2011 summer season wrap up
Salty
2011-09-14 21:26:22
Fellow trollers, I thought I would start this thread on how 2011 went. I hope it won't depress AK troll permit prices and boat values too much.
I guess the season for me can be summed up this way: "The long windy lumpy wet scratch for small salmon."
While there were some bright spots, which I might relate after a few days, the overall feeling as I wrap things up is one of disappointment and frustration.
The final blow was an infestation of mice we picked up in Traitors Cove that led to nightly battles and evictions.
How was your 2011 season?
itchyscratchy
2011-09-15 01:33:53
I guess what's why they call it "fishing" and not "catching"
Abundance
2011-09-17 05:43:03
Hehe, "The long windy lumpy wet scratch for small salmon." Perfect. I can't think of a better way to describe this season. I have never had a summer where it was just so hard to find cohos. And they were almost half normal size too. Some people did quite well I hear, just persistently grinding away until a spot paid off, but I just couldn't keep my enthusiasm up fishing in that dang slop out there. The weather was uncommonly brutal this year. There was very nice batch of kings out there for the stouthearted, and I did have one of my best king salmon days ever. Without them I would sure be broke right now. But kings can't really make a season on there own. I could keep complaining, but the fact is I survived. That's fishing for you. I've just got to hold out until next year. Maybe winter kings will hold me over. At least my boat's paid for and my permit is squared away. If I had payments to make this year, I would would be crying indeed. Now maybe somebody has a cheery story to tell? We could use it.
dvharman
2011-09-18 17:18:38
Anyone like to post their catch numbers along with real days and hours put in
Salty
2011-09-19 18:01:30
When I am doing well it is arrogant to post my numbers. When I have a season like this one I am too embarrassed to post any numbers.
I will say this: My top chum day was the smallest in at least 20 years. My top Chinook day was 25% of my top day one time. My top coho day was 33% of my top coho day one year.
Fortunately I did not fight the ocean this summer, but it was still miserable. I think in one 48 hour period over 10 inches of rain fell on my boat.
In Northern SE it was a good year to be fishing with a net instead of trolling hooks.
itchyscratchy
2011-09-19 22:14:23
Haa...That's funny.
As I grew up fishing, the worst dockside offense was to ask someone about fish data - unless you'd paid for their beer all night. As well, you've got to understand fisherman never lie, and always tell the truth. I can honestly say I tell nothing but the truth and like to start most of my fishing stories with the preface of
" This is a true story and part of it actually happened"
With that said, I can honestly say, my time fishing was alocated to 15% chum, 20% coho, 5% Kings, 5 % humpies, and 55% towards napping.
btw, did you my story about the one that go away?
Sheeze.
carojae
2011-09-20 06:06:13
North end report: guppies
salmontroll
2011-09-21 04:48:40
it was ok.. I caught around 12000 coho, 900 kings, but the price wasn't that great... : )
Salty
2011-09-21 17:37:38
Salmon troll, nice of you to report your poundage.
salmontroll
2011-09-21 20:09:06
ha ha.. yeah.. In my dreams, believe me!
Carol W
2011-09-30 18:05:02
Well I finally got away from my floating palace, so my season is over however because the small coho didn't replenish my bank account to the level to carry me thru so my hooks will go back into the water around Oct 11. Yes I caught Kings on both the 1st and 2nd opening, but I shook a lot and like most trollers who have fished a long time I feel betrayed and that the promiss to increase our harvest as abundance increases hasn't been kept, it was really evident this year. At times it seemed as if the primary specie coming up on my hooks was King salmon and they were everywhere I fished. Just a shame.
The weather what can a guy say other than move over Sig, my boat isn't steel and I don't ice up, on opening day I think it blew 50 where I was and the ocean wasn't pretty. I am one of the guys who fished coho right to the end and on my last night it blew 70 I drug anchor 5 times, the last time was at 11:30 at night I wound up out in Clarence Strait beyond the 50 fathom line trying to get the anchor up which didn't want to come up i think i had hooked something with it. I don't know how high the waves were or how hard it was blowing however I can say I never want to repeat that experience.
Speaking of coho what a disapointment as we all know they were small and not on the bite consistantly, and then they showed up in force in the last 2 weeks all and all my coho number wasn't that bad I have seen better but the total number was on the low end of average. Which brings up a thought with so many trollers doing other things than coho fish the criteria that the dept uses to manage our fishery becomes somewhat obsolete, and other aspects of management of our fishery need to account for less gear on the ocean.
I am happy that the chum trollers were so prosperous but the chum trollers need to remember that it is not the only way and that thru their pursuit of chums and oppurtunity to increase their harvest of chum is having ramifications on the traditional troll fishery and we are in uncharted waters.
Keep your hand on it
Tom
Salty
2011-10-05 19:11:55
Tom,
I hear you and brought the fact up with the dept. that several things were reducing coho harvest unrelated to abundance.
1. It is hard to catch coho in a 30-42 foot troller off shore when it is 10 foot seas and blowing 20 plus knots day after day.
2. It is hard to catch good numbers of coho when there is a darn pink on every hook.
3. It is hard to catch coho when there are king salmon infesting the best drags and the feed.
4. Fleet production is going to be down when the Aljac is fishing chums all season.
5. Fleet production is going to be down when almost 200 trollers are fishing chums in Icy Straits and Behm Canal.
6. Fleet production is going to be down when coho average 5.5 pounds and the small coho price is stagnant.
7. It is hard to catch coho in the bite when you have 10 plus pollock a line.
8. It is hard to catch coho in some of the drags due to sea lions running the trollers off.
9. It is hard to have a good trip when 100 plus trollers descend on the bite within 24 hours.
10. It is hard to have a good trip when the darn coho aren't feeding. (What is with all these empty coho bellies?)
11. It is hard to have good coho production when the dog fish are all over the gear and ripping apart the small coho.
12. It is hard to get coho bites when the chum and pink fishermen are trolling 1.5 knots on the drag.
13. It is hard to get good coho bites in the midst of a bunch of seiners.
What do you think Tom? Do any of these reasons add up to a lower coho troll harvest regardless of abundance?
Salty
2011-10-05 20:01:04
Tom,
Thanks for bringing the "traditional troll fishery". I went trolling in 1950 and have been trolling at least part of every summer since. Several trollers over the years have mentioned the "traditional troll fishery". I suspect the definition of tradition might help here:
1.
2.something that is handed down: the traditions of the Eskimos.
3.a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting: The rebellious students wanted to break with tradition.
4.a continuing pattern of culture beliefs or practices.
5.a customary or characteristic method or manner: The winner took a victory lap in the usual track tradition.
Recently a troll highliner who I highly respect told me he was a "King and coho" as opposed to being a "chum" troller. I thought for a minute and told him I thought of myself as a "salmon" troller. But upon further reflection I realized that was not really true as a good part of my income "trolling" comes from lingcod and rockfish. "Traditionally" if you go back to the beginning of the troll fishery in SE Alaska in the 1920's, a good part of the troll income was from "trolling" halibut. A good part of my youth was spent cleaning troll caught halibut.
What I am concerned about is that many trollers who entered the fishery after the US Canada Salmon Treaty and the subsequent reduction of the Chinook season think that Alaska trolling is about Chinook and coho and that much of the summer season they are expected to harvest coho and "shake" everything else. I would suggest that the "coho only" fishery is not the "traditional" troll fishery but an aberration brought about by, as you pointed out, a flawed treaty. The collapse of the pink and chum values in the late 90's and early 2000 period reduced trollers targeting those salmon but I would hold that was also an aberration in the overall picture of troll harvest since the 20's and particularly since the 70's. Personally, pinks have been a good part of my troll income ever since I started hand trolling seriously in 1978. My first day hand trolling in 1978 I caught over 400 pinks and loaded my 19 foot boat. I started targeting chums in 1985. To me, the "traditional troll fishery", includes all species of Pacific Salmon and some lingcod and rockfish.
I think it is important for trollers to think about how they define themselves and the fisheries allocation ramifications that could come from that self definition. I like to think the "traditional troll fishery" is
What do you think?
saltyfish
2011-10-06 19:30:35
Sounds like the tuna season down here in oregon, except we got a good price.
Abundance
2011-10-08 06:09:47
Mr. Jordan, i have to say thanks for saying something that weighed on me since I started fishing. It always seemed to me that the troll fishery was paralyzed by apathy in the nineties, but I kind of think that this 2011 season has been a game changer for the fleet. It sure was for me. I have never shook a fish loose in my life that I didn't have to by law, not from greed so much as that I believe most don't survive the process. Humpies have always paid for my fuel, but this year I made more money on them then I did cohos some trips. Most of the boats that I fished around were keeping them, even some of the old hard headed bigots who think that everything but a king salmon is trash. The conditions this year, as we all know, were not favorable for the coho fleet. I stupidly stuck to the ocean until almost the end, even though my uncle and my Dad were absolutely murdering the dogs. I just didn't feel like getting outside of my comfort zone. But I did get a taste of the action back in by Neets before the season ended, and I have learned a little bit more about fishing. And one of the the things I learned is, chum trolling is trolling too. Its not an alien fishery that we have to worry about changing the balance of power. A person can do it, and then do something else the next day. Chums are fish to chase when its worth it to do so. If cohos are 2.50 a pound, go do that instead. I am a bit curious about the rockfish though. I knew that they were legal to keep, and in fact illegal to turn loose, but I had a terrible time getting the plant to take them. They refused the first time, and then just paid me .25 a pound for the rest of the season, grudgingly. They ended up just being worth more as food for me then to sell. Do you have your own market, or are the Sitka buyers reasonable? Were are allowed to have an unlimited catch of pelagic rockfish, and that always seemed to be something to think about. There is a buyer in China that I talked to last year that was very interested in frozen black rockfish. I was thinking about getting my e-landing registration with NOAA and giving it a try.
Salty
2011-10-08 16:19:52
Thanks, we seem to be on the same wave length. With the summer salmon seine fishery managed on pink abundance you have to figure that over time the most abundant species in SE will be pinks. With Silver Bay and Trident, in particular, finding new markets for pinks they are steadily becoming more valuable. Rumors have it that the round seine price for pinks this year might crack $0.60.
I do not target rockfish, but I take them when they come and both the co-op and Sitka Sound Seafoods here in Sitka pay us $0.35 plus. It seems like the majority of my rockfish are Silver Grey, Yellow Tail, and Duskies. Sometimes I will get into good numbers of black bass when I am fishing King and coho on the coast. But, I don't fish kings or coho on the coast much anymore. One day this summer.
Here is what I think is seriously handicapping the troll fleet. Dressing small coho. I believe it is hurting both the quality of the product and troll production. I believe a well bled round small coho chilled within 5 minutes and delivered within 36 hours or so, to the processor is a better product than a small coho sitting on deck for 30-40 minutes, cleaned in a rush, then either on the deck or in the slaughter house for more time, and finally layer iced. I think small coho handling are the main reason for tunnel carpal and part of the reason for the stagnant coho price.
Personally, I would rather have experienced ambitious crew harvesting fish and efficient onshore processors heading and gutting them. But then I am so far outside the envelope on this one that it hurts my credibility on other ideas where the envelope of peer understanding is starting to take them in. You should have seen the uproar at the dock this summer when I delivered some round coho, which I had arranged with the manager. He had to take back his offer to buy my round coho because employee after employee came up to him with reasons why buying round coho from trollers was not a good idea. Reminds me of when I started delivering round pinks in both Sitka and Cross Sound.
Finally, I am sure there are harvest opportunities for rockfish off shore of SE Alaska. Some work has already been done on gear and marketing. I am sure there is still quite a learning curve for someone getting into it but the resource is out there. Go for it.
KimberlyAnn
2011-10-08 18:37:00
Hello fellas , i enjoy reading everything you guys talk about learning everything i can and the termanolagy you use is mind boggling , i can usealy figure out what is ment , but may i ask what is a round Coho ? i know what a Coho is but the round part i dont .
Capt. Midnite
2011-10-08 20:16:29
A fish in the round is a fish which has not been gutted.
lone eagle
2011-10-08 20:50:34
And a gutted fish is 'dressed'
KimberlyAnn
2011-10-08 20:58:03
Thats what i was thinking but wasnt sure , thanks for the info , i some times feel embarrassed to ask such stupid questions :oops:
Kelper
2011-10-09 16:51:12
My season?
I fished the first 5 days of the July king opener, hand trolling out of my 19' Skiff. Had a good pound getting to and from my bite with the weather that showed up the first few days. Managed to find a 8fa drag in flat water that filled my tote every day with kings by 8am, but I earned every pound with what I has to go through just to get there and home. I never found cohos close enough to town to get serous about them. Had the time of my life though. Nothing like pulling kings in a small skiff.
Salty
2011-10-09 18:03:18
I hear you, I did that onetime with rods out of a 19 foot handtroller. 1979 I think it was. Didn't fill up my tote but I did have five that totaled 130 pounds dressed though. Also found some one year on an 8 fathom drag on opening day that was really fun. Nothing like big kings in shallow water.
Missed out on that this July and August.
John Murray
2011-10-09 23:37:28
One thing that was missing in the coho stomach was the baby pollack.Didn't see any this season.Krill and /or herring or nothing with a little mix of misc sometimes was what was around Sitka south.Don't know wear the pollack come from but this was the first summer I can remember there was a no show.Add that to the 70 million plus pinks that were swimming around you get small thin belly coho.After reading the latest Fishermans News about Pollack declines out west I have to wonder if there is a relationship?
kjwelder
2011-10-14 02:20:02
Always appriciate your perspective. Well done and thanks,
kj
Salty
2011-10-14 06:01:51
Believe it or not the kings are getting smaller. My first three days averaged less than 10 pounds and I had onre over 20.
ericv
2011-10-14 18:02:24
First off, a word to Tele. I bookmarked your Nerkasalmon site and a big "Thank You" for your writing prose and ability to truly describe our life - Absolutely great work and don't ever stop your gift with the pen, our fisheries and brains grow healthy with your words.
Summer 2011 was indeed an interesting year. It was the least amount of time I logged with gear in the water in over 20 years. Jimmy Buffet wrote that endearing song "A Pirate Looks at 40". Mine is a "Power Troller Looks at 50" (a number I have since surpassed) My full time, land-lubber job (which I am grateful to have) saw significant changes that cut deeply into available time. Other realities and priorities took a heavy bite away from fishing time as well. I do not see any change on the horizon for a least another 7 to 8 years. The F/V New Hope will be seen less on the horizon and sadly she may be in need of a new home. The "Intent To Sell" paperwork is filed and the day it made the ADF&G website I was called by a broker in Newport, Oregon. She had a buyer willing and able to wait out the 60 days before the permit could be transferred. I took a deep breath, paused and told her, not now, I'd let her know in the future. A guy like me just can't toss 25 years of the life I love and 50+ years on NW waters away so easily. Over 5 generations of seafaring from Bergen to Ballard simply doesn't vanish in my blood and never will.
In the years of trolling out of Sitka, Summer 2011 was the first time that I did not fish the outside on both King openers - not that I didn't try. On both openers I nearly lost a wheelhouse window due to breaking seas before I could turn-tail and seek inner waters. I've seen death and maiming all too much in my line of full time work. With this, family and wisdom, I simply don't take the risks of my younger days. Each year I tape a current family photo of my wife and 2 sons right smack dab above my helm. Above the photo, in big letters is the word "Priorities". So, I fell back to my HT days, ran 2 wires on inside drags that ranged from 30 fathoms to 3. Production was slim but it did bring a smile to my tired soul to coax several nice Kings from their sleepy inland kelpy beds.
The coho's as we know were small and appeared malnourished. However, on the July 2nd, I caught a single coho that was 11 lbs dressed and 27" long which I showed to the ADF&G person at Sitka Sound Seafoods. She whisked it away to do further studies. I did have a memorable 2 day trip off Kruzof Is. Weather and fish all cooperated and everything flowed like a smooth tide. The New Hope enjoyed a heavy, fish ballasted ride home on mill pond, sunny waters. I hold on to that vision to wash out the days that were terribly slim.
To all my fellow trollers, keep in mind the words of Tele. Even though the Summer of 2011 was a boom for some or a bust for others, we are in my mind the purest form of fisheries. For those of us dipping our toes into the winter Kings, may you find a few calm days and lines that clatter and keep you in the pit.
Eric - F/V New Hope - Sitka
Salty
2011-10-15 04:18:01
Tele, Thank you so much for your writing. The spirit of trolling that my mother so loved to write about is recaptured in your prose. Carry on.
Thanks for all your contributions Eric. I have had a few of those trips when it "flowed". You capture the difficulty in leaving the fishery so well.
Going to take a few days off and lick the freshest 2011 troll season wound. 9 pound average king trip. The scar will be permanent.
kalitan97828
2011-11-05 01:35:35
Some totals from the ADF&G are of interest. This year 456 permits delivered 637,632 chums. During the season a total of 1137 permits made salmon deliveries composed of 378 hand trollers and 759 power trollers. If each chum was worth about $6.00 that would make the value of the fishery over $4 million dollars. A lot of pinks were also caught by vessels targeting chums.
Salty
2011-11-05 20:14:58
There seem to be a variety of troll chum totals this year. 630- 680 seem to be the parameters though.
Abundance
2011-11-05 21:02:12
[url=http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=commercialbyareasoutheast.salmon_harvestbygear][url]http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=commercialbyareasoutheast.salmon_harvestbygear, 872 troll permits delivered chums last year. How many of that were from the directed fishery, it doesn't say. The number of fishermen who started keeping pinks was also encouraging.
I can't imagine how anyone could fish for Cohos and not catch a few chums.
Abundance
2011-11-06 01:39:08
Neither can I, but apparently not everyone kept them. 1031 permits sold kings and 1024 sold cohos, so there is a significant gap there. How many boats targeted chums is really the question, I have no idea. I believe it peaked at 184 permits at Neets Bay, but with Icy Straight and Sitka Sound in the mix, it must have been a hefty chunk of the fleet.
Salty
2011-11-06 18:36:35
I was thinking total troll chums, not trollers targeting chums. These are good figures on the total numbers of trollers delivering salmon, thank you.
Lunasea
2011-11-20 15:41:41
The small coho size was a major issue for all of us, but does anyone else remember the cohos in June in Icy Strait? They were big fat round beautiful hogs :D , especially for June! We were catching 100 a day sometimes while also pulling in dogs/humpies. We thought maybe we were in for a stellar coho year, like 2008 (I think it was...) when they were huge. But alas, it was not meant to be! It all went downhill for cohos after that. I never thought I'd say it, but hooray for humpies! (I used to threaten to my husband that I'd quit if we ever fished humpies, but we figured it out this year and oh boy was that ever fun!) And hooray for dogs too. They definitely saved our season, as we couldn't find cohos to save our life in August! Good thing we had that trip planned to Hawaii and we got to quit in late August!