Year in and year out Sitka delivers the best saltwater chinook (king) salmon fishing in the world. 2006 did nothing to change the pattern.

From the opening bell on May 11 through the third week in August, the king run delivered in both numbers and size. Angling Unlimited’s clients boated five kings over 50 pounds. A 59.5 pound king landed by Dave Lind on July 30 with Captain Nick Hoban won the $3500 prize for the biggest king entered in the 2006 season for the Chamber of Commerce/Charter Association salmon derby. Kurt Robinson’s 45.25 pound king, landed on August 2 with Captain Greg Mohs, won the monthly prize in the derby. The abundance of kings between 30 and 50 pounds made the 2006 run special. These were the good old days.

Although the silver run didn’t mirror that of their bigger brethren, it was offset because our guests continued to catch big kings until roughly August 20. The coho run wasn’t a bust, but it fell short of the spectacular. A short spurt of silvers showed amidst a major krill bloom in late May, raising hopes for an early start. They soon disappeared and coho didn’t show again in numbers until early July. From then on, fits and starts characterized fishing for silvers instead of the expected wide open bite. The reason? The migratory hordes of silvers stayed offshore. The good silver fishing we experienced occurred very close to the beach, primarily over migrating schools of juvenile herring. The needlefish which usually drive the silver show went AWOL for the second half of the season.

Halibut fishing continued the long term trend toward deeper water. We never established a “chicken ranch”, that special place that yields quick limits of 15 to 30 pound halibut. The early season halibut fishery in May and June was marked by some spectacular days and two huge fish of 310 and 330 pounds. By mid-July we explored halibut spots in super deep water that produced great catches of 30 to 120 pound halibut. Later in the season our closer in spots began producing much more consistent catches of chickens. We may have worked at halibut harder than ever, but we were able to generate results much of the time.

Lingcod fishing which is open from May 15-June 16 and after August 15 was excellent. Nobody likes strict catch regulations, especially when you are releasing lots of big lings during the closed season, but you can’t argue with the pay off–plenty of lings to catch during the open season.

Rockfish of all types and sizes abound off Sitka. We are making a concerted effort to minimize our catch of yellow-eye (red snapper) to comply with new quotas and help preserve these long lived, slow growing rockfish.

Salmon shark fishing came on strong in 2006, especially during the first three weeks of July when landings of sharks up to 220 pounds seemed nearly commonplace. Though they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, these salmon sharks fight hard and taste great when properly prepared.

2006 proved the value of Sitka’s diversified fishery. If the coho run is a little off, the kings pick up the slack. Next year it might go the other way. Bringing our customers to lots of exciting fishing opportunities is Angling Unlimited’s ultimate goal. In 2006, Sitka delivered–again.