 Re: Alaskan Halibut and Salmon - When and Where?
I'll start by saying that I am a charter captain. So, you might consider me biased.
It all depends on what kind of experience you want. I lived in Sitka for 3 years, and I left because of the cruise ships and the 450 charter boats that fish out of there. It is insane during the summers! But, Sitka is beautiful and if you land with a good captain you could have a very good time and load the boat. Sitka can be crazy good for kings and cohos.
For the last 4 years I lived on Craig on Prince of Wales, and I honestly can say that it is as good as it gets. Shoot, I go out all winter long and catch kings. I love this place and will live here until the cruise ships show up.
When selecting a lodge, be careful about the clever advertising. Many places don't get strong king runs or the good fishing is for a short period of time. They'll tell you about the week that they caught and released 25 kings a day, but they won't tell you how slow it was for the rest of the season. Also be sure and ask if the guides are alaskan residents. Many lodges hire guides/captains from California, Montana, or other western states. I've run into plenty of charter fisherman who are disappointed because they had a non-res or a kid as a guide. Locals usually work for the good operations, and the sketchy operations have to hire the help from down south as none of the locals will work for them. And for God's sake, make sure that they aren't catching pink salmon and calling it "good fishing"! I've had clients who talk about catching limits of pinks at other ports and not catching many coho's or kings! That should be a crime.
And then decide what you want to experience. If you want downrigger fishing, mooching, halibut fishing at anchor for long periods of time, etc..
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