Alaska

[MAITOI]

I just booked my trip to Alaska 8/3 to 8/10 2006. Flying to Anchorage, driving to Homer for Halibut and then to Seward for Silver salmon or halibut. I've fished Homer before but not Seward. Any recommendations for day charters out of Seward? So far it looks like I'll be going alone so I may be looking for someone to go along.

[eskay]

I was up last spring for my daughter's graduation from the master's program in Anchorage and went down to Seward to try for some early halibut. Caught a few, but it was really too early to hit 'em good. Went out with Profish n Sea. Good boats, all new , knowledgable guide ( I can't remember his name, but young guy about 25 or so.) I'd recommend them again. They have a website with reports and pricing, and offer some nice mixed species packages. Check them out.

[traveler]

Hey Arnie, how the heck are ya? I don't think you'll be catching any fish as big as the one ya got in Mazatlan, but Seward is my favorite town in AK. And you never know about those halibut. Also some salmon shark charters running out of Seward that sound pretty cool. Those are some BIG boys! Anyhow, the Pro fish n sea that eskay mentioned is an excellent choice, Steve Zernia was captain when we used them, a good guy to fish with. Andy Mezriow (sp?) on the Crackerjack is top notch, in fact he was just geting Steve going when we used the Pro-fish-n-sea and Andy did the booking for him. One problem you may run into, I'm pretty sure Andy does "whole boat" charters only,that is, you can't just pay for a seat but have to charter the whole boat. Fairly common for 6 packs, although many can put share clients together given enouh lead time. I don't know how Steve is doing it, but a check on his website should tell you. I khow there are outfits there that will sell single seats, but I don't have another specific recommendation. Heck, half the fun of these trips is doing the research and talking to guys who have been there. Wish I was going with you, in fact, we might go next summer but we'd go earlier and hit the kings. I like the silvers, but those big kings really get my blood pumping! Speaking of which, go to Mexfish.com and hit the latest report for Nov 15. They're just slaying the stripers, 10 plus fish days!! I leave day after thanksgiving... Can't let a bite like that go unanswered! Good luck in AK.

[HoleHopper]

Hey Travelor, how you been? Would be nice to get an AK forum back? FM seems to have every other region covered exept AK Anyways I sure got a lot of good info from that forum and it sure did help us prepare for our last trip. I'm also planing on a day trip out of Seward for the silvers next july. So this topic will help me also! Travelor, thanks for the info back then and now!

Hey Crusher, or AK Dreamin, STILL OUT THERE????

[MAITOI]

Terry, Hope you have good luck in Mazatlan. Thanks for showing me how to catch the stripers. I'm heading to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo Jan 18 for a week with my wife. She doesn't fish so I'll be looking for someone to take pictures of my catch. You did a great job last year.

[traveler]

Arnie, hope you have good luck down in Zin., post and give us a report. The hot bite I'm heading down for is in Cabo, I don't think Maz ever see numbers like the ones happening now in Cabo. I expect you'll be targeting sails in Jan., should be a blast,. HH, yeah, I guess the powers that be decided AK just wasn't popular enough, sigh... If you do Seward in July make sure it's as late in the month as possible. The year we did that it was the last couple days of the month and the fish hadn't been close enough to target for very long. Of course every year can be different...Have a great trip!

[HoleHopper]

Thanks again Trav. I'll make it a point. We will be needing a break from the reds by then. Have fun on your trip!

[Blue Kayak]

I was on a cruise/family vacation this summer in Alaska. Since this was a family vacation, my fishing opportunities were limited. However, I did go out on skiff for a day in Ketchikan for, "rock fish, ling cod, salmon, and halibut."

I was surprised at the strict regulations. Only artificial lures could be used. The limit on rock fish was three. We quickly got our limit of rock fish and then had to switch to salmon. (You use the same equipment for rock fish, ling cod, and halibut.) Unfortunately, the salmon were not biting.

The rock fish were in the two to five pound range. They were at 150 feet or deeper, and a half pound sinker was used to get the lure down. We used a 50 pound test line, because the same lures are used for rock fish and halibut. You'd feel a light tap, start retrieving, and then it felt like pulling up a boot for 150 feet. The least sporting fishing I have ever done. To top it off, the fish were DOA at the surface with eyes popped out and air bladders hanging out of their mouths from the pressure differential. Catch and release was not an option.

I did get interested in kayak fishing from my Alaska trip. There are a number of Alask outfitters using kayaks. Since there was only one day to fish, I was concerned that bad weather might make kayak fishing iffy. Therefore, I decided a more conventional charter was the best option.

I also noticed on the Web that some people are using lights in front of their bait for halibut fishing. Our guide had not heard of that, but blue baits were the most effective on our charter. I believe blue can be seen more easily in low light conditions of deep water than other colors.