Yo,

My posts are rare since I moved to Montana, but I thought you might like to know about my recent trip to Alaska.

I went to Sitka with a group of friends last week.  The purpose of the trip was not necessarily fishing, but I managed to get some fish in the kayak I rented.

The first day, two buddies and myself rented kayaks in Sitka and trolled for salmon with no luck.  We did catch a nice stringer of rockfish once we gave up salmon fishing.  We found out later that we were probably not deep enough for salmon.

We then headed off to a Forest Service-owned cabin up north of Sitka.  We had to charter a boat to get to this cabin, so we loaded three kayaks on board in addition to the beer and other necessities.

My first day out at the cabin resulted in another nice stringer of rockfish.

The next day I decided it was time to go big, so I fished for halibut.  I caught two, the largest being 35", which is 17-19 pounds according to this website: http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/halibutcharts.htm.

My last day fishing I managed to get another halibut on board.

Some of my friends tried fishing as well and succeeded in roping in a few rockfish, but no halibut or salmon.

Below are some pictures ... I did not take any rockfish pictures since, quite honestly, the rockfish I used to catch in California were more impressive.

Side note # 1 - I just read about Chef and am saddened by his death.  He was a really cool dude who was willing to share his knowledge and passion for kayak fishing.  He will be missed.

Side note # 2 - I just read the extremely long thread about the GWS attack on Dan.    I am glad to hear that Dan is safe and hope all is well with him.

Side note # 3 - we also picked a large number of chanterelle mushrooms, which were quite tasty (see pic).

Side note # 4 - I also included a pic of KY Jelly wrestling that I was lucky enough to see at a bar in Juneau.

General SE Alaska kayak fishing comments:
1. It was fun
2. I will do it again
3. It would be best to try to get better/different kayaks.  We rented sit inside kayaks and I like the SOT kayaks.  This may be problematic considering water temperature, but I kept losing fish and pliers and knives under the seat.  I was also concerned about swamping the kayak, sinking and dying.  But I could not find a SOT kayak to rent, so maybe this does not matter.
4. Next time I will find bigger and better rockfish.
5. next time I want salmon, damn it. 
6. I hear it is difficult to find lings on the "inside", which is a bummer.  Also a bummer is that non-residents can only keep one ling per year and it must be between 30 and 35".
7. I need a better system for dealing with halibut in case I get a large one.

Later, Sean

Yo,

I went out Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning from Limekiln. 

In summary: I'm a miserable failure.  This was my "goodye" to the ocean and the ocean did not shower me with gifts to say goodbye to me.

Details: Wednesday - I got to the campground kind of late (noon).  Two rangers warn me that they saw a large shark out in front of the campground two weeks ago ... this kind of freaks me out.  I head out anyway into the windy and lumpy ocean.  I kept three medium sized rockfish, purposely relesed a 6" cab and a greenling, and accidenatally released a 25" ling.  I blame the shark for the accidental release.  My routine of immediately bleeding the fish had been altered due to the shark reports and my game was off ... the ling simply wiggled its way out of my yak.

Thursday - much less windy and nicer on the water.  I did not land one fish!  I think it is the first time I targeted rockfish/lings/cabs without even catching one pathetic rockfish.  Pretty lame on my part.

My comments - I launched and landed two times without bailing.  My assessment of the area immediately close to limekiln was that it was pretty sandy with a some rocks scattered here and there.  Closer to shore was mostly rocks, but had a lot of kelp.  As this was my first time there, I was alone, and the wind was pretty bad (on Tuesday), my desire to travel afar in search of serious structure was limited.  Far from shore seemed flat and potentially sandy ... could this be right?  From reading past reports, some people have scored big time at Limekiln.  So my lack of catching fish comes down to either the following three issues or maybe even a combination.
1. I can't fish ... I should go back to Montana.
2. The fish were not biting when I was fishing (but I should have caught at least one on Wednesday).
3. I was in the wrong spot.

Anyway, there was one ranger named Brian who was super nice to me ... he fishes out there often.  I fortunately did not have the mean Limekiln ranger experience I have read about here.

Cheers,
Sean

Where is "stillwater south"?  Is this a good place to when flying solo?  Camping nearby?

Cheers,
Sean

Hi,

I am heading down to Mill Creek this evening or early Tuesday.  Anyone want to join up?  I've never been and am not even really sure where it is (I know it is the vicinity of Big Sur), so please post directions if you got 'em.  I can't even find good info on mapquest or google.  Any info on the fishing/launch would also be appreciated.

I plan on camping at Mill Creek because I read here that the launch is easier.  Camping is first come, first served, which I am hoping is not a problem mid-week.

Anyway, if you want to join up, post here soon or call my cell if I am already on the road or there. (406-531-0872).  I'm flexible on location, so if you want to meet up somewhere else, that's cool.

The wind/swell is looking a little questionable, so I am mentally prepared to not hit the water if it appears unsafe.

Later,
Sean

Hi Kids,

For those of you who do not know, I moved to Missoula, Montana in December.  However, I will be in Davis, CA for the week of 5/14.  All my gear is still in Davis, so I am hoping to hit up some mid-week rockfish action while I am in the state.

From my interpretation of the regulations, RF are open south of Pigeon Point and way up north.  I wanna go!

Does anyone want to hook up and get our fish on?  I know mid-week is difficult for most, but it would be great to hook up with one or more of you.  I am down to head north or south, but I have a feeling that the weather down south is likely to be better.

This is of course weather dependent.

Unfortunately, I will miss the Elk tourney this year and most likely in future years, and I will miss the good times to be had.  Sucks to be me.  Maybe I can hit up some Seattle area fishing at some point.

Peace,
Sean

Hi,

For those of you who don't know, I moved to Montana in December.

A couple of weeks back I had the opportunity to do a little kayak fishing on a lake named Salmon Lake.  As you will notice in the picture, the conditions are a little different than I experienced in California.

Even though I have moved out of California, I still hope to occasionally kayak fish in the waters of the Pacific.  I have family in San Diego and Sacramento, so I figure I can get out a couple times a year if all goes well.

I'm in Missoula if anyone wants to visit!

Peace,
Sean

Hi,

Ling season is about over and the weather is looking good on Thursday.  I would like to head out for one last attempt at lingzilla.

Anyone down to go?  I would like to go to Fort Ross, but can be flexible if anyone else wants to hook up.

Let me know,
Sean

This was a nice little tournament.  Lots of spear fisherpeople and ab diver folk.  Probably about six kayak angler teams.

Congratulations to Jenna and Brian.  They they were the clear winners.  Their two fish weighed almost twice as much as the two fish from the second place winners.

My team (Rockaway/Bill and myself) did not fare so well.  Our best fish were a decent copper and a decent blue.

In addition to going out on the tourney day (Saturday), I also went out Friday afternoon and Sunday.  Scored plenty of blues and one cab, but nothing really exciting.  I also showed my Dad and his buddy the ropes of kayak fishing.  They really like it.  My dad scored a 26" ling (his first ling ever) this morning right out of the cove.

I was great to see some regular faces (Brian, Jenna, Jim, Naoiki, Erik, Sean, Jelly, Tote) and a couple of new ones (Bill/Rickaway and Jim/Squidly).  I had a good time hanging out with Jim/Squidly and his friends on Saturday night ... thanks for welcoming me Squidly.

On a related note, Ocean Cove is a pretty nice place.  Nice launch and campground.  I found the other campers very friendly.  Our neighbor camper took my stepmom out ab diving and showed her the ropes, as she is a rookie in that sport.  Their bathroom facilities (porta potties) are less than desireable, as they were out of TP and needed to be serviced.  I think I'll try camping at Salt Point next time I head up that way.

Brian - As the most decorated kayak angle in northern California, I think you should write an article for this site about how to win a kayak fishing derby.  I hear Bill you give you a free shirt for writing such an article.

Later, Sean