it.  Thanks for the great trip, See you next year! FISH ON!!!

The Doyle family and friends booked another exclusive this week.  The weather has not been in our favor the past few days and last weeks trip was rough but successful.  Today we decided to stay a bit closer to home hoping to find a limit of halibut right out side the bay.  The wind direction was NE so the mountain created a nice lee where we were able to fish without enduring any major swells or wind. We arrived at our spot and pulled out a limit of 26 halibut by 1:30pm.  The fish were a great average ranging between 20lb-50lb.  There seemed to be quite a lot of bait in the area because the humpbacks were bubble feeding within 1 mile of our fishing spot all day long.  I was surprised by the quality of the fish considering we only ran 1/3 of the way to our normal fishing grounds.  It’s amazing how many fish we must drive over daily in order to get to Puget bay or even further Montague.  Since Montague has been Les than satisfactory lately we have been trying some different fishing areas and prospecting closer to home to stay away from the weather.

Today it defiantly paid off. We were all please with the great bite and constant action.  After filling the boat with some flat ones we made a few drifts for some salmon just 2 miles away.  I marked plenty of bait on the sounder but was surprised with the lack of salmon in the area.  Every day seems to be getting a little better than the last.  I am hoping the biomass will be coming in quickly so that we can start our combination trips this week Great ay fix wThatThjk

Today was our first combo trip of the 2012 season, our target species were halibut and lingcod.  I can’t tell you how many lingcod we have released this season, but today was our day to get the bait thieves back.  We started with halibut in the morning, and sat on a rock pile for some big butts.  We got a few nice fish around the 40lb-50lb range with a few rock fish and giant lingcod while on anchor.  Once the tide went slack we moved to the pinnacles to drift for some lings using jigs.  Tried 2 spots, one proving   way more productive than the other.  Usually they are stacked up but it seemed the lingcod grounds might of been hit earlier in the morning.  By 2pm we had twenty one giant lingcod in the boat so we moved a few more miles to catch some more halibut.  The bite was slow at first until the tide swung into a outgoing.  When the tide was right the halibut started to come in numbers, so we were able to limit everyone who fished by 5pm.  It was a great start to combo season, and the fishing is getting better and better by the day.  Thanks for coming, and great job keeping my jigs off the bottom! Good Work.  FISH ON!!!

Another great weather day in the North Gulf Coast, sunny skies and 0 wind made for a perfect day of fishing.  I figured we would give Montague Island a break today and see if we couldn’t find any fish a little closer to home.  The tide was small so picking a spot with a fair amount of current is key.  We anchored up around 9:40am and got a slow but steady bite going pulling about 8 nice fish off our first spot in the 25-75 pound range.  The Jigs were getting a ton of bites but keeping the fish on was a different story.  The halibut did seem to start biting on salmon carcasses, something that usually happens weeks ago but due to the late arrival of salmon this year the bait has not been as effective.  Today was a prospecting trip with some of my good friends on the boat with us.  We were able to find a few nice fish and stay out of the westerly chop and fog that everyone else in the fleet experienced.  My friend from Cooper Landing was able to hook about fifteen halibut on his 10 weight fly rod, watching him try and reel them in was a blast.  Even the smaller halibut had his rod buckled in half near the breaking point.  He’s lucky the derby winner didn’t take the fly, that would of taken all day to bring in.

Matt Lewallen #75lb Halibut

Decided to give Montague another try today, despite the slow fishing and small tides previously this week.  Picked a spot a bit shallower than our typical halibut grounds.  The bite was slow but consistent.  We boated a 60 pounder within minutes of anchoring and hooked up a few more on herring and the jigs off the stern of the boat.  The salmon we used for bait was not as hot as the herring and the jigs.  We gave the first spot some time hoping for some larger fish to come through.  Near the tide switch we picked up a few more 40-50 pounders bumping the average up.

The weather was great with blue skies and 10 knots at most of westerly wind.  The past week has been lumpy, foggy and raining so a break in the weather was definitley well deserved.  Traveling over the fishing grounds I started to mark bait for the first time this year.  Things are looking good for the Island, I hope it continues to pick up.  FISH ON!

Weather turned out to be fair today, the ride out was lumpy but as we approached the shelf the rain stopped and the sea state was close to flat.  From the moment we dropped our lines to the end of the day we had fish on about every 2 minutes.  We sat for big fish but the only two that bit were two good turkeys in the 50lb range.  Dale from Seward landed one of the bigger fish using a salmon carcass off the stern of the boat, and set a new personal record.  The Derby leader is 194lb which is usually an easy one to beat.  Fishing has been good, not a whole lot of hogs but we’re hoping the bigger fish will be arriving on the shelf with the next tide cycle.

Great trip guys we caught more than a few fish, good work!!!FISH ON

Dale from Seward with his catch

Where do I start…Perfect weather, perfect tide and a whole lot of hungry halibut.  Today’s trip is one for the 2012 highlights page.  We anchored up in one of my favorite spots close to Montague and waited for the incoming tide to funnel through the structure.  As soon as the tide was right the fish starting jumping into the boat.  We were hooking up with 50+ halibut on all types of bait all over the boat.  It didn’t matter what you were using or where you were standing today as long as you were holding a fishing pole.

By 11:30 we had already landed 7 big fish and the bite was still hot.  The largest fish of the day was brought in on a salmon carcass,  The fish pulled harder than any fish we’ve hooked this year, making 5 big dashes back to the bottom refusing to surrender.  At the dock we hung fourteen of our big fish all weighing over 50lbs.  Our big one put us in 3rd place for the derby, weighing 176lbs. There are only a few days left for the tournament, hopefully we see some 200+ pounders hit the dock soon with some tickets in hand.  FISH ON!!

Seward Halibut Tournament Standings 2012:
1st Place-ProFishNSea Charters- #187lbs
2nd Place- Sea Quest-#181
3rd Place- Sea Quest-#176

3rd Place #176lbs

#100lbs

July 1st, the opening day for lingcod never seems to approach soon enough.  Today we caught at least 18 giant lingcod while fishing for halibut.  The structure that we were fishing is notorious for both big lings and monster halibut.  It was a very action packed with a variety of fish ranging from 60lb halibut to 50lb lings.  Weather was calm with no wind so we were able to make it to the island for the morning tide.  Montague has been a hit or miss lately, some days it’s non-stop bites and others a bit slow.  The fish seem to be moving across the shelf daily making it hard to pin point their exact location.

We ended up with some very nice halibut and some rockfish.  The 2 biggest halibut weighing in around 60lbs.  By mid afternoon we pulled away from the rockpiles and found some baid holding on a nearby shelf.  It took us no longer than an hour to fill the boat with some 15-20lb halibut.

Fishing is really starting to pick up and bigger halibut are hitting the dock daily.  Get down here and buy yourself a derby ticket pronto!!! FISH ON

Weather finally laid down enough for all of the Seward boats to reach our desired fishing grounds.  We traveled again to Montague Island in search of some tournament winners.  The boat was filled with repeat clients and my friend’s family from Wasilla.  Our first spot turned out great, we landed a few fish in the 75lb & 95lb range, along with a variety of 15lb-50lb halibut.  Very productive morning! The fish kept biting. I fired up the engines and was getting ready to make a move when Wags from Wasilla hooked a screamer on the white scampi.  It was hard to tell the size at first but after a few minutes of fight we knew this fish was a barn door.

After the big one, the bite died off and it was time to make a move before the outgoing tide.  I traveled another 7 miles to soak for a few more hours for some big ones.  This spot was not as action packed as our first spot, we had only a few takedowns but no fish to show.  We shortly slid off the spot to catch the boat a limit of buts and were successful at doing so.  By 5:30 we had a limit of 52 halibut and a bunch of happy people.  Today was one of the better days of the season, and I hope the great weather and great tides make for some more killer fishing.

The big one tonight weighed in at #181lbs jumping in the second place spot for the 2012 derby.  Great job guys looks like we have to keep searching for that big one!!! FISH ON!!!

The NE wind blew steady all night so we figured we would play it safe a little closer to home until the wind died down in the afternoon.  I hunkered up on top of a pinnacle to try and limit the boat out with some black bass and hopefully a big halibut.  We sat all morning anticipating a halibut bite but no one was home.  We did, however, catch a load of larger than usual black bass (black rockfish).  By mid morning we inched our way to the halibut grounds stopping at a few good halibut spots and pulling up a some nice halibut.  By 2pm the wind died down enough to not pound straight into an easterly chop.

We tried another pinnacle close to the halibut ground that I had not fished for a good 3-4 years.  I wasn’t sure if there would be any fish on the numbers considering the lack of fish a few years ago, but to my surprise we immediately hooked up with the biggest lingcod of the season and shortly after came the largest Yelloweye of my career here in Seward.  This yellow eye was huge and had to be at least 100 years old.  It’s always a shame to kill one of these big rockfish considering their age and the amount of eggs the large females carry.  Though often times when these fish are caught at such depth, the pressure produces the swim bladder to inflate and eyes to bulge, resulting in a very high mortality rate when released.  Luckily I know this one is going to a good home.  The yelloweye rockfish are non-pelagic, meaning they do not migrate unlike the black bass, and stay in an area of water their entire life span.  The oldest yelloweye recorded was 148 years old.  Scientist are able to determine the age by counting the number of rings on the otolith inside the fish’ ear, the same way you would for a tree.  There’s a few fun facts for you!  In any case, great fishing, got to try a few new spots, and limited the boat out with halibut and a bunch of rockfish.

Great time guys, thanks for choosing us! The crew and I look forward to seeing you again.
FISH ON!!!

The Sockeye fishing has been slower than years past, and obtaining the carcasses has been close to impossible in Seward.  If you have the ability to bring down salmon heads, bellies, or whole carcasses please do!!! Your Captain will appreciate it and so will you.

Thanks,
The Crew

Precision Dental from Anchorage chartered the boat today for another full day halibut trip.  We sold a fat stack of derby tickets and headed east in pursuit of the elusive “hog” halibut.  Our first spot was very productive, as soon as we dropped our lines we had a halibut, a lingcod and a King Salmon.  Always exciting to get instant action.  We caught a few nice halibut but couldn’t keep the lingcod from hooking up.  Usually not a bad thing but Lings are not legal to keep before July 1.
I pulled the anchor and moved a bit shallower hoping to get away from the Lings and closer to some bigger halibut.  It was a bit slower than our first spot but we still managed to pull 3 nice fish off it in an hour.  I wasn’t liking the way the tide was flowing in that area so we pulled the anchor and traveled further east to one of my favorite spots in which I haven’t fished in over 4 years.  Slow bite but we hooked one at 50lb and another around 75lb.  It was hard to tell how big they were because the water was only 55′ deep and the fish have plenty of energy in the shallow water.  Great day, great weather, zero wind and calm seas made for another perfect day of fishing in the Gulf.  Thanks for coming out again, Bill! We look forward to next year’s trip.  FISH ON!!