Equipment
We take pride in our equipment and maintain it accordingly. Our affiliation with Ted's Sports Center, one of the top ten tackle stores in the U.S., ensures that you use the best.
Custom Designed 30 Foot Fishing Machine
Our latest custom built 30 ft. Almar Sounder walkaround sportfishing boat. The new "Storyteller" was built in 2006.
Complete walkaround cabin. Tremendous deck space for fishing. Room to fish 2 rods from the bow and everyone can fish off of the stern if the weather gets sloppy.
Fully enclosed heated cabin with a marine pump-out head in a small forward cuddy cabin.
State of the art electronics. Simrad 10" color combo gps, chartplotter, radar, and fish finder in the cabin.
Separate second Simrad 10" color fish finder mounted outside on the back deck for easy viewing.
Extra safety with a satellite GPS emergency position indicator beacon mounted to the cabin.
Powered by a dependable Volvo Penta I/O.
Yamaha 9.9 hp kicker motor for fishing and safety.
Rods & Reels:
For mooching and anchor fishing, we use G. Loomis graphite 10 1/2ft rods and Shimano Tekota reels with line counters and 20# test line. Our leaders are hand tied using Gamagatsu hooks. When jigging, we use a lighter 10 1/2 ft G. Loomis graphite rod and Shimano Bantam reels with Powerpro line. Our jigs are 2-3 oz darts. When halibut fishing, we use 6-7 ft Lamiglas halibut rods and Shimano TLD 20 reels with Powerpro line. If any of our gear is not perfect, we immediately replace it. All of our reels are rebuilt and the line replaced halfway through the season.
Methods:
We fish several different ways.
Salmon
Motor mooching - We put out 30-40 feet of line and place the rods in the holders. Using the kicker motor, we slowly troll near the shoreline and along reefs using plug cut herring. A very relaxing way to fish with tremendous scenery.
Drift mooching - Usually out in the ocean, if the wind is calm, the plug cut herring is tossed away from the boat to straighten the line and prevent tangles. The lead is free spooled until it hits the bottom. The bait is then slowly retrieved or left at a specific depth. A huge number of fish are caught on the drop, which provides a really unique bite.
Anchor fishing - Used if the wind or tide is running and it is not possible to keep a bait close to the bottom when drifting. The method is the same as drift mooching.
Jigging - Using lighter rods and Shimano Bantam reels with no stretch line, 2-3 oz lead jigs are worked through the water column. This method requires more work and patience than others, but the hookup is truly memorable.
Halibut
The halibut population within range of Sitka has been depleted due to the size of the charter fleet. A measure of "desperation" has set in with boats fishing in 600 plus feet of water for many hours a day. I have also observed many halibut smaller than 10 pounds in size being killed. I believe that a minimum size should be imposed on the sports fishery. Unless the situation improves, I will be focusing my time on the world class salmon fishery. If we halibut fish, we anchor the boat usually between 200-500 feet and use 2lbs of lead to get the bait to the bottom.