Sitka AK fishing advice

[Q child]

How big are the halibut you catch? Salmon are salmon, but if you want big halibut and good rock fish, 3A is much better than 2c for the guided angler. Plus the situk has good silver and steelhead fishing. Last time I was in Sitka, I do not recall many close opportunities for freshwater if the ocean was blown up.

For guided anglers, 2c has a 1 fish limit with a 40” max, 3A which is yakutat has a 2 fish limit with 1 any size.

Haha. No, my halibut is bigger. No, my dad can beat up your dad. No, my buddy's lodge is better than your buddy's lodge.
There are a lot of fish in Sitka.

 

[WRO]

Haha. No, my halibut is bigger. No, my dad can beat up your dad. No, my buddy's lodge is better than your buddy's lodge.
There are a lot of fish in Sitka.

So no comment on regulation differences for guided vs unguided anglers, charter pressure etc? Solid response.,

 

[johnsd16]

Thanks for the input. Flight options to Sitka are a little better. I was aware of the regulations for halibut, but is the rockfish situation really that much better in yakutat?

 

[Crowmangler]

Not sure which species of rock fish you would like to target but (personal opinion only) I wouldn't make my decision based off of catching them. Hell, I wouldn't walk across the street to catch one just because I don't think they're good to eat.
FWIW I think the limit was only 3 or 4 per person per day (in Sitka) & we all caught our limit in about 10 minutes each day

 

[Q child]

Sitka is cool. It isn't a coincidence that quite a few roksliders have chimed in here to tell you about their good experiences.
Yakutat is also cool. World class Steelhead there, although that is not what you are targeting.
Have a good trip.

 

[johnsd16]

Not sure which species of rock fish you would like to target but (personal opinion only) I wouldn't make my decision based off of catching them. Hell, I wouldn't walk across the street to catch one just because I don't think they're good to eat.
FWIW I think the limit was only 3 or 4 per person per day (in Sitka) & we all caught our limit in about 10 minutes each day

Pelagic rockfish. Great for the kids and we like them, a lot, more than halibut (gasp). Rockfish hit hard and pull. The kids like jigging. Halibut are halibut. We don’t want to target giants, they don’t eat as well. It’s just too much meat to have 5 family members trying to boat a chicken and a turkey a day even for 2 days. I’d even prioritize lingcod over halibut.

One kid would love steelhead fishing but the oldest, wife and little one probably wouldn’t.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Keep in mind that bottom fishing is boring as shit and half way through the day you’ll get sick of reeling in 300yds of line for a rockfish that you’ll need to throw back since you hit your limit 15 minutes after you started fishing.

 

[dieselchessy]

Alaska is a bit of a conundrum. The fishing is great, but other than coho and pinks(who eats those?) the retention limits are often less, sometimes much less than Washington and Oregon.

Some places the steelhead limit is 1 per year. Often the King limit is 1 to 3 per year. Lingcod is often 2 a year with slots. Black Sea bass I think is 5 or so. Halibut can be 1 or 2 per day with slots and maybe a 2 fish annual limit.

In Washington and Oregon halibut limits are generally 1 or 2 a day. Maybe 10 per year. Sea Bass are 5 a day. Steelhead can be 1 or two per day. Coho is often 2 per day. Kings are mostly 1 per day. Lingcod are usually 1 per day over 24” or so.

I think if going by retention limits for bottom fish and maybe salmon the Kodiak region may be the best opportunity.

All that said, I still try and fish SE Alaska once a year. It’s a magical place.

 

[johnsd16]

Good perspectives. I would love to do Kodiak but worry about rougher seas and remoteness being not as good for the wife and little girl. I plan to take my boys on a sleeper boat at some point on Kodiak, Larsen bay, old harbor, etc. I haven’t researched that a ton but it’s not the trip for mom and the 5-6 year old.

I’m sure to AK fisherman rockfish are boring but good sized black rockfish are great for us. Not a lot of waiting, active fishing (not staring at a bait rod in a rod holder) and good to eat. I’ll have to look at limits but 5 pelagic rockfish a day for retention isn’t bad. That’s 25/d for the family and if we did that and silvers we are in for a lot of fillets. Add in a few halibut and lingcod and after 3d of fishing we are loaded with fish to bring home.

 

[HeathH]

Reel Class Charters. Derek is the best guide I’ve ever seen. Probably booked by now. Mean Queen has a hell of a good breakfast too

 

[johnsd16]

Reel Class Charters. Derek is the best guide I’ve ever seen. Probably booked by now. Mean Queen has a hell of a good breakfast too

Thanks for the recommendation. We are planning for 2025

 

[Customweld]

Reel Class Charters. Derek is the best guide I’ve ever seen. Probably booked by now. Mean Queen has a hell of a good breakfast too

The Eggs Benny with crab is excellent!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

The Eggs Benny with crab is excellent!

I was just going to say that.

 

[BKW]

Stay away from A-Z Sportfishing!!!

 

[BKW]

How big are the halibut you catch? Salmon are salmon, but if you want big halibut and good rock fish, 3A is much better than 2c for the guided angler. Plus the situk has good silver and steelhead fishing. Last time I was in Sitka, I do not recall many close opportunities for freshwater if the ocean was blown up.

For guided anglers, 2c has a 1 fish limit with a 40” max, 3A which is yakutat has a 2 fish limit with 1 any size.

Yakutat is the place to go!

 

[LeftyWilbury]

the first time my pops and i fished Sitka was the worst season our friends had been through in the 20+ years they'd been going. we still came home with a good amount of fish. the next time we probably doubled our catch. on good days, and that was most of em, we'd catch a mess of salmon, then go reel in a halibut or two, then fill up on rockfish on the way back. rinse, repeat. no complaints from us on the fishing in Sitka at the end of June.

rockfish are great for fish tacos. and they like to bite on hooks!

 

[Bachto]

I just booked our self guided trip for August of 25' in Sitka through Fish Baranof. We have done Ketchikan a bunch with our own boat but since they shut down the ferry from Prince Ruppert we can't get a boat to Ketchikan (and then my dad sold it) so we are doing this. I am taking my wife and 11 year old stepson who is a fishing fool, we are super excited.

 

[Bachto]

We are from not far from you also (Tri-cities)