Sitka 2015

[Nelly]

Greetings from Southeast Alaska!
Our annual trip is different every year but this year we're seeing some bigger fish!

A double started this day quite nicely! Phil Michelsen and I with the feisty pair!

aPhilTom (Mobile) (1).JPG (45.71 KiB) Viewed 10597 times

King 5 News Anchor Greg Copeland and Phil with evidence that the chinook are a bit bigger this season!

aIMG_8550 (Mobile) (2).JPG (40.62 KiB) Viewed 10596 times

The biggest so far? Big Phil with his biggest lifetime king! A chrome 41 pound white chinook!

aPhil's Glory (Mobile).JPG (38.61 KiB) Viewed 10603 times

Greg Copeland with his largest career halibut which pulled the scales down to 65lbs!

aCope's 'but.JPG (51.51 KiB) Viewed 10596 times

The end of a great day but the work is just starting...A dock load headed for home with two great friends!

aSitka '15 (Mobile).JPG (50.19 KiB) Viewed 10601 times

We're just getting started and here's hoping the weather -and the fish- will keep cooperating!

[onwhiskeycreek]

Wow nice job on the fish, it looks like you showed the guys a great time in SE. Are you able to to attend any of the fishery meetings on Halibut By Catch this week in Sitka? Hope you are enjoying the great weather along with the fish.

Gary

[Nelly]

Great point about the halibut bycatch meetings and unfortunately I'm on the water every day and cannot attend.
Let's hope sensible heads prevail and stop the wanton wastes of a precious resource.

[salmonhunter1]

Yep very cool... Would of been even cooler to have a film crew filming so we could all watch.

[Nelly]

Well, a film crew would have taken up too much room on the boat...

The second half of the Sitka trip was productive and punctuated by some great halibut action and solid chinook fishing as well with a little bumpy weather thrown into the mix!

The old, crusty deck tape pulled out to 3 1/2 feet layed out next to a pair of halibut. The largest one was 62 inches and that makes it a 121 pounder.

FullSizeRender (3) (Mobile).jpg (53.42 KiB) Viewed 10097 times

My dear friend Larry Stauffer shows some affection for his 121 lb'er which turned out to be the largest halibut of the trip!

FullSizeRender (4) (Mobile).jpg (46.97 KiB) Viewed 10097 times

Brock Huard of 710 ESPN was so fired up for his third Sitka trip that he showed up in his X-Tra Tuffs...Steel toe no less!

FullSizeRender (Mobile).jpg (52 KiB) Viewed 10096 times

Within two hours of landing in Sitka, Brock and his friend Brad Scheevel had their limit of chinook and the final leg of the Sitka trip was underway!

FullSizeRender (1).jpg (384.71 KiB) Viewed 10095 times

Our last full day of the trip filled out our limits of chinook and halibut and filled a couple nice fish boxes for Brock to feed his friends and family with!

IMG_8993 (Mobile).JPG (42.38 KiB) Viewed 10095 times

What I bring home from Sitka, Alaska every year is a fresh look and feel for the techniques that lead to consistent success in our local fisheries and a good viewing at what is coming down our salmon migratory pipeline.

I feel very fortunate indeed to be able to share these experiences here and on air with you and if you'll excuse me, I have a blog to write about those very experiences right now!

[Fisherlady]

Nice work Tom, putting the crew on the fish. Sitka is an amazing place to fish. The first of July we will be there for our second trip with Derek and Luke. Talk about a reel class charter! It would be great to have our boat there for a self guided experience. Waiting on our "red neck retirement" to come through.
Looking forward to hearing about the Sitka trip and the one coming up.

Fish-on!

[Nelly]

Thanks and good luck on your trip!

While you wait for your trip, here's my 2015 Sitka Blog

Time sure flies by up there!