Heading north to Sitka, AK......need advice!

Well, I take back all the bad things I've ever said about my wife.

I stayed home sick from work the other day, and happened to get the mail before she got home.  Upon seeing our credit card bill quite a bit higher than I remember, I saw a flight on Alaska Air, thus ruining the surprise birthday present she had gotten me.  Having never been any farther north than Oregon, and never fished anywhere out of my typical Nor Cal locations, I could use some advice.

So far, it's myself and two buddies going up.  We'll be staying with one of their friends, who happens to be a part-time guide (lucky me!).  We'll stay at his place, have use of his boat to fish the inland waters around Sitka, and will probably charter a halibut trip or two to get outside.  Also, we're taking our fly/spin gear for trout, grayling, and to swat the bears away  . 

I did a bit of research, and found one place that rents 'yaks, so I'm hoping to get a sleigh ride in as well.  Has anyone been up there?  Any good links, charters, places to eat, drinking establishments?  Equipment to bring (most saltwater gear will be supplied)?  Advice on transporting our catch home?

Thanks for the help, and rest assured I'll be taking my camera.  Who knows, if I can pull this off for less than a grand, might have to make it an annual event!

Tight Lines,
Ben

try Howard Mckim (from Ketchican)....he might have some intel.

Sounds like a great trip - just can't beat Alsaka when it comes to wilderness fishing  I've never been there but a couple of my buddies showed me some incredible pics of when they were up there.....totally cool! Have fun - looking forward to your report and pics 

http://www.yakfishalaska.com/


Allen /  Pole Pole may have some info for you as well...

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/

  Advice on transporting our catch home?

I have had a few friends catch fish there what they do is have your catch flash frozen and shipped home to someone you know or send it so it arrives the day after you get home. Good luck

Transport of fish ...   It's no problem to buy insulated fish boxes or bring a cooler and ship your frozen fish home on the plane with you.

BTW, for those of you traveling to AK this summer, if you bring rods in a holder and check them in, they are not counted as part of your allowable luggage.  At least on Alaska Air.  So you can bring 2 bags plus your rods (or 1 bag and one cooler and your rods).

Sorry, I'm not familiar with kayak fishing in Sitka, but I am interested in whatever info you find.

-Allen

Ben,

I spent about 10 days out of Sitka sea kayaking with a buddy in 2001.  One of the most, if not the most beautiful piece of the planet I've been to, and I've managed to travel to some fairly nice places here in the US and abroad. Pictures just do not do it justice.

You didn't mention time of year, but I picked the end of July specifically because that is the month with the lowest amount of precipitation. Didn't matter, as it rained/drizzled for the first five days of the trip. Not a big deal if you're in a house in Sitka every night, but a bit of a morale buster if you are in a tent every day.  The sun didn't come out either literally or figuratively until we made it up to the Forest Service Cabins up at Fish Bay. These Forest Service cabins are an absolute fantastic way to go. You definitely feel like you are away from the "city", but have the amenities of a nice warm place to sleep, plus you can get your clothing dry. Did I mention that it really rains up there a lot? You will need to bring your own fuel for the cabin stoves though. Not that big of a deal, even if you are kayaking there. A couple gallons will last a couple days if you use the stove somewhat sparingly. This might be a nice way for you to get out of town for a night or two. Your local buddy should have all the necessary details for reserving these cabins.

I'd have loved to have gone South, but my buddy was a bit on the green side for the open ocean south of Sitka Sound, so we mainly stayed in inside passages North of Sitka proper. We did cross the Sound itself near the end of the trip, but this was a freak morning that was dead still and beautifully sunny. It was more like Sitka Lake than Sitka Sound. The view of Mt Edgecombe behind us was just amazing. It rained later that day though, of course. You know, it rains a lot in Southeast. Really a lot.

If you get away from the powerboat, and spend some time out of town kayaking, you are very likely to see Brown Bear up close. As in yards. At one point, we had 7 in view at one time, all within 200 yards. But we maybe shouldn't have camped where we did that night. Mink are plentiful as well, and you'll get tired of the squeal of Bald Eagles. If you are lucky, you may see freshwater otters. Well I say lucky as we don't get to see them here in California all that often. There are some Northern Pacific Sea Otters as well, but no biggy if you've seen the rafts of Sea Otters down in Monterey.  Get a book on the edible foods of the Pacific Northwest. We ate huge amounts of Blueberries and Salmonberries.

We rented our kayaks from Baidarka Boats, which I believe is still in business. Tragically, the owner that rented to us died in a freak kayaking accident right in town just a couple months after we were there. There's another kayak place in Sitka as well. It's name escapes me, but Baidarka is probably the one you are thinking about anyway, as the other place seemed kind of small.

We did do some fishing, but were mostly just kayaking, hiking and sightseeing. We picked up Silvers on the troll, and Dogs that were milling about just before heading into the sweetwater. Considering the effort we put into this, we were more like catching than fishing. We did not target freshwater species, nor groundfish. If I were to do it over again, I'd do some better research on the fishing available in the area, as Halibut and Alaskan sized lings are supposed to be gimmes once you get a few miles out of town.

All of our fishing happened to be C&R due to the fact that we spent all but two nights camping in very beary locations.  In fact, on a hike out to Sealion cove from Kalinen (??) Bay, we were walking in the footsteps of a bear that had 8" wide paws. On this hike we ran into a group of 3 local couples that had camped/surfed there. Several of the guys had sidearms and carried the bulk of the gear, but it was the ladies that packed the shotguns. Alaska, where the men are men, and the women are heavily armed   In fact, when I told the little old granny on the flight between Juneau and Sitka that we were packing firearms and not pepper spray", she said "Oh, that's good!".  Did I mention that I love Alaska? Going back for another two weeks this year!!!

I think there's just one real place to drink in town - the P-bar (Pioneer Bar). The bookstore in town was pretty cool, but I can't remember it's name. There's an itty bitty sporting goods store "downtown", but a bigger place north on the road up to Starigavin(SP?), and a more commercial oriented place near the harbor. I'd buy a pair of Xtra-Tuffs first thing when you get there. Grundens bibs as well, depending on the weather forecast. With the eternal drizzle, we found that we'd be more comfortable continually paddling and wearing light fleece, as Gore-tex eventually ended up saturated. Kayaking, we found the Topo map to be almost as valuable as the local charts. If you are going out without your local buddy, be aware of some of the currents that can rip through some of those straights.

Have a great time. I'll carry my memories of that trip 'til the day I die. Never have I seen mountain forests meet the ocean like up in Southeast. Big Sur is awesome as well, but is a bit different, and to my way of thinking pales in comparison...

Regards,
Scott

Thanks for all the info!  The greatest thing about this site is the people who make it up and their willingness to share stories/knowledge.  It is much appreciated!
-Ben

I went to Sitka a few years ago. 4 of us did a charter package with Kingfisher lodge. We had a boat and skipper for our little group for 3 days. Each day we would catch our salmon, then halibut, then rockfish/lings. They would clean, flash freeze and pack all the fish. Then they sent it all to the airport before we got there. I think each of us were able to bring back two 70lb boxes of fish on Alaska air. We were very lucky with the weather. The days before we arrived it stormed. Our three days were clear and they considered warm. Trip of a lifetime for my dad and I. I'll go back someday with my son.

I'll go back someday with my son.

...and me  Al....I'll even carry your luggage for you...we Filipinos are good at that  If you don't believe me, swing by the SF International Airport some time...we run that place

Nice!

How far of a run was it for each target (salmon, lings/bottom, halibut)? 

We'll be flying out on June 8th, so i'm hoping for the best on the weather!

Did you manage any freshwater excursions?

Thanks!

Beenfishin

You should have decent weather up there in June, but carry warm clothes, always. Rain gear is manadatory. I'll be up in Soldatna in July hoping to beat my friend's (who is also going) 207 pound halibut. I got a 70 that day too, but it was dwarfed. We'll be up there for a week salmon, halibut, and trout fishing. It is a blast and a trip of a life time.

Next time I go up  there I may try kayak fishing somewhere.

+1 to what Scott said.
When I did trips in Prince William Sound the light fleece/raingear combo worked the best. My patagonia expedition weight pants & sweater were worth their weight in gold, and my fleece vest got worn almost every day.The more layers you have the more options you have to be comfortable. The xtratuff boots were also much better than the cheaper black rubber boots.
Figure it will rain, and then you'll be extra stoked when it doesn't. We used to tell folks who were put off by the rain, "if you don't paddle in rain, then you don't paddle in alaska!"
have a great time!