Fishing Updates

July 2, 2007

More rain and big tides were the biggest impact on the fishing this week.  As expected the King fishing dropped.  We only kept two kings, the rest were all under sized.  Also, Fish and Game opened the commercial fishery for kings in the outside waters on July 1 which would slow down the migration of kings to the inside.  The run for us is over and we only expect to catch a few incidental kings until this fall.

Silver fishing was about the same as the previous week with 58 fish taken versus 63 the week before.

Chums dropped from 264 the previous week to 178 this past week.  This drop is consistent with chum catches from previous years.  As the pink and silver catch increases the chum catch declines.  If we use the number of jumping fish sighted as an indicator of fish presence I would say the chums are still here, but the increased presence of pinks and there more willingness to take the bait, is a large factor in the reduced chum catch.

The pink salmon catch increase from 277 the previous week to 385 last week.  We see lots of pinks jumping and some evidence they are starting to school in front for several of the streams.  Pink catches should continue to grow for the next couple of weeks.

Last week had big tides.  Big tides mean strong currents which in turn means difficulty keeping your bait on the bottom.  The result is lower halibut catches.  In areas where the current was not a strong the halibut fishing was consistent and indicates the presence of lots of fish.  Data continues to indicate a normal halibut year.  With these natural events impacting the catch our numbers of halibut taken were down about 30% from the previous week.

I put this part at the end of this report but I think it's worth being aware of recent actions that could have a big impact on the sport catch of halibut.  You may be aware that this year the Charter Boats have been limited in their sport catches (Doc Warner's is considered a 'Boat Rental' rather than Charter Boat operation).  The new regulations allow fishermen on Charter Boats to catch two halibut per day, one of which must be under 32 inches.  The purpose is to save more of the larger fish for the commercial fishermen.  The commercial interests are not satisfied with this change and now want an even more restrictive sport catch of halibut.

Limits on halibut are controlled by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC).  The Council is made up of Federal and Provincial officials from the US and Canada, representatives from the fish processing industry, Fish & Game representatives from California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska, and commercial fishermen.  A description of the Council and its membership are listed on the above web site.  You will note that the vast majority of voting members represent commercial fishing interests.  If you are interested in trying to help turn this tide back toward more favorable rulings for Sport Fishermen I suggest you do several things. Learn from the Council web site shown above.  Learn the sport fishing side from "Recreational Fisheries Alliance" (RFA) based out of Washington, DC.  RFA is very effective in representing sports fishermen.  There are also State RFA Chapters in many states.  You can also go to the web sites of  the various Fish & Game agencies and contact either the Commissioners Office or Commercial Fishing Offices to find how to make input into the process.  (We have a link to Alaska Department of Fish and Game on our web site.)

In June a committee of the Council listed the following as its preferred alternative for additional restrictions on Charter Boats:

Implement the following additional measures to restrict charter halibut harvest to the current Area 2C (Southeast Alaska) GHL:

1. Two-fish bag limit, with one of the two fish less than or equal to 32 inches;
2. No harvest by skipper and crew when clients are on board the charter vessel;
3. Line limits of six per vessel, not to exceed the number of paying clients on board;
   and
4. Annual limit of four fish per angler.

I believe there is considerable evidence that the current proposals from NPFMC are more aimed at reducing sport catches under the guise of protecting halibut stocks. Currently, they are just dealing with the Charter Boat industry but eventually this could affect operations such as Doc Warner's which are considered 'Boat Rentals' rather than Charter Boats.  Ultimately, the decisions on allocation will be political in nature.  Thus, the great American free enterprise system allows all of us to get involved.  See if you can make a difference.

— Doc

Previous Reports:

• June 5, 2007
• June 11, 2007
• June 18, 2007
• June 25, 2007
• 2006 Fishing Season
• 2005 Fishing Season