tacorajim
2010-09-26 20:40:14
I keep checking this site to see how this summer's trolling was in SE.
I keep checking this site to
I keep checking this si.....
I keep checking.......
yak2you2
2010-09-27 03:05:49
Kings were pretty slow, but coho was good, on this end at least. Not every day was on, but when it was, it got pretty furious at times. Price held up fair enough to make a living, but the absolute highlight was the weather. Without a doubt the nicest fall I've ever seen. 2-3 weeks of 70 + degrees every day, starting on the first of Sept. Absolutely beautiful.
Fish were finally back up where their supposed to be, which made it a lot easier for us hand crankers. It was better than average, for me at least.
How was the Albacore gig?
tacorajim
2010-09-27 16:33:18
I see. Case.........
Sitka's awful quiet. Maybe I'll have to wait for CFEC/ADF&G to post their quartiles.
Albacore is ongoing. October can shape a whole season, weather permitting. But so far its between spotty and average with lousy weather from 40-100 miles offshore. Lucrative prices. $2000/ton Iced or brine froze -- to $2800/ton for blast frozen.
Most of the smaller boats (40ft or so) opted for salmon instead of tuna this year. Much better weather in on the beach. $6/lb. Good fishing despite the weekly closures. Had salmon trolling been open from June through mid-September, there would be many six figure seasons. So much for lopsided quotas.
Salty
2010-09-30 14:58:18
Been traveling with the computer off. Finally decided to check the site
with my new iPhone.
The season for most of the Sitka fleet was mixed. Tough weather and spotty fishing in July and August. Unprecedented crowding and gouging in April and in the chum fishery. The most beautiful Sept. In my life of 61 years in SE. Beautiful coho and a decent price.
In some ways it was one of my most enjoyable.and productive. In others it was quite frustrating fishing nearly every day in congestion. The chums were especially finicky this year which led to a great difference in catch rates and even more frustration.
salmonintern
2010-10-06 04:37:06
after all, i'm just a new comer, but sheeze who ever Saltie is, that guy has is funny. My skipper has trolled for years, but he fished in traffic this year, and it's got him pissed.
Not only has it the traffic got him pissed, he's also buying a totally new set of trolling poles - both bow poles and mains. He figures he's going to teach those idiots from sitka a leason, and if it takes a trade of poles, he's willing to do that.
Salty
2010-10-06 15:51:20
I remember watching a guy putting heavier stays on his already beefy rigging and asked him if it was for the tough weather. He said, "No, it is for my next collision at Snipe. That was thirty years ago.
My new mantra is to avoid collisions whatever it takes. Avoid the pack as much as possible in depth, space, time, and route. And don't take umbrage or hold grudges. Most Trollers are trolling instead of gillnetting or seining because they prefer the space. I don't know where this guy had difficulty with the "Sitka" fleet but we seem to be everywhere in SE. I fished from Ketchikan to Icy Straits this year and there were Sitka boats everywhere. One time I counted 8 abreast at Neets Bay and not one was in my group.
Mm
Salty
2010-10-06 16:19:25
The other thing is that chum fishing is usually chaos and mayhem to a degree I have only seen at Pt. Dundas on the last of the flood or on a few days on the Sitka winter line with 100 boats and lots of fish. In chum trolling heavier rigging isn't the answer as a collision at one knot doesn't break things, it just leads to close quarter confrontation. I have never been in that situation but with my son who is body builder and wrestling champion at 260 lbs I imagine I am in good shape for it.
It is so frustrating in the chum fishery because the slow speed means the same spacing in time is half the distance. A guy used to the space courtesy of a coho or king drag might take umbrage at someone moving in front of him in space that he might not think twice about in time. Also a lot of the fleet is using drags to slow themselves down anddon' have the maneuverability of others.