Stories of Alaska
It's a mystery
- AJ Slagle
- 2020-04-22 09:34:45
- Wilderness Dining
- Ketchikan, Alaska
You never know what might come up on those hooks, they are made for "hooking" things and are not selective...whichever fish hits first and sometimes octopus, crabs, anemones or a number of different species that might find your bait or lure attractive or hooked by chance!
That is one of the things I love about fishing, is that the possibilities of what you can catch are so numerous and varied, knowing how, where and when is certainly helpful too...
vOne of my favorite memories of an odd catch on a charter was in the Tongass narrows we were anchored fishing for bottom fish on a windy rainy day and a client hooked into a heavy fish that came up slowly and with a lot of effort, the rod was bent double and it was not behaving as a halibut would...Then the surface of the water showed more disruption than wind and rain as the orange mantle of a large octopus rose to daylight, it's eye was glaring at us as we reeled it closer and the mantled undulated with the exhalation of its breath...
It's exhalations were audible at a distance over the wind and exclamations of the clients and for some reason I got the feeling that incredibly intelligent, beautiful cephalopod was honoring us with a visual encounter seldom seen, as the exhaled water shot out of its mantle in a 2 foot stream!
The hooks parted from it and it slowly submerged again to go on with its life in the depths of The narrows...a giant Pacific octopus is not a sight you see very often.
Another memorable catch was on a halibut hunt charter where the fishing was going quite well we had 5 of the 6 halibut allowed for the day, then a rod started showing a bite and it showed a commitment, fish on! Then it got heavier as the client reeled in, with five halibut prior to this fish it seemed that this one was noticeably larger than the others as the time and effort doubled to bring it up...
As it neared the surface I could see the reason for all the effort, two halibut! On the same leader! In all of my 19 years of chartering, I have never seen two halibut caught on the same leader, it was a challenge to gaff and bring aboard so I used the salmon net to gather them up! That is the beauty and mystery of fishing, you ever know for sure what you are going to catch, there is so much down below in these waters, I have seen wolf eels, ratfish, skates, Sharks, starfish, rocks and crabs caught on charters and I still get excited to see what is going to come up...
I do have to admit a personal favorite are Ling cod, a strong fighter with a vicious and voracious personality and they have a tendency to "hitchhike" on rockfish and smaller Ling Cod as they are being reeled in...and the best part is, the succulent firm filets are some of the best fish you will ever taste!
They like reefs and rocky areas and I catch them quite often in shallow waters near kelp beds, many times I have caught them while trolling for salmon, one time I found a 5 pound pink salmon swallowed whole by a 15 pound Ling and even though the tail was still sticking out of its mouth, it still went after the bait we were trolling...
I do think my favorite encounter with Ling cod was at a favorite reef that I like to fish...
We were in about twenty feet of water when a client hooked a rockfish and as she was reeling it in I saw a big Ling following and then swallowing the rockfish as it was being reeled to the surface, when it arrived next to the boat I was able to gaff it and land it without it ever being hooked!
Then it happened again!, 10 minutes later we had another rockfish on and another large Ling cod swallowed it, we boated him too!
These events on a charter are not occurring every time you go fishing, you never know what you might catch...and that is one of the amazing things about fishing in southeast Alaska and with Baranof, the possibilities are always there!
Corona Virus Update 2.3.2023
Even in the remote islands of Southeast Alaska, COVID-19 poses risks. The health and safety of our guests, employees, and community are our top priorities. We have put special measures in place to keep people safe on excursions:
The safety of our customers is paramount, so we’re also not going to walk away from common sense guidelines such as:
- Vaccination – We believe vaccines provide safe and effective protection against COVID-19. We strongly encourage vaccination and boosters for all employees, and the vast majority are currently vaccinated against COVID 19
- Social distance – We strive to keep groups separated as much as possible during the licensing and outfitting process, but our real strength in social distancing is based on the size of our boats. With only six passengers per vessel and one captain they spend time with, the risks of exposure are limited.
- Masking – We abide by the federal mandate for passenger vessels, masks are required for the duration of the tour while in enclosed cabins. That being said, there is quite a lot of airflow even on our hardtops which are typically open to the back deck. Masking may be required at times for vulnerable guests on a case-by-case basis.
- Stringent Cleaning – We’ve increased the frequency of disinfecting surfaces and high traffic areas such as the Alaska Fish House restaurant, bathrooms, the outfitting room, the dock, and our boats. Hand sanitizer will be available to all guests on every boat.
- Wellness Checks:
- Employees receive daily wellness checks to ensure they are healthy and symptom-free.
- Employees are empowered to call in sick if they show symptoms.
- If you or anyone in your group is experiencing symptoms, we will work directly with you to cancel or reschedule your tour free of charge.
These protocols have enabled Baranof Fishing Excursions to operate safely and successfully throughout 2020, 2021 and 2022. With your help, we intend to continue fishing safely in 2023!
