Nov.2011,,,
My Dad and i went to s.e. Alaska by commercial jet from San Jose on Alaska Airlines for several years in a row. No , i am not going to tell you our 'glory hole', even the cruise ships pass by but do not stop, so none of that crowded tourist, dumb consumer , i'll ride a cessna instead of a otter/beaver, under-powered,less safe nonsense.
First, there are 5 Pacific salmon. The biggest is the King / Chinook , but OUT OF STATERS ARE ONLY ALLOWED ONE OR TWO PER YEAR!! And they don't fight as much as Silver Salmon,,, bummer,,, just big fish to reel in. So if you are a catch and release person, fine, but if you are a 'meat' fisherperson who wants to take it home flash frozen, forget Kings. You need a fishing license and a king tag,,,Expensive, and the King season is short. Every river and river mouth in Alaska has it particular salmon type season, usually short. So if you are after kings, you need to , one, find out if they come up your chosen river mouth in any numbers and when. The time changes a bit from year to year, but in the s.e. i seem to remember the kings approach the coast and start to go up river in,,,(?) one of the weeks of june. As i said, you have to know your river, what types of salmon spawn there in any numbers, and WHEN! Not all Alaska rivers are the same. North of the Aleutian Island chain, Bristol Bay has the worlds largest salmon fishery, mostly Reds/Sockeye, my favorite for taste!! All fisher persons and environmentalists should be against the proposed "Pepple Mine"(see the tv documentary!!) that threatens to destroy THIS ENTIRE FISHERY. Stupid, short-sighted Alaskans voted for it , as most don't respect the Alaskan State's environment. And south of the Aleutian Chain, the Copper River Red / Sockeye is the most famous commercial salmon river run in the state.
Second of the 5 Pacific salmon is the Silver/ Coho. If you go to a restaurant in California and the menu does not state which salmon or if the waitress/ waiter says 'i don't know', BEWARE!! FISH FRAUD IS RAMPANT IN THE USA. Lying about what salmon or fish you are eating is very COMMON IN CALIFORNIA and all over the usa. The Silvers are smaller but if caught on the surface with longer and lighter rods, with lighter tackle than Kings, are SUPER FUN TO CATCH!! They are BETTER FIGHTERS THAN KING SALMON, kind of like the dorado/ mahimahi of mexico and hawaii versus any small sailfish varieties. The daily limit was like 6-8 and so you can take a lot of meat home. Be sure to get it 'flash frozen' at a commercial place, not just 'frozen' with bigger ice crystals that will damage your fish meat. SeaTac Airport has a very small , and not far sub-zero freezer in case you get bumped off your flight, as we were and don't want your fish to thaw. SeaTac should make it a sub-zero and larger facility, but is was what it was.
The third type of Pacific salmon is the Red / Sockeye , my personal FAVORITE for taste. They are hard to 'hook' legally in the ocean, so the first ones i 'caught' there where in a river within a mile or three of the coast, so they were still 'fresh' and 'bright' and edible and tasty. Big daily limit of say 6-8 and able to have big bag limit / possession limit, thus and take lots home, at least in the past. Why anyone would pay huge money to stay at an Expensive Alaska Fishing Lodge and catch salomon that have already turned color and started to flesh decompose and meat deteriorate,,, is beyond me,,, but we all get major fooled, from time to time. With Reds, the really dark and rich tasting meat, you kinda have to drag the red anodized 1" hook with green bright chartreuse yarn knotted on, across the 20ft stream and catch them in their gasping open mouths to be legal. If you catch them on a fin or side, you have to release them IMMEDIATELY , tho many Alaskans are illegal and don't , so don't do what you see lots of Alaskans do in bending and breaking the game laws. Remember , you are NOT A LOCAL OR NO FED. TAX RESIDENT, and don't drink with the local cop at the local bar,,, so they will probably throw the book at you, out of state-er!!
Then there are the last 2 types of Alaska or Pacific salmon , the Pink / Humpback and the Dog / Chum, both of which I CAN NOT EAT. yUcK !! Have you ever tried cat food?? These are the salmon you usually get on menus that just say "salmon". (vomit)
We, Dad and i , wasted 3 years learning how hard it was to time the King salmon, river run season and catch a limit of 2 or 1 King each PER YEAR,,, before learning/ realizing we were wasting our money and time on King Salmon. We also spent one season-WASTE OF TIME- fishing for Pinks and catching lots cuz the daily limit and bag limit are so generous. We usually go for a week, fly up one day, 3 big plane changes, fish 3-5days, and a full long tiring day of 3 plane changes back. Alaska is big!,,, and far far away!, even in a commercial jet.
About commercial jets,,, JetBlue!! now flies to Anchorage!! THANK YOU, JET BLUE !! (thank you, Jesus!!) because Alaska Airlines has mostly a monopoly in Alaska, so when you leave the USA, with ok-good service, say at SeaTac, the service on Alaska Airlines goes to Hell in a Hurry!! We had a gate agent at Anchorage with the most 'i don't care about you or your flight' bad attitude i have ever seen. But the worst problem with Alaska Airlines is they LOSE YOUR LUGGAGE OFTEN ,,, AND seem to DON'T CARE. Imagine being WITHOUT fresh underwear for 3 days while you duffel sits in Kodiak island on the Aleutian Islands,,, and you are down in S.E. Alaska !! No toothbrush, and no money from AA to buy one. No rain gear,,, no 'stuff' !! And this happens A LOT WITH ALASKA AIRLINES !! When it does , and you get their usual "we don't care", no apologies attitude, you will want to scream and yell and blow a neck artery,,, but forget it, as it will do no good. They are so mean and careless and vindictive ,,, they might even lose it for another day. (That is what happens with a virtual monopoly, children.) Always always always take your camera and passport and other valuables in your carry-on and keep it close, not in some back overhead bin where someone else can steal out of it !! Lots of guys bring there own reels for steelhead and rainbow trout and such in their carry-on, rods too, but that is a bit much. i might do it next time, my unbreakable rod and well kept reel, instead of the thrown-on-floor abused machinery you get at most lodges. Dad and i never had to use a float plane to fish, just for over flight sightseeing fun, as they are SUPER EXPENSIVE in Alaska.
Then there is HALIBUT. If you are a fan of watching some rich guy catch small, less than 5ft,even less than 2ft!! long halibut in Alaska, the small halibut are called 'chickens' up there,,, well, you have not seen a 'door' or better yet a 'BARN DOOR HALIBUT'!! Now our final guide, as we learned the hard way by hiring long distance lots and lots of losers , drunks, and INCOMPETENT ALASKA-LICENSED FISHING GUIDES (just like oregon(documented super corrupt state, guards selling drugs at jails and outside in allowing illegal helo elk herding and selling 'guaranteed 5pts or better' access, out of the Madras chamber of commerce office), colorado and wyoming for elk, you can not trust any or every 'licensed'- to-steal guide, even if they belong the the state outfitter association!!), our final guide always wanted us to release all halibut over 200lbs, as there are probably female breeders, which we did. Remember there is a huge huge commercial fishery for salmon and halibut and Alaska is a stupid state that gives any game stealing , law -breaking resident about $1000/year vs paying state taxes, because of the risky oil drilling business royalties. So the COMMERICAL FISHERS of salmon and halibut have more power and say than you non-resident visitors do, so there has been a recent decline in the allowed halibut catch for sport fishers, when the commericals are still out there raping and pillaging the oceans of the usa. I heard that even the foreign fishing fleets were taking too much off the alaska-usa coast and our own national waters up until the 1970s!! , can you imagine!? So while you spend $100s on airfare, and $1000s on lodging(Alaska like Hawaii is RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE, beyond reason,,,), and $1000 on guides and their boats to take you out in the ocean and up rivers,,, and $100s or even $1000s on food(very expensive in Alaska and Hawaii!!,,, there should be laws against such overpricing of food at groceries), the commerical fishers know they own Alaska and youall visitors-touristas are just the foolish frosting on the cake, often even blamed for all the problems and ills of fishing in the state!!(believe it) Oh, and i have never, even in Nevada and Vegas, or Phoenix, seen so many drunks and alcoholics as in Alaska. Especially with all the alcoholic fishing guides and boat captains! Beware.
We made a lot of mistakes learning the Alaska fishing protocol; We would send checks from San Jose weeks in advance ,,, and the 'licensed' fishing guide would cancel the day we flew in! Or we would be walking on the dock to the prepaid, chartered 30-40ft alumaweld fishing boat ,,, and the captain/ owner would see 5 people in front of us looking to hire any boat on the spot,,, and take them!!!!! instead! of us 4, because he knew he could charge more and get a bigger tip , even if they caught zero fish!! Yes, you have to tip , even if you don't catch one fish !! Often the 'licensed' fishing guides / boat captains out in the ocean will say ,,, get this !!,,, "We are going to STAY AND MAKE IT PAY here,,," What that means is , i am going to eat lunch and drink some beers away from you idiot touristas ,,, and probably screw the coed hottie deckhand in the cabin,,, so you suckers wet your lines and not get a bite for not just 30 minutes, but HOURS,,, and i will see-ya-later ,suckers !! Yes, we have had both, the captain lunch break rude incompetence incidence and the captain gotta-screw-the-stewardess/ cocktail waitress / deck hand episode happen to us in Alaskan waters. Hopefully we all LEARN QUICKLY, right!?
Another big valuable secret in fishing alaska, especially for halibut, but also salmon to a degree, is BIGGER BAIT AND HOOKS FOR BIGGER FISH,,, and BIGGER HALIBUT ARE WITH BIGGER HALIBUT as they are predatory fish feeders and the small ones get eaten by the big ones, so location is KEY. Our final guide use to use an entire king or silver salmon head and skeleton and a huge hook and braided line to catch huge 170-190lb, 5ft long, halibut, and in less than 100ft of water, because you can anchor over a bunch of small halibut,,or a bunch of medium halibut,,, or a bunch of huge Monster halibut as he did once,sonar gps tag knowingly to impress us, "probably over 300-400# cause it broke the braided line on a dead run away on the bottom" , the captain said. Probably a female, so glad she got away,,,But he was pissed on losing his endtackle gear! Remember they have a very very short tourist season and are there to make an honest living ,,, or a killing of unread ignorant trusting fools!! Do you want to take home 2 halibut per day, either 25#ers,,, or two 170#ers, enough flash-frozen fish to feed your family, since you paid $1000s for this vacation, for most of the year?
One guide-captain, on a large sport fishing fleet, we heard on the radio said "sorry, this is my first year, and i am lost in the fog just outside the harbor,,, Can anyone come save me and my passengers, as i don't know how to use this gps,,, and can't tell which way is back to the dock,,,any one out there!!?",,,!!!
Lots of high-school-dropout, dangerous incompetents from the lower 48 think they can go to Alaska and make a lot of money. And they do.
With halibut, don't bring it all the way up to the surface, until you have called the deckhand or the captain with the .22 rifle or gaff,,,If the halibut breaks the surface, it will probably use the full side of its body to go all the way back down to the bottom ,,, and you will have to reel him/it all the way back up again. The last guide had a big fish box mounted on the stern, as it is so dangerous to have a halibut on deck next to your feet and legs, as halibut are super strong and if not DIW can really hurt you or break a bone. REEL BEFORE YOU JERK, SET THE HOOK is another rule with halibut. Never jerk first with a circle hook, which is hard for a lot of lower 48ers to learn. Out of Dutch Harbor and Kenai Penninsula they often fish in over 300ft of water for halibut. Imagine reeling a small or medium or large halibut to the surface, then having it break the surface, and go back to the bottom,,, MORE THAN ONCE! It happens. So you will see lots of rookies w/o RODSEAT BELTS,,, sticking their rod butts in their groin!!(ha ouch),,, or between their legs(ha ouch),,, or under an arm!!(ha),,, when they could have bought a 8"x12" or 4"x6" plastic ,padded, rod-butt-belt back in the states and ,,, CARRY YOUR ROD-BUTT BELT IN YOUR CARRY-ON, and not one of those just leather ones they have on many fishing boats,,, IF YOU WANT TO SAVE YOUR GENITALS that is,,, (boy!! does that hurt!! for a week ,,, the first year,,, learning the hard way if you must). A small halibut ,a "chicken", swim as they do on their side, can EASILY jerk the rod out of your hands,,, and or PULL YOU OVER THE SIDE,,, INTO THE FREEZING COLD OCEAN WATER,,, with the prop probably turning a bit,,, so be careful!
Dog sharks are common, so you can't kill them, just shake them off CAREFULLY. Very carefully, as they can and do twist and turn like a snake! and the bite is NASTY.
We would , after years of learning, have our final skipper look on sonar for Silver salmon as he left the harbor for halibut maybe a mile off shore, and if we/ he found any on sonar , we would change from very thick,short,stiff halibut rods in the outside racks at the ready, to the long light fiberglass rods in the cabin of the boat and small reels to surface catch a limit of silvers first. SO MUCH FUN TO CATCH SILVERS ON THE SURFACE with light tackle JUST OUTSIDE THE HARBOR, NOT FAR FROM SHORE!! So don't miss opportunities because the captain has 'other priorities' than doing the best job,,, or you don't know what is legal and available, like ling cod too.
One year, near the end, i decided to take pepper spray because we usually saw griz right across the 20ft river minding their own biz, but i wanted to be safer. So i called Alaska Airlines, after paying almost $40 for a big can and holster combo at REI, and AA said "yes, you can bring pepper spray in you checked bag on the airplane, as long as you declare it and tell us as soon as you get to the airport." I called Alaska Airlines 3xs , and always got the same answer. Even called San Jose airport and got the same answer. When i got there and told the curb-side baggage guy, he said "no problem" and took my duffel bag. Inside at the counter i told the Alaska Airlines ticket agent and she said "no problem". BUT when i got to the waiting area and the gate at SJO, the gate agent said "we confiscated your pepper spray. Have a nice time in Alaska, without it. "
Also, for a couple years , especially one year, we had some of our 70#, (now only 50lb), boxes of fish "lost/stolen" when we got off Alaska Airlines in San Jose at SJO. They , eventually, had to pay fish market prices for all that lost sockeye salmon and halibut,,, but it is not the same. So i found a retired AA employee,maybe a disgruntled liar,,, and she told me it is not the AA Alaska-local employees that are stealing your fish as they can legally catch lots or buy it for $2/lb up there, but the San Jose-based AA employees !! , and we AA employees have know this for years,,, that lots of baggage theft happens out of the SJO- San Jose Airport."
San Jose,,, what a joke.
The "heart of Silicon Valley" and not one computer-timed,major expressway or boulevard set of traffic lights !! Horrible traffic,,, lots of computers,millions, and $Trillions made from selling them,,, lots of traffic dept. civil servants,,, but not ONE solution to a simple problem. Not one.
Oh, and if you are just on a cruise ship going up the Inside Passage from Seattle to Alaska, don't trust the 'cruise specialist' travel agents!! i had at least a dozen tell me over the phone that i would see lots of orca/ killer whale in May, and that "May is not too early in the season to see lots of orcas." Lies!! WRONG !! Most of the salmon 5 varieties have not arrived yet in coastal waters so,,, don't expect to see any or many orcas in May along the BC Canada and Alaska Coasts. I WAS SO SHOCKED AT ALL THE PLASTIC BEACH LITTER AND FLOTSAM-JETSAM ON THE BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA BEACHES,,, TRULY SHOCKING!! i did not on my first expensive cruise ship, 14day vacation up the Inside Passage in May, and i was out looking every day! in every weather! for 2 weeks!!, yes, both sides of the ship. And darn few big whales, tho we did have a mom and calf whale pair approach the ship like it was a bigger mama whale! Also beware of all the overpriced diamond stores at almost every port,,, You will regret spending so much money when you get home and have to pay the bills!!
