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The weather forecast was calling for south west 20kt, but I was pleasantly surprised after rounding the cape.  The wind was around 7 mph but there was still a residual ground swell from the previous day.  We worked our way towards Elrington Island and found a nice protected spot out of the nasty westerly rollers.  After 3 chum bombs and a few bait switches we had our first hook up.  We only ended up with three fish at spot #1, but they were of nice size.  Chris from Anchorage caught a 87lb halibut that was big enough to take the daily derby prize of a free charter next year.  We caught three nice fish and lost three nice fish, making our average somewhere around 50% not ideal, but it sounded like it was a slow pick for all the boats fishing in the weather today.

After a long sit at the hog hole we decided to pull the hook and do a little more catching than fishing.  We travelled another 5 miles into the swells and loaded the boat up with 51 more halibut.  The bite was quicker than usual and it seemed as if we dropped right on top of a large school of them.  It takes a bit to get the bite going on most days but today was an exception.  Great day of fishing, not bad for a weather day! Good work everyone, FISH ON!!!

FR Bell out of Anchorage chartered the whole boat today for a full day halibut trip.  We had tried out deep the day before and had no luck, so today we ran inshore.  I dropped anchor on top of a massive school of bait and within minutes had already hooked a 20lb King Salmon.  A good portion of the boat had entered in the “Seward Halibut Derby,” so we immediately used the King’s head as bait for halibut.  I have been extremely successful in the past with King Salmon heads.  In 2009, we caught a 305lb Halibut on a fresh king head, and since then… “off with their head!”

We arrived during the tail end of the flood and our first spot was producing a nice 25lb- 75lb halibut average.  As the tide slowed down and switched to Ebb, our bite died so I figured we would run 2 miles NE to one of my Ebb spots on the rocks.  To my surprise nobody was home but a few flapper Halibut.  We did, however, hook into some really nice Lingcod.  And as Lingcod season does not open until July 1st, they all had to be relesed. We still have room on a few of our Halibut/ Lingcod Combos in July if anyone wants a chance at keeping one of these bucket mouths.

Overall it was a great day of fishing with plenty of action all day.  By 3pm we slid off to the flats and filled the boat with some above average halibut.  We fished just off the numbers for the chicken hole and the fish seemed to be getting bigger by the minute, some around 30lb range.  In the past few years the state average has dropped from 22lb to 15.6lb, so anything over 20lb is considered a pretty nice fish.  Great day of fishing guys, thanks for coming back out with us this year.  See you next spring! FISH ON!!!

Today we had the Sedlaks and their friends from JBER.  We left the dock with 31 people and headed out to Montague for some spring Halibut fishing.  In the morning we were targeting large Halibut and it was unsuccessful.  Some days the big ones just don’t bite!  I guess the fish have to win every once in a while.   Fortunately, we had a very patient and understanding group of fisherman on board.  By 2:00pm we had not yet received a bite from the flat fish we were pursuing.  We had tried two spots which have produced great fish the same time in years past.  The fish happened to be in shallow and we were out of time.

Today was a ‘friends and family’ trip, our target species were Halibut and Rock fish.  The weather report in the morning was a NE 20 and 6′.  Not a desirable forecast for 9 children under the age of twelve.  Our plan was to stay close and catch our Halibut and run.  We went about half way to the Halibut grounds and dropped the pick on a rock pile.  We were savaged by Silver Grey Rock fish immediately, and had a limit of non-pelagic rock fish within an hour.  The weather seemed to be a steady 15kt of wind so we decided to make the run another hour to the Halibut grounds.

Turned out to be a good call, Miles chummed in the fish in a matter of minutes and we were able to catch a boat limit of nice halibut within 1 1/2 hours.  The kids had a great time, especially with the new gear we purchased this year.  Our new 2 speed reels made it possible for even the youngest kids to reel in Halibut on their own.  Everyone was still fired up at that point so we figured we would try for a boat load of black bass as well.  Everyone is allowed a total of 4 rock fish and they all had 1 non-pelagic leaving 3 pelagic(black bass) left to catch per person.

We motored back towards Seward another hour and dropped anchor in one of our glorified Black Bass spots.  Instantly the kids were screaming fish on and the adults were asking what it is they’re doing wrong;) kids always seem to have the knack for hooking the bass.  9 year old Lauren from Anchorage thought she was hooked on the bottom, I told her to hold on and I’d be there in a minute.  I ran over to unhook the rod off the bottom when I saw the big head shake.  I grabbed the rod to keep in from getting yanked overboard and as soon as I grabbed it the fish took off.  Pulled about 100′ of line prior to getting wrapped around the prop and breaking free.  I told her that she now has a “one that got away” story.  Probably better that we lost it rather than pulling in a fish 7 times her size, beating it to a bloody pulp, and shooting it in front of a crowd of small and screaming children.

Great trip guys- Miles and I had a blast! FISH ON!!!

The weather has been a bit shaky this spring, but we were able to find a window to get to where we wanted.  We left the dock with a full boat and headed in the Easterly direction.  We arrived at the first spot  just in time to catch the tail end of the Ebb tide.  Within 5 minutes of dropping our lines we had already hooked our first halibut, a solid 30 pounds.  Hog hunting can be a slow daunting experience that is sometimes boring- but this day was a bit different.  The bite continued to pick up through the slack tide, landing ten fish ranging between 50-100lbs.  Good thing we picked up bullets prior to today’s trip!

We kicked off the season this week with the Combat Fishing Tournament.  A donated trip to our military members who have either been deployed or are soon to be.  The tournament was a little different this year than in years past.  No longer was the prize for largest fish, it is now mystery fish takes the gold.  The winning weight would be drawn out of a hat.

42″ Halibut we tagged that day
If caught this baby’s worth $250

Come by and see us this weekend at the Fairbanks Outdoor Show! Alaska Northern Outfitters and Drifters Lodge of Cooper Landing are teamed up and offering the best deals in Alaska on all of your saltwater and freshwater fishing trips.  June is filling up fast so please call soon to reserve your spot on the Sea Quest!!!   (907)224-BOOK

1. 22 knot cruising speed Catamaran “Fish Longer, Travel Less”
2. Upper deck and indoor heated seating for all
3. Experienced Captain and Crew
4. $75 Companion/Shared pole special (NEW)
5. Finest quality brand NEW Penn & Shimano Gear
6. $1000 OFF Spring exclusives
7. Corporate Exclusive “Bring up to 32 people”
8. Brand New Engines over 1000 hp
9. Hot Coffee, Hot Chocolate and Tea aboard
10. Great Customer Satisfaction!!!

All that fish talk last week at the Mat-Su sportsman show got Matty and I itching to go fishing.  Although a bit cold, the Kenai River can produce fish all year depending on what your targeting.  Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, and Spawned out Silver Salmon can all be fished through the winter months in Alaska.  We were using 7 weight fly rods, attached was an arsenal of various leech patterns that seem to always produce fish.  Later on in the summer the bead pattern is the most popular, after the summer spawn the painted beads no longer are as effective as imitating live bugs and leeches.

It feels as if spring may finally be arriving with temperatures climbing to 36 degrees on the river.  We spent 7 hours digging the boats out of the snow, for 4 hours of fishing.  There is no easy way to do things this time of year just the “hard way”.  We caught a total of 10 Silver Salmon, which would be a great number even in the peak of the silver run.  If you’ve never got  a chance to fish the world famous Kenai, it’s definitely one river for the bucket list.

Thank you everyone for coming to the Mat-Su sportsman show! It was great to see all the excited and eager people gearing up for Alaska’s great hunting and fishing season. We got a chance to meet a lot of great people who all share the same passion for the outdoors and ocean as we do. I can already tell that the 2012 summer season is going to be a fishy one.

\I feel we have our vessel and crew dialed with both of my deckhands returning. Anyone who fished with us last year can agree that Miles and Sam are top notch deckhands, making it easy to focus on the things that matter, “like catching fish”.

To all of you who returned to book another trip with Alaska Northern Outfitters, thanks for choosing us as your #1 choice for Alaska saltwater fishing. Make sure you are all checking in with the blog to stay updated on our daily catch and exciting news throughout the season. FISH ON!

Scott Janssen and his family have been fishing with me since 2006.  They are still great friends of ours and despite their busy schedule, they still manage to get away from the office every year to take their employees of Janssen Funeral homes on a fishing trip out of Seward.  Scott has always been into dog mushing but got serious about it in 2011, running his first Iditarod.  The Iditarod is known as “The last great race,” and is a sled dog race starting in Willow and ending in Nome for a total of 1,049 miles.   It’s not only an honor to know such an athlete but Angela and I have had the privilege of of being his dog handlers for the past two years.


This being Scott’s second year he felt more comfortable with the trail and his team of dogs.  Scott ran a very consistent race staying between 37th and 42nd place.  Scott Janssen and his fellow mushers may be the ones talking to the press at the end of the Iditarod but the true stars are the dogs. When Janssen’s 9-year-old husky collapsed while heading down a hill in Dalzell Gorge, Alaska, the Iditarod sophomore knew that there was only one thing that he could do.
Janssen said:

“Boom! Laid right down. It was like a guy my age having a heart attack… I know what death looks like, and he was gone. Nobody home.”

Janssen, who is mushing in his second Iditarod (he finished 42nd out of 47th last year) could have cut his dog Marshall loose in order to try and keep pace with the rest of the group, but Janssen couldn’t leave his dog dead in the snow.
Janssen said:

“I was sobbing… I really love that dog.”

The Post Game reports that Janssen stopped and gave the dog CPR. He was eventually able to revive Marshall. Janssen said:

“I had my mouth over his nose, breathing into his nose I was compressing and rubbing his chest, trying to work the air out. I’m like, ‘C’mon dude, please come back… and he did.”

Janssen put his dog in the sled and rode the rest of the way to the next checkpoint and brought him to the veterinarian. Janssen’s daughter, Chelsea said:

“The vets took a look. Gave Marshall an IV, and he’s heading home. He’s doing just fine. He’s still at the checkpoint and they’re flying him back home today.”

Great Job Scotty!!!  I think you earned A free fishing trip