Commercial Fishing

[RB]

Awesome! Just got home from there we fished off Deer harbor, stayed one night and motored back to Juneau. If you find a 8 horse Yamaha cowling it flew off somewhere after Elfin Cove hahaha. Best of luck we had a blast!

[Skillet]

If I find one, I'll know who to call 

Quick update from mid-king season
 fishing locally this year,  not chasing the big bites. Fuel is way too high, fish prices too low...

After @7mmfan post, thought I needed a few more scenery/experience vids.  I can usually only get them when things are slow.

This is just a vid from the wheelhouse.  Nothing happens, nothing special, but this is what it sounds and looks like from the helm for about 17-18 hours a day.  I watch vids like this in the winter just to get me through, haha

Here's another whale vid, humpback lunge feeding next to me.  Camera kept focusing on the tag line, my bad.

[Skillet]

A nice pile of kings in the landing box turned into a neat and orderly arrangement of kings in the tote. Ready for ice.

[Skillet]

Biggest fish so far, a 4th of July "grunter." Had to 2 hand that gaff to land him.  That's a just-legal 28" king next to him for perspective.  Sold weight was 22#, gilled and gutted.

[Encore 280]

Oh man! Cheeks and smoked collars!!!!

[bearpaw]

Best of luck for a profitable season! 

[pianoman9701]

Way to go, my friend! I wish I was selling those.

[Shrimper]

Nice fish Skillet, "grunter" is a beaut!

[7mmfan]

Fishery is closing tonight at midnight. Our friendly resident captain is out stacking as many kings as he can today before the whistle blows. I don't think he could ask for better weather to be working hard in!

https://marine.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-135.99769592285156&lat=56.96051380498983

[Skillet]

Hey all -

Just a quick check in - the king season went well for me overall.  Had a savage gear loss in one day when I got tied up in an unknown object in 50 fathoms (lost 4 70# cannonballs and 3 full wires worth of gear, right at $2k worth of stuff).  A few folks and I have come to believe it might be an old boat down there, but who knows...

Anyway, ended up with a good season just fishing right outside of town.  A lot of guys I know ran up to the Fairweather Grounds and then back down to chase a big bite in lower Chatham.  Forrester Island did well for a few days too.  But at $5.50 a gal for fuel now, I decided to just hang locally and see what I could make happen.  It worked for me this year 

I see that a lot of salmon are being caught in WA right now, so now's a good time to upload this vid.  It's a little more detailed version of the pressure bleeding videos, but I was solo and it's not easy to film and pressure bleed with one hand on a rocking boat.  But I strongly encourage anybody who salmon fishes to do this if they can.  The difference in your meat will be significant. 

You don't need a fancy setup, just make the cuts to expose the artery and you can hold a washdown hose against it with light tension.  Be careful not to overpressurize the fish - that's worse than not bleeding.  If you do use a pipette, restrict the water so it's a little stream at best.  For kings I cut mine back to have about an 1/8" opening at the tip, and adjust the pressure until I get about a 3-4' arc on the water coming out.  Just a little less for coho.  Here's the vid and a couple of clarifying pics. 

Good fishin'!

[Taco280AI]

Any way you can drop a camera down there to see what it may be?

[Skillet]

Also,  a few more pics. Another bigger king, and me anchored up behind St. Lazaria Island one evening.   

[Skillet]

Any way you can drop a camera down there to see what it may be?

It was in about 50 fathoms (300 feet for you lubbers  ), not much light down there.  You'd probably have to be tangled with it TY see it.

[Skyvalhunter]

Was up out of Whittier last week fishing for salmon, halibut, cod, and squid. Even dropped a few shrimp pots. It was a blast staying out on the boat. Made the long run out to Montague island. That salmon snagging at the remote hatchery is something else. Saw plenty of commercial fishing boats, quite the tough job.

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Was up out of Whittier last week fishing for salmon, halibut, cod, and squid. Even dropped a few shrimp pots. It was a blast staying out on the boat. Made the long run out to Montague island. That salmon snagging at the remote hatchery is something else. Saw plenty of commercial fishing boats, quite the tough job.

You must have been at Main Bay snagging reds. Here's a commercial opener there from a couple weeks ago.