| Sitka’s Saltwater Surprise |
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© John L. Beath
Thousands of productive salmon fishing areas dot the Pacific Coast and inland waters like a gigantic connect-the-dots painting. Anglers who connect the dots with hook and line, and spend time discovering and exploring the West Coast’s vast salmon fishing areas will eventually learn about one of the most productive saltwater salmon fisheries on Earth – Sitka Alaska. A quick glance of a map or chart reveals why Sitka ranks high on the must-fish list for hard-core salmon anglers from around the world. Sitka sits strategically facing the bountiful Pacific Ocean, and has the protection of Kruzof Island, which gives Sitka anglers the ability to find lee waters when the ocean becomes wave torn. Remoteness from “mainland civilization” also plays a key roll in Sitka. Inaccessibility by road to the mainland keeps cars and large amounts of people from traveling to the quaint port that helps Sitka remain unspoiled from mass development. For Centuries Sitka Alaska has been one of the Pacific Coast’s major salmon feeding areas. The nutrient-rich, super fertile Pacific Ocean waters in front of Sitka attract baitfish of epic proportions. The vast shoreline surrounding Kruzof Island, to the west of Sitka, also offers a healthy kelp forest for baitfish and in turn attracts salmon by the tens of thousands. Sitka Sound’s protected waters also attract numerous baitfish including herring, candlefish, squid and shrimp. Add this all together and you end up with a massive baitfish buffet combined with a massive customer base of salmon, halibut, lingcod and rockfish – that all want to gorge themselves with an easy, free meal.
My first trip to Sitka happened eleven years ago, after hearing multitudes of stories about Sitka’s salmon fishing action that could not possibly be true. I booked a trip with Greg Kain, owner of Kain’s Fishing Adventures. Kain, a hard-core river fishing guide from Washington State, had also heard about the incredible salmon fishing from Southeast Alaska’s small port of Sitka. When Kain first visited Sitka, to see first-hand if the stories were true, he decided to start a lodge in Sitka and guide anglers on the saltwater from May through mid September. During my morning fishing with Kain, a light westerly breeze blew mildly across Sitka Sound as Kain piloted his first charter boat, Raising Kain, across the sound, toward the inside route to his favorite chinook mooching grounds. Kain, with a determined look on his face combined with a half smile, half smirk mumbled, “it’s going to be good fishing today.” My fishing buddy Joe smiled back, and kept his focus on the flat waters ahead. Kain’s reputation as a top-notch salmon guide made his comments echo loudly in the salmon fishing quadrant of my brain. At the instant he made the comment I knew my first trip to Sitka would be a life-changing experience. Within minutes of coming to a stop and lowering one of Kain’s finely tuned cut-plug herring over the side, Joe’s line stretched tight with a runaway salmon. My line soon pulsed with a salmon mouthing the bait too, which in turn made my hand instinctively crank in the slack line followed by a swift hook set. We landed both salmon – plump, mirror bright coho that occupy Sitka’s waters like massive swarms of mosquitoes, sucking up any bait within their path. Chinook also swarm the area, feeding on massive schools of herring, squid, candlefish and shrimp. Throughout the day, we continued to enjoy non-stop action, including several quadruple headers. We also hooked several Chinook salmon in the 20 to 30 pound range. Every day we fished with Kain, we enjoyed the best, most consistent salmon, halibut and lingcod fishing either of us had ever experienced. The stories we had heard about Sitka, told by numerous Sitka-crazed salmon junkies had finally become truth by experience. Sitka’s legendary fishing lived up to its reputation and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that fishing and catching are one and the same in Sitka. To this day, after fishing hundreds of locations, Sitka remains the most consistent salmon fishing destination I have encountered. After that first trip, I have made many trips to Sitka and fished with Kain several times. As mentioned earlier, a trip to Sitka is a life-changing experience. Once you experience the consistency and quality of fishing you will return, even if you have to save up your money for years. Last summer I visited Kain’s Fishing Adventures with a goal of catching monster halibut with a side of salmon. Not only does Sitka offer anglers awesome Chinook and coho fishing, it offers world-class halibut fishing too. While most of Sitka’s halibut range in size from 20 to 60-pounds, savvy guides know where to look for trophy-sized halibut. Instead of running offshore and anchoring in any one of a hundred known “chicken” holes (small halibut ranging in size from 15 to 25-pounds are called chickens) Kain choose to zig-zag his boat for miles, looking for any hump or rise on the bottom. For over an hour Kain stared at his high-tech fish finder, watching for any sudden rise on the ocean floor. Suddenly, with no other boats in sight, Kain stopped the boat, turned 180 degrees and slowly motored over a high spot on the fish finder. Within minutes of anchoring perfectly above the high spot, which rose just twenty feet at its peak, I hooked a nice 120-pound halibut. Soon after the first halibut, one of Kain’s G.Loomis halibut rods bent over double. One of Kain’s deckhands had baited the rod with a 20/0 circle hook and loaded it up with fresh salmon guts and scent. The deckhand pulled on the monster halibut and then passed the rod to me, the second biggest I have ever fought. The battle lasted about 40 minutes and bent the G.Loomis into a pretzel. When the 300-pound barn door appeared under the boat, its massive body created an intimidating shadow. Staring into the abyss, my eyes focused on the massive flat fish, giving me enough adrenaline to pump the fish within reach. Kain, with the help of a deckhand, expertly handled the fish and hoisted it over the gunwale. While most trophy-sized halibut are released on Kain’s boats, we had discussed keeping a big fish at the start of the trip. During last summer’s trip I also caught and released lingcod ranging in size from 15 to 55-pounds. In addition, like every trip to Sitka, the salmon proved easy and fun to catch. If you want a challenge catching salmon, go somewhere else – because catching salmon in Sitka is the closest sure thing in salmon fishing you will find. Anglers who visit Sitka typically book with a lodge, like Kain’s Fishing Adventures www.kainsfishingadventures.com and choose a three or four day fishing package. For many anglers, a trip to Sitka will usually guarantee them of bringing home at least two 50-pound boxes of vacuum-packed fillets. Alaska Airlines limits all passengers to two 50-pound boxes, one carry-on and one personal item such as a purse, computer bag etc. Many lodges limit anglers to their two 50-pound fish boxes. Some lodges allow anglers additional boxes at a fair processing price. For those who choose additional boxes of fish, Alaska Airlines will charge a fee of $50 to $75 per box, depending on size and weight of box. At Kain’s Fishing Adventures, anglers fish four anglers aboard 27 or 29-foot fishing boats with self-bailing decks, wide beams and private marine heads. The boat cabins provide a warm, dry ride to and from the fishing grounds. Each boat is equipped with "state of the art" electronics for navigation, communication and finding fish. These vessels are very seaworthy in Alaskan waters, cruise at 25 knots, and have the range to get to the best fishing grounds. An Alaskan waters experienced U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain pilots each boat. Each boat also has an experienced deckhand to bait hooks, net fish and keep anglers from tangling during double, triple and quadruple headers. To this day, I have never seen a lodge or charter operation that takes better care of the catch than Kain’s Fishing Adventures. Immediately upon landing a salmon, they bleed, gut and pack the stomach cavity with shaved ice. Back at the dock, the salmon are filleted and then cut into meal-sized portions, vacuum packed, and flash frozen. Sitka Fishing methods Greg Kain is a member of the G.Loomis Pro Staff and uses G.Loomis, light action salmon and halibut rods combined with quality Shimano reels. Kain and his captains specialize in mooching for kings and coho salmon. His fleet of boats typically runs greater distances to the fishing grounds, via the sheltered inside route, to reach prime mooching holes. Most of the favored hotspots of Kain’s fleet will not have much, if any, competition from other charter boats or lodges. Once at the favored mooching hotspot, they drift over prime locations where they have spotted feeding salmon or they anchor over prime migration routes and wait for waves of salmon to swim past their baits. Both methods work extremely well. When anchoring, the captain watches the fish finder closely and calls out the proper depth where he sees salmon feeding on baitfish. The technique works great, and causes multiple hookups when the fish move through. When the bite goes wide-open, success means simply stripping out line to put the cut-plug at the desired depth – a bite will usually occur within seconds. During most trips, anglers target their limit of salmon first, and then venture offshore to target halibut, lingcod and rockfish. Anchoring over prime bottom structure is the preferred method among almost all Sitka-based charter captains, including Kain’s captains. Kain and his captains maintain a gps logbook chocked full of prime locations to find limits of halibut for their customers. In addition to using fresh salmon guts, bellies and heads for halibut bait, Kain supplies customized 24-ounce scampi tail, leadhead jigs equipped with a rubber worm or small scampi stinger hook. Using one of Kain’s customized jigs can be addictive; especially when the halibut hit it so hard, you almost lose the rod. Remember, when jigging for Sitka halibut – hang on to the rod!
Sitka Fishing Season Prime time for chinook runs from mid May through July. It is still possible to catch Chinook salmon in August, but not as likely as prime time. Coho arrive in mid July and build in numbers through September. Two nearby hatcheries put out millions of fish with returns expected to number about two million annually – the reason for the generous six coho per day limit. Mid May through September is prime time for halibut. Halibut follow bait and salmon into the area and feed voraciously throughout the season.
Sitka History Sitka was originally named Shee-Atika by Tlingit natives, which means people on the side of Shee. Long before Europeans discovered Sitka, these resourceful Tlingit Indians forged a comfortable living from the area’s bounty of saltwater delicacies. In 1799 Russians first sailed into Sitka after Czar Paul claimed Alaska as a Russian possession. He soon appointed Baranov as the first Russian Governor of Alaska. Soon after his appointment, Baranov established a post inside of Sitka Sound, at the mouth of Katlian Bay. Sitka provided a protected port for the tall ships and an abundance of seafood to feed settlers throughout the winter. By 1840 Bishop Innocent, {Ivan Veniaminov}, had St. Michael’s Cathedral built, downtown Sitka’s centerpiece. Sitka was the capital during Russia’s reign of Alaska, which gives Sitka special distinction among followers of the Russian Orthodox faith. The Russian and Tlingits lived together for years prior to Alaska’s transfer from Russia to the United States, which took place in Sitka. In 1966, a tragic fire destroyed the original cathedral. In 1977, a replica of the original cathedral was reconstructed giving the tiny town its centerpiece once again. Visitors can tour the building and see many of the original artifacts for a $1.00 donation.
Other Activities The Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center provides one of the best up close viewing opportunities for anyone who loves eagles and other raptors. Sitka also offers visitors the chance to visit the Sheldon Jackson Musem, one of the best native museums in America. Visitors can also go to the National Historic Park, or Castle Hill. The Centennial building by the marina also offers daily Russian, Ukranian and Moldovian folk dances along with performances by the Tlingit Native Dancers.
Other Activities Mount Edgecumbe, a dormant volcano on Kruzof Island, provides a scenic reminder that Sitka sits on the edge of the Pacific Rim of Fire. Several area trailheads lead to Edgecumbe viewing spots and lakes full of fish. Area streams also provide fast action when the season allows the taking of salmon. A few anglers bring pack fly rods and take advantage of the miles of shoreline teaming with pink salmon. Failure to catch pinks on a fly here means you didn’t use a hook! Pink salmon swarm Sitka in July in numbers so great they try jumping into every small drainpipe emptying water into Sitka Sound. Kayaking excursions as well as wildlife viewing abound in Sitka. Flight-seeing tours also provide a unique view of the area. All of these activities seem tempting, but it is hard to spare time away from Sitka’s “reel” draw – a saltwater bounty to be experienced rather than told.
For more information Kain’s Fishing Adventures www.kainsfishingadventures.com
Alaska Charters The Adventurous
Sitka Convention & Visitors Bureau www.sitka.org
Car rentals A & A Car Rental-Baranof Motors
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