Northwest Fishing Magazine July 2025 Volume 4 Issue 10 - Flipbook - Page 31
on with six to ten pounds
of chrome, angry sockeye
ten feet away. Remarkably,
the number of foul-hooked
fish is quite low. The hook
must be in the mouth, or
the fish is to be released.
There is a certain level
of skill required, and we
watched many anglers who
just didn’t get it. But for us,
a frantic half-hour later, our
group’s limits were on the
shore. I know that many of
you reading this are shaking
your head and saying how
unsporting this is. I mulled
it over and decided that I
was in this fishing culture,
and here in Alaska, it was
an accepted way to fish
for sockeye. According to
our guide, this is the only
possible way to catch them,
as they had tried other
methods over the years
and nothing had worked.
That said, I did find myself
daydreaming about fishing
one of the lakes these fish
return to and seeing if they
would strike bare hooks
behind a dodger off of a
downrigger. It would be
lights-out fishing for sure if
they did! Day Two came to
an end, and we returned to
the lodge; this time treated
to perfectly cooked ribeye
steak. The gang at Alaska
Kenai Adventures sure
know how to treat their
guests!
Saltwater fishing in Alaska
is a given. With thousands
of miles of coastline and
offshore locations to fish,
AKA hooked us up with
Alaskan Adventure Guides
& Outfitters out of Homer
to fish in the Gulf of Alaska.
We would be targeting
halibut and groundfish,
fishing anywhere from 200480 feet deep. Our luck had
held up as we experienced
a third day of pleasant
temps in the 60s and
mostly clear skies, affording
us spectacular views of the
surrounding mountains.
The wind was light, making
for calm seas and an easy
ride.
En route to our fishing
locations, we were
entertained by porpoise
and killer whale pods. The
majesty of Alaska was in
full display! Pulling up to
our first drift, deckhand
Savana had our group
baited up and ready to
go. Gear down, we soon
were feeling the tap-taps
of fish. In quick order, we
caught our boat limits of
4-5 pound black sea bass.
That out of the way, Captain
Corey moved us to the next
location, which he informed
us would be a good spot to
get our “unders”. The regs
for halibut where we were
fishing called for one fish
