Although merely 100 miles as the crow flies from Seattle to the sounds of southwestern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, it can take the better part of a day to drive there, including the two-hour ferry crossing. But for fishing enthusiasts, it should prove to be a well-spent day.

Clayoquot and Barkley—the two sprawling sounds to which BC Route 4 extends down the island just over 100 miles from the ferry landing at Nanaimo—are filled with islands and inlets, and reefs and channels. For any experienced fisherman, that description spells fishy habitat.

Whether one drives in for guided fishing or tows a boat, he’ll find mostly the same species here as are caught in Alaskan waters. It could be said that these sounds, just north of the Lower 48, offer a taste of Alaska without the long trip.

For many, salmon are king. Of five species of salmon, chinook are king, also because they’re called king salmon. While the legal minimum size here is about 18 inches (45 centimeters), anglers look for 10- to 30-pound fish and occasionally much larger. The other major salmon target for anglers are coho (aka silvers), a schooling salmon typically weighing 5 to 15 pounds. In August, pinks (3 to 5 pounds) may abound.

Salmon range widely along the coast, but are consistently found nearshore—sometimes right off the kelp. Trolling with downriggers, pulling large flashers ahead of herring, anchovies, plastic squid, spoons or plugs, accounts for the great majority of salmon caught.

In addition to salmon, bottomfish abound. Among those species, halibut is in a class by itself, in part by virtue of its size. Although they can be encountered nearshore, the best chances for success for the great flatfish occur over deeper offshore banks with smooth-bottom areas. Anglers targeting halibut will drop herring or salmon heads with heavy weights or large leadhead jigs with big plastic tails. Halibut also eagerly strike heavy-metal slow-pitch jigs. Braided line of 30-pound-test or heavier is warranted, since the next strike could be a fish well into three digits on the scale.

Perhaps no species can better be counted on to help a slow day than the lingcod. This elongate, toothy predator is unique to the Pacific Coast, from Baja, California, to Alaska. Expect to catch lings of 5 to 20 pounds, but monsters at least twice that lurk around rocky, current-swept reefs. Very commonly, these bottom dwellers will follow up a hooked fish of any type, grabbing it in their jaws and refusing to let go, often until they’re on a gaff or in the net.

The ambush predators will pounce anything that moves in their domain—any sort of metal jig or plastic bait—and they’ll often swim up toward the surface to snatch baits trolled for salmon. Lingcod are superb to eat. Sometimes boating the limit of three (legal size: 25.6 inches) can be easily accomplished. After that, catch-and-release is still an option since lings have no swim bladders and the hardy fish can quickly return to the depths.

Then there are the rockfish. Dozens of species of the genus Sebastes are found in the north Pacific, many in these waters. The aggressive nature and many varieties and colors of rockfish make for a light-tackle angler’s bonanza.

Unfortunately, many visiting anglers don’t come equipped with gear light enough to maximize the sport this action should offer. Twelve-pound braided line is plenty and will allow relatively light jigs (slow-pitch or leadhead with plastics) to sink 50 to 250 feet. And these rockfish are, like most of the fish caught here, delicious.

Planning a Trip

Where To Go and How To Get There: Visitors with large, seaworthy boats can, of course, sail right to ports in either sound. The great majority of visiting anglers arrive by car. Wherever you are driving from, you will need to get to Vancouver Island, which most likely requires a ride on a huge ferry. It’s a considerably longer drive up from Victoria, so your best bet is the ferry that runs from Tsawwasen to Nanaimo. In the summer, reservations are a must: Make them online at bcferries.com.

A bit of searching online will reveal various resorts, many with moorage, as well as a variety of homes available to rent. Rates drop precipitously in late fall through early spring, but so do the odds of good ocean conditions. That said, there are plenty of fish to be caught in colder months, and for those with time to stick around for a while, the chances of some good days are pretty fair.

What To Expect: Ucluelet (“people of the safe harbor” in the indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth language) is the main jumping-off point for Barkley Sound waters. Tofino is at the northern end of a peninsula that juts into Clayoquot Sound. It offers a similar infrastructure for visiting anglers as Ucluelet. Find general information at discoverucluelet.com and tourismtofino.com.

Between Tofino and Ucluelet is the Long Beach Unit of the vast Pacific Rim National Park Reserve—10 miles of pristine sandy beaches (longest such stretch on the west coast of Vancouver Island) where cold-water surfers ply their sport.

The post British Columbia: Fishing The Sounds of Southwestern Vancouver Island appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

About 100 miles southwest of Juneau in southeast Alaska (the state’s Panhandle), Sitka sits at the edge of the north Pacific on Baranof Island. To the north and east, the rugged islands and mountains are all Tongass National Forest and Wilderness Area. The island remained part of Russia until 1867. Signs of that are still in evidence, such as St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral.

A major port for commercial fishing, Sitka is also a center for tourism and, with a considerable fleet of charter operations, sport fishing. Salmon are the main draw; while it’s possible to catch five species of salmon here, Chinook (king) and coho (silver) are the primary targets, along with halibut and other bottom fish.

While there are no roads in or out of Sitka, 14 miles of local roads offer many spots to fish without a boat — lakes and streams for trout and grayling, and coastal areas for salmon (notably pinks) and trout (particularly Dolly Varden), but also with catches of king salmon, sea-run cutthroat and other species.

Along with Sitka’s great fishing, it’s reasonable to expect to observe or encounter a range of marine wildlife, including humpback whales, orcas, eagles, sea lions, bear, sea otters and more.

Planning a Trip

When to Go: With the climate less than appealing for visitors much of the year, mid-May through mid-September is the real tourist season in Sitka, when the population swells and things get quite busy.

For anglers, timing is significant. That is, those looking for trophy king salmon (30 to 40 pounds) will focus on June and July. Anglers hoping to get in on the main run of coho — smaller than kings but more numerous and wild battlers on lighter lines — will book in July, August and September. Mid to late summer also gives enthusiasts shots at sockeye, chum and pink salmon. Halibut can be taken throughout the summer, along with many species of rockfishes. Lingcod may be kept only mid-May through mid-June and again mid-August through November.

Where to Go and How to Get There: Although boating to Sitka is possible, the vast majority of visitors fly in with regular air service from Seattle on Alaska and, seasonally, flights on Delta as well.

You’ll find a number of hotels in Sitka, with an online search, along with some resorts that cater particularly to sport fishermen. But the number is limited and with such a short season, competition for bookings is fierce. If you can commit nine to 12 months ahead on a reservation, the chances of getting your first choice should be pretty fair.

One of the first places you should consider is Kingfisher Charters and Lodge. The lodge provides comfortable accommodations right on Sitka Sound. Their charter fishing specializes in salmon (kings and silvers), halibut, lingcod and rockfish. Windy or not, they have a trip planned and species to target. If you’re looking for a new species to catch, consider the tasty sablefish — Sitka is one of the few places in the U.S. where it’s not too hard to catch one.

What to Expect: Granted, mid-summer days may be sunny and hit 70 degrees, but for the most part, expect cooler and gray days, with rain seldom out of the picture (even May through July, when precipitation is the least). When heading out on the water, two essentials: foul weather gear and, to adjust to ephemeral conditions, layers. And good rubber deck boots will serve you well.

While quite a few charter/guide boats operate in Sitka, once again, advance booking is wise. Most charter boats have dry, heated cabins from which anglers have the option to watch downrigger rods in the cockpit in inclement weather. It’s also possible to rent boats — such as a 21-foot aluminum Hewescraft Pacific Cruiser — for self-guided fishing.

While in states like Florida, anglers are off the hook (so to speak) for licenses if fishing with a licensed skipper, in Alaska any angler over 16 must have a license when fishing. You can buy a license or explore the options.

More adventurous (and financially flush) enthusiasts can book a floatplane to fly to lakes and rivers for char, steelhead and trout. Besides fishing, visitors can hike through forests and to glaciers; many wilderness trailheads are accessible from downtown Sitka. There’s also bicycling, sea kayaking, “flight seeing,” hunting and more. Also consider a taxi (or a tour) to reach the Fortress of the Bear, a unique and fascinating facility, as well as the Alaska Raptor Center.

Helpful Links

• Kingfish Charters and Lodge
• Visit Sitka

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“In a state where I can go to jail for not taking enough meat off the ribs of a moose I hunt, or I can receive a ticket for taking a king salmon out of the water if I catch one while trout fishing, Alaska’s ‘Big Trawl’ has been documented chucking dead bycatch over the side of their boats. This action by commercial trawlers is completely legal under current regulations.” — Cody McLaughlin

Alaskan Bycatch By The Numbers

What is bycatch? For the uninitiated, it’s when a fisherman catches a fish species they didn’t intend to or, in the case of factory fishing vessels, can’t sell and have to discard. According to NOAA’s website, “Bycatch is a complex, global issue that threatens the sustainability and resiliency of our fishing communities, economies, and ocean ecosystems.”

The group of commercial trawlers in Alaska, what I call “Big Trawl,” produce millions of pounds of bycatch each season. We’re talking wasted and dead iconic gamefish such as halibut and salmon, species that have enormous economic value to local communities and recreational anglers.

FACT: Since 1991, 1,774,800 king salmon have been documented as trawl bycatch in Alaska. To break it down further, 1,117,800 of those fish came from the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and 657,000 of them came from the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This data was compiled from weekly bycatch reports.

It is important to note that those numbers are just observed bycatch — and only 15 percent of bycatch is observed on these vessels. Estimates of complete trawl bycatch are likely 10 times higher than current documented numbers. That’s because trawl regulators don’t factor in unobserved bycatch — all the fish, crab, plants, coral and marine life mowed down by the net that doesn’t make it to the surface to be tallied. Currently, regulators slot in “0” for unobserved bycatch.

In addition to king salmon’s observed bycatch, Big Trawl in Alaska has reported wasting 141 million pounds of bycatch per year over the last 10 years. The numbers don’t lie — commercial fishing operators throw away millions of pounds of fish every season. And its harmful effects are staggering. On the other hand, recreational anglers continue to see their seasons shortened in efforts to save salmon and halibut populations. The difference in how commercial and recreational sectors are managed is maddening.

A Quick Halibut Fishing Comparison

For context, charter boats in Southcentral Alaska can’t keep halibut on certain Tuesdays or Wednesdays from June to August to help save the resource. And there’s been minimal howling from the small-business sportfishing operators. The entire Southcentral sport charter halibut quota for 2023 is 1.89 million pounds.

Meanwhile, Big Trawl has already dumped 3.14 million pounds of halibut as bycatch year-to-date in 2023. As of late June, they’ve shoveled over the sides of their vessels nearly double the quota for the entire sportfishing fleet. Plus, trawlers are still allowed to fish in designated halibut nursery areas of the Bering Sea, places where everyone else is banned from halibut fishing in order to protect young fish.

A Weak Response By Regulators Angers Fishermen

Salmon numbers are down at an alarming rate. Where do regulators fall on the issue? In a move many see as too little and too late, federal fisheries managers created a Federal Research Task Force to find the cause of the decline.

Sport fishermen have taken it on the chin through all this. We’re entering the second summer with the legendary Kenai River closed to king salmon fishing. This fabled river fishery is synonymous with the king salmon species. The current IGFA all-tackle record chinook is 97 pounds, 4 ounces, caught on this river in May 1985 by angler Les Anderson. In 2009, a potential replacement world record was caught and released on the same river.

Other world-class fisheries in Alaska also saw increased regulations. The Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers are both closed to subsistence fishermen who depend on the resource for food security. King salmon retention in lower Cook Inlet was reduced from 2 to 1 on March 2, before the run even started. The fishery was later closed in all Cook Inlet salt waters. On top of all of this, at least one misguided environmental group is asking that chinook salmon receive endangered status over crashing stocks, after succeeding in stopping trolling efforts in Southeast Alaska because endangered orcas. (A U.S. appeals court eventually halted the lower court ruling, allowing the trolling season to start on July 1.) 

Citizen anglers are finally taking a stand. The STOP Alaskan Trawler Bycatch Facebook page just reached the 25,000 member milestone in recent weeks and receives support from conservation groups in the state. You can also directly support organizations such as the Alaska Outdoor Council, fighting these issues on the ground. In addition, Salmon State has started a helpful “stop bycatch” take-action tool for concerned anglers.

Cheap Protein for China at the Expense of Iconic Fish

What’s the driving force behind commercial trawlers? How can cheap pollock take precedence over salmon or halibut? (Salmon costs consumers a whopping $20 to $40 per pound in the grocery store!) In a word? China. The Amendment 80 bottom trawl fleet is the top halibut bycatch offender. All participants in that fleet are registered in Seattle, with more than 80 percent of their catch going directly to China for cheap protein. They also ship $45 per ounce pollock roe caviar over for China’s growing population of billionaires. The rest, essentially, goes to McDonald’s as Filet-O-Fish sandwiches. McDonald’s claims its fish are 99 percent sustainably caught, and the pollock fishery might be doing fine, but the bycatch fisheries are cratering.

So what’s the recourse? In short, anglers and conservationists concerned about this issue need to let policyholders know where they stand. The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC) has the power to stop this. Congress needs to consider acting, and it will take more than just Alaska’s representatives to get this done. That means contacting your state’s federal representatives to let them know the waste and destruction of Alaskan salmon and halibut fisheries is unacceptable.

Lastly, the governors of Alaska and Washington (where the trawl fleets are regulated) have influence here, especially over the makeup of the NPFMC and the future direction of commercial fishing. Both states are sportfishing destinations. The sportfish wasted by commercial trawlers negatively impacts the economies of these states. Visiting anglers will not bring their tourism dollars if there are no salmon.

As I have said on more than one podcast this month, this issue deserves every angler’s attention. Commercial trawlers catch or waste the majority of king salmon while recreational anglers continue to get pushed out of fishing opportunities. If you’re looking to catch a wild king salmon, you should hop on a plane to Alaska in the next five years before these historically mighty runs of fish disappear.

About the Author: Cody McLaughlin is a noted conservationist covering public policy issues related to hunting, fishing and the environment. He currently serves on the board of the Alaska Outdoor Council and is a former board member and lead spokesman of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, representing the state’s 1.2 million sportsmen. McLaughlin recently launched Trout Stream Studios as an executive producer for podcasts and livestreams in the hunting and veterans’ affairs spaces.

The post Bycatch Is Killing Legendary Alaskan Fishing appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Thomas Morrison and his son, of Winterport, Maine, were ice fishing on Jan. 28 at a secret lake in eastern Maine, not far from the coast. Just 20 minutes into their trip, the pair hooked and landed a prized Atlantic salmon, according to a report in the Bangor Daily News.

The heavily-spotted fish was photographed, then released alive and healthy. That’s a good thing because the 5-pound, 28-inch-long salmon has been listed as an endangered species since 2000. Harvesting sea-run Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is unlawful in Maine, while landlocked salmon in rivers and streams have different regulations.

“It was warm that day, and the fish was released alive and well,” said Morrison.

The Bangor newspaper reported that Morrison was unaware of the significance of his catch until he posted a photo of the fish on a state fishing Facebook page. Someone who saw the fish photo noted the salmon had a piece cut out of the fish’s adipose fin. That’s a fin-clipping practice of the Maine Department of Marine Resources (MDMR), used when counting fish in its Atlantic salmon fisheries program. Such “clipped” fish are documented as sea-run mature fish.

Maine’s Atlantic salmon are anadromous fish, spending most of their adult lives at sea, but they must return to fresh waters to spawn. Sea-run salmon experts in Maine say some mature Atlantic salmon survive in the state’s lakes and rivers through the harsh winter months — but it’s rare for anglers to actually catch one there while ice fishing.

Atlantic salmon are among the world’s most esteemed sport fish. Morrison never saw his salmon jump due to the ice covering the lake, but the species is known for its surface fight. In fact, the Romans called the fish “salio” (The Leaper). Morrison’s catch is an important sign that sea-run Atlantic salmon are still hanging strong in Maine, a state with the only native Atlantic salmon population in the U.S. Atlantic salmon have been protected under the federal Endangered Species Act for 23 years. For anyone in Maine to catch an Atlantic salmon is an important event, but one from under the ice makes this catch remarkable. According to MDMR, such a catch “only happens once every couple years.”

The MDMR believes more than 1,300 Atlantic salmon sea run fish passed through Penobscot River dams in 2022. That’s the second-highest return in over a decade in the Penobscot, which was traditionally considered the center of the state’s Atlantic salmon sportfishing (back when they were abundant).

“Based on the photo and the size indicated, it appears to be a sea-run Atlantic salmon that has spent multiple winters at sea versus a grilse, which would have spent only one winter at sea and would be smaller,” a MDMR spokesperson said about Morrison’s fish. “While the body of water is not identified, we do know sea-run Atlantic salmon overwinter in some lakes in Maine.”

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Jerry Smith of Lewiston, Idaho made history on Nov. 13 when he caught, measured, and released a large coho or silver salmon. He was fishing the North Fork of Idaho’s Clearwater River (in the Clearwater National Forest), according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG).

Smith measured the 30-inch coho and registered it with IDFG. They declared his fish the state’s first record catch-and-release for the ocean-run species, although Idaho’s catch-and-release record program has been in effect for six years.

With Smith setting an Idaho record for coho, the state hopes that will set the stage for future catch-and-release records for cohos and other state fish species.

IDFG fisheries staff reminds anglers that during autumn, the state’s famed Clearwater River calls home several prized ocean-run, migrating gamefish. The species heading back to Idaho include steelhead (ocean-run rainbow trout), fall-run Chinook (king) salmon and coho (silver) salmon.

Anglers are advised by Idaho fisheries managers to carefully examine these state catches to distinguish the three species, as there are separate seasons and bag limits for each. Also, there can be some confusion identifying the different and large salmonid species, as they have similar body shapes, and can have similar colorations according to the time of year caught.

Idaho’s famed Clearwater River has been a storied spot for steelhead and salmon for many decades, since the wilderness area was discovered by Lewis and Clark in 1805.

The anadromous species enter the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean, migrating up through the Snake River and into the Clearwater River drainage for spawning. The fish migrate through several hundred miles of water. maneuvering around dams to reach their spawning areas.

Read Next: How Drones Will Help Salmon Fisheries Survive

Before the building of dams in the Snake River, coho salmon migrating into the drainage for spawning annually numbered in the hundreds of thousands of fish. Coho population dropped to almost zero in the 1980s, but a hatchery program jump-started salmon again in the river system

Idaho anglers and state fisheries folks hope the best is yet to come for cohos and other migrating species to the Clearwater and other Northwest rivers.

The post Record Idaho Sea-Run Coho Salmon appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

A massive natural landside into western Canada’s Ecstall River this year is impacting river flow and perhaps hampering access by countless salmon to run and propagate their species.

The Ecstall River is an important part of the widely heralded by anglers Skeena River drainage system in coastal British Columbia, not far from Ketchikan in extreme southern Alaska.

“Essentially, a whole side of a mountain collapsed into the very upper reaches of the Ecstall River and it caused a massive landslide about halfway down the river valley,” Greg Knox, executive director of the SkeenaWild Conservation Trust told the Prince Rupert Northern View on Sept. 20. “So it’s taken out the whole upper part of the river valley.”

The Ecstall feeds the Skeena River near the Pacific Ocean, about 20 miles southeast of the town of Prince Rupert, B.C.

The landslide occurred in a rugged coastal region where access is difficult, and unpopulated. Drone flights over the area are done to check on the river and salmon spawning. Knox told the Northern View that Stan Walker — with the government’s Fisheries and Oceans Canada – flew a drone over the area to check on its salmon and discovered the landside and videoed its devastation.

Silt, sediment, rocks, timber, and other debris washed into the upper Ecstall River, which could cover salmon, steelhead, trout and char eggs, suffocating them. This could greatly diminish successful spawning of those species and others as well.

Up to 100,000 fish could be affected by the landslide, says Knox, with virtually nothing that can be done to alter the impact of the natural event.

“It’s really just assessing what the likely impacts are, and there needs to be long-term monitoring to see how fish populations adapt over time,” says Knox. “It will likely take several years, potentially decades for the system to re-stabilize. Salmon will adapt, it’s just a matter of how long it will take.

“There are some significant tributaries in the lower Ecstall River that have large salmon populations. So hopefully they’ve been unaffected.”

The post Landslide Impacts Up to 100,000 Spawning Salmon in Coastal British Columbia appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Drone technology has taken over much of the skies in recent years, and it’s making a big move into fish and game conservation work, too. Drones fly fast and cover ground much easier than can humans wanting to sample fish and game habitats. This is especially true in rugged regions where salmon and some other species of fish spawn.

That’s why Washington State University (WSU) is working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to sample Chinook salmon in the state’s Upper Wenatchee River (located east of Seattle) from Sept. 23-26.

According to WDFW, researchers will do physical salmon counts, followed by drone flights to look at variables that influence where salmon spawn, such as gravel size, water temperature, and current flow. Data collected will help predict locations where Chinook salmon will spawn in the future in Tumwater Canyon near the town of Leavenworth, Washington.

Drone photos and videos will help locate salmon spawning sites and preferred fish habitats in the Upper Wenatchee River.

The drone flight research is part of Daniel Auerbach’s PhD dissertation at WSU’s School of Environment. Auerbach will pilot the drone over public lands during the salmon spawning site flights. He is studying the capabilities of drones to learn about subsurface river elements.

“My work with WDFW is to compare current methodologies and assess the feasibility of identifying and enumerating summer Chinook redds in the Wenatchee River,” he says.

He also worked with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to identify spring Chinook and environmental impacts on image quality from drones.

“I am working with Dr. Daniel Schindler from the University of Washington in Alaska,” Auerbach continued. “Our current work is identifying individual sockeye for population estimates.”

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Michigan started the Great Lakes salmon boom more than 50 years ago with their initial stocking of salmon into Lake Michigan. Since then, the state has gradually decreased chinook or king salmon stockings for decades. But the state once again wants to supplement the number of big, prized chinooks into this important “inland sea” fishery.

In a DNR press statement, the state’s Lake Michigan basin coordinator Jay Wesley said, “We have seen several years of good chinook salmon growth and have a slight increase in the alewife biomass, or abundance of those fish.”

Alewives are a chief forage fish for salmon in Lake Michigan. An overabundance of salmon has at times diminished the prey species on which salmon most depend. This became problematic when chinook salmon began naturally spawning in Lake Michigan, so numbers of salmon were not solely dependent on stocking, as natural spawning had a population impact on salmon size, health and their prey.

“Although the alewife biomass is a fraction of what it was historically, we have a good 2021-year class and have seen up to six-year classes of alewives in our fisheries surveys – that means there are up to six different age groups in the current population of alewife.”

DNR says a “year-class” refers to all of the fish of any species hatched, either through natural reproduction or through fish-rearing efforts, during that year’s spawning period.

According to a recent DNR predator-prey model, Lake Michigan has a good ratio of chinook-to-alewife biomass, which is one of many indicators used to inform stocking decisions.

“The proposed 54 percent increase from 650,000 to 1 million spring fingerlings (for stocking) is a modest increase compared to the estimated 4.5 million wild chinook salmon in Lake Michigan,” says Wesley. “It will allow us to increase numbers at sites like Charlevoix (upper Lower Peninsula) that contribute to the entire lake fishery and reinstate stocking sites like Ludington State Park (mid-state Lower Peninsula) and Fairport (Upper Peninsula, near Big Bay De Noc).”

DNR will host a virtual meeting Monday, Sept. 19, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to detail the proposal and allow for public input. For more information contact Wesley at: 616-490-5090.

The post Michigan Proposes Stocking Chinook Salmon Again in Lake Michigan appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The afternoon of Aug. 5 is one that Miroslav Cigler of Daggett, Michigan isn’t likely to soon forget. He was trolling for salmon for the first time on Lake Michigan aboard the “Angler’s Edge” charter boat out of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin with Capt. Sid Ernest at the helm, according to the Door County Pulse.

Suddenly the first fish of the afternoon hit a trolled green “Howie Fly” that was darting behind a chrome flasher taken deep with a downrigger to 60 feet in 165 feet of water. After a tussle of a fight, Cigler muscled the fish to the boat where it was netted.

Back at Howie’s Tackle following the fishing trip, Cigler’s salmon was positively identified by a Wisconsin DNR biologist as a pinook, according to a Facebook post by Angler’s Edge.

Cigler’s record fish had an official weight of 11.67 pounds, with a 29.75-inch length. With proper record paperwork going through the state system, Cigler’s pinook salmon should become the new Wisconsin record for the species, bettering the previous Wisconsin pinook salmon weighing 9-pounds, 1.6 ounces with a 27.88-inch length, caught July 30, 2016 in Lake Michigan off Door County near Washington Island.

Remarkably, about 24 hours later on Aug. 6 while trolling Lake Michigan off Algoma, Wis., located south of Sturgeon Bay and east of Green Bay, angler Kyle Gebert of Rudolph, Wis. hooked a heavy fish. The salmon hit a purple “Stinger Spoon” in 180 feet of water, trolled 70 feet down off Gebert’s own boat. His fish measured 27 inches long, and weighed 10.4 pounds – much better than the 2016 pinook record that had held the state top spot for six years, but not as heavy as Cigler’s 11.67-pound salmon landed just the day prior.

There was some confusion with Gebert’s fish, as he and others believed it was a pink salmon, which would have crushed the current Wisconsin 1999 pink salmon record by over four pounds.

Wisconsin DNR fisheries biologists examined Gebert’s fish for positive ID that it was a pinook.

Had Gebert caught his fish before Cigler’s, his catch could have been a new Wisconsin pinook record, at least for a time.

The IGFA World Record pinook is a fly-caught fish weighing 16 pounds with a 38.25-inch length. It was caught by David Conlin Sept. 20, 1999 near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The fish took a nymph type fly.

The post Pinook Salmon Record Almost Broken Twice In Less Than 24 Hours. But What’s a Pinook Anyway? appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Hot Spot: San Francisco, California
Species: King Salmon
Captain: Virginia Salvador, Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures

“The hot ticket item is king salmon,” reports Captain Virginia Salvador at Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures. Hailing out of San Francisco’s iconic Fisherman’s Wharf, Salvador says king salmon fishing has been excellent.

Salvador has seen larger salmon this summer. “The grade is 20 pounds plus with a lot of fish over 30 pounds,” she tells us.

According to Salvador, fishing has been easy. She laughs, “We pass under the Golden Gate Bridge and make a right.”

Salvador slow trolls along the Marin coast in 30 to 60 feet of water. “The salmon are gorging on bait and getting fat and juicy.”

To catch king salmon, Salvador pulls six rods with flashers and anchovies. She uses Yakima Fish Flashers, a sinker release, 30 feet of leader to an anchovy on a wire rig.

Before dropping back the bait, she makes sure it is spinning correctly. She looks for the bait to spin with a regular, tight pattern. “You want it to twirl,” she says. The objective is to imitate an injured fish falling out of a bait ball.

Salvador runs six rods with the baits closest to the bow set at 22 and 24 feet deep, the center rods are 28 and 34 feet deep and the stern rods are 34 to 48 feet deep. She uses an eight-foot Super Seeker 270 rod with an Accurate 400 Valiant reel spooled with 65-pound braided line.

According to Salvador, bait presentation is key. “Check your baits every 15 minutes,” she says. One piece of grass or jellyfish will shut down the whole spread. “You’re pulling a scarecrow, you’re no longer fishing.” She also encourages anglers to arrive early to the fishing grounds. “The early bird gets the worm,” she says. Often, the bite may only last a few hours first thing in the morning.

As summer progresses, Salvador expects fishing to get even better. She looks for the largest salmon at the end of the season before the fish move upriver to spawn. “I hope the bite stays consistent through September,” Salvador says.

The post California King Fishing Takes Off appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.