July 8th, 2008 — Boating, Fishing, King Salmon, Tips and Tricks
If you are up for a challenge, there is nothing like the feeling of being able to land a king salmon. These fish have an incredible amount of fight in them and they will really make you work to land them. There are however some techniques that you can use to greatly increase your chances of reeling in a monster king salmon.
The first step is knowing when to try your hand.
While it is possible to fish for king salmon all year round, you won’t always be successful. If it is too cold out, your odds of landing one are greatly reduced. Try to schedule your fishing trips for the warmer months when the fish are more active and much more likely to take your bait. If you are traveling to Alaska for some fishing, this is particularly true. While there are many fish that can be caught in winter, the king salmon isn’t one of them.
Next up, you’ll need to remember that king salmon like to swim very deep in the water.
It is common to find one about 100 feet down. You’ll need to bring the right equipment with you in order to be successful. This means heavier lures, longer lines and a pole that can withstand the weight of this fish which can weigh in excess of one hundred pounds. There is nothing more frustrating than hooking a king salmon, only to have it get the best of your pole.
You’re also going to want to focus on your bait and try a few different techniques.
By far the best bait to use for a king salmon is frozen herring. You will notice a big difference in your success rate if you’re using this bait. Use a downrigger poll, and set up several different poles if you are really serious about making the catch. If you’re not familiar with a downrigger lure, it’s a very heavy contraption that can withstand the weight of a salmon. It’s got a heavy cable that can be attached to your line with a clip. This is by far the best type of pole to use.
Patience, as with any fish, is the key to catching a king salmon.
It’s a great idea to keep a little log of your various attempts and see which ones work the best. A fishing diary is a lot of fun to keep and you can learn a lot through the months as you go back over your past adventures. Try starting up a conversation with other king salmon fishers and see what they are using and what is working for them. With trial, error and a lot of patience, you will be able to land this monster fish and enjoy the fruits of your labors for many meals to come. King Salmon are well worth the effort, so don’t forget to bring your camera along. You’re going to want to record this catch for your next big fish tale.
Photo Credits: 1
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May 2nd, 2008 — Fishing, environment
The Kona Kampachi is a sustainable farmed yellowtail with zero detectable mercury or PCBs. Last week after finding Kona Blue Water Farms I order 4 fillets.
The fish arrived 2 days ago fresh, not frozen, packed on ice straight from Hawaii. The fish had been swimming in the ocean about 36 hours before…
The fillets where from 2 fish and therefore 2 different sizes… The day the fish arrived we made sashimi out of 2 of the fillets (the smaller ones). The flesh was white and of a firm but tender texture. If you have every had outstanding hamachi sashimi the flesh of this fish was indistinguishable. It was OUTSTANDING. I have never had better yellowtail sashimi. It was fresh clean delicate taste. It really did blow me away. The next night we took one of the larger fillets ad grilled it on the barbi with a ginger say marinade. The flesh held up without question to the grill. Tonight we plan on searing the remain fillet and I have no doubt that it too will be out of this world.
Sustainable harvesting fish is a must if we intend to continue to have fish from the ocean. The entire west coast salmon season is closed in an attempt to revive the population of Sacramento valley King Salmon. This fish is not only delicious and delieved fresh to your door it is not harming the environment or depleting wild fish stocks.
Do you part only eat sustainable harvest fish… They are delicious.
Photo Credits: Kona Blue Water Farms
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January 29th, 2008 — Delta, Sacramento, Salmon, San Francisco Bay
California Salmon are disappearing. The number of King Salmon (aka the Chinook) returning to the Sacramento watershed was at a near record low low and an 88% drop from the population 5 years ago. Calif. salmon population declines.
Regulators are still trying to understand the reasons for the shrinking number of spawners; some scientists believe it could be related to changes in the ocean linked to global warming.
Some fishermen and environmentalists believe the sharp decline is related to increased water exports from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, which supplies drinking water to millions of people in dry Southern California, as well as irrigation for America’s most fertile farming region.
“It’s time to reduce pumping of delta waters before we destroy the fish and wildlife species we appreciate so much in California,” said Mike Sherwood, an attorney for Earthjustice.
Only about 90,000 returning adult salmon were counted in the Central Valley in 2007, the second lowest number on record, the memo said. The population was at 277,000 in 2006 and 804,000 five years ago.
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“The magnitude of the low abundance … is such that the opening of all marine and freshwater fisheries impacting this important salmon stock will be questioned,” he said.
It’s only the second time in 35 years that the Central Valley has not met the agency’s conservation goal of 122,000 to 180,000 returning fish, according to the council, which regulates Pacific Coast fisheries.
More worrisome is that only about 2,000 2-year-old juvenile chinooks — used to predict returns of adult spawners in the coming season — returned to the Central Valley last year, by far the lowest number ever counted. On average, about 40,000 juveniles, or “jacks,” return each year.
Salmon that spawn in Central Valley rivers form the backbone of the West Coast’s commercial and recreational salmon fishery and are caught by fishermen from Southern California to British Columbia.
“Sacramento fish are really what the fishery depends on,” said Chuck Tracy, the council’s salmon management officer.
Not long ago, salmon restoration efforts in the Sacramento watershed were being touted as a wildlife management success story. But recent years have seen populations dwindle in many Western rivers, and scientists are trying to understand why.
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January 25th, 2008 — Rocky Point, Salmon, San Francisco Bay, Sea Turtle Sport Fishing
These Chinook Salmon (aka King Salmon) were caught by a by the husband and wife team of Mr. and Mrs. Rick Mars aboard the Sea Turtle Sport Fishing (story below)
Rick Mars and his Wife are the anglers in the picture. During the summer months, Rick goes out on the my boat, The Sea Turtle, as a regular especially when the fishin’ gets hot.
I remember that was a Wednesday a couple years ago off… We were fishing off Rocky Point along the Marin coastline. The weather was perfect during that July and the ocean was calm with no wind and blue skies. Two party boats were working the area Skipper Jimmy Robertson’s The Outer limits and Captain Jacky Douglas’s Wacky Jacky. On Wednesdays, Jacky calls the Chronicle to give a up date on the fishing and up to that point in the week the fishing had been a little slow. Needless to say a good news is what we were hoping for when it was time for the Chronicle call-in…
We three where circling the area and both of the Party boat Skippers had a few fish aboard. I couldn’t get a strike for hours, patience is the game, then it was my turn, the Mars family caught both of these 30lb fish within minutes. The best show that I never got on film was another decent Salmon that was lost… when a Great White showed up!!! It was a awesome sight when the big shark exploded the surface and inhaled the fish!
Rick and his Wife where in the Whopper report for the week and we came back to Sausalito with a couple nice Smokers. Perry
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Join Captain Perry Kerson of Sea Turtle Sport Fishing 6 pack trips focusing on catching world class sport fish in and around the waters of the Golden Gate including the Marin County Coast, San Mateo County, the Gulf of the Farallones, and San Francisco Bay. The Sea Turtle fishes out of the Clipper Yacht Harbor — Sausalito, CA
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January 23rd, 2008 — Farallon Islands, Point Reyes, Salmon, San Francisco Bay, Sausalito, Sea Turtle Sport Fishing
This King Salmon was caught by a well know local angler Joesph Meiswinkle Captain Perry’s favorite angler of anglers. This fish was caught by Sea Turtle Sport Fishing (story below)
Last season we were following a school of year old fish, feeding in the large area between Point Reyes and the Farallon Islands in 250 ft a water. On this particular day, the feeding school of fish was outside of North Buoy.
It was mid September and it was great fishin’… flat water and a pretty good bite. The majority of the skippers on the VHF where happy campers for a change. There was lots of action for their customers and the deckhands were netting fish. For me it felt like old times where here again…
I had 5 old Buds aboard the Sea Turtle and once the action started we had no problem getting our limits. I usually find when the fish are on the bite, one rod will be getting few more strikes than others, however this trip everybody got to catch their limits… I am told that this particular Chinook was mighty tasty.
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Join Captain Perry Kerson of Sea Turtle Sport Fishing 6 pack trips focusing on catching world class sport fish in and around the waters of the Golden Gate including the Marin County Coast, San Mateo County, the Gulf of the Farallones, and San Francisco Bay. The Sea Turtle fishes out of the Clipper Yacht Harbor — Sausalito, CA
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January 21st, 2008 — Clipper Yacht Harbor, Dungeness Crab, Duxbury, Salmon, San Francisco Bay, Sea Turtle Sport Fishing
The team fish is a King Salmon (aka Chinook) upper 30lb range was caught last summer with Captain Perry of Sea Turtle Fishing Charters. The big male Chinook was caught by the Hess Brothers and was a real surprise, for all… (story below)
We had just put out our Crab pots in 100 or so feet of water outside of Duxbury reef on the opening of Dungeness Crab season, usually have a few salmon/crab combo trips during salmon season. However this years lack of fish & crab we where not expecting much… (lately more fishing less catching.)
When leaving the area that the pots where soaking, I had Joe get one of my Fly Rods out that I troll with. (see my article: Kings on the Cutting Edge) my technique of trolling with long leaders & large herring on size 12wt, fly rods can be deadly on the big fish late in the season.
This case it fooled one, real take down strike and Rick Hess had a unforgettable battle on his hands for a good half hour. It takes little practice; however once angler gets handle using my method using the liter tackle, feeling the fish’s every movement and having better control , they never want to to go back to conventional rods & reels again. When the fish was ready Brother Joe did a professional job scooping the fish and all crew big smiles when the fish was safe in the box. Sorry to say that was the only strike; however, all aboard where happy.
Went back to our way points where our crab where and pulled up a dozen or so keepers. Not bad considering how poor the fishin’ & crabin’ was on the opener. All had a great day on the Sea Turtle.
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Join Captain Perry Kerson of Sea Turtle Sport Fishing 6 pack trips focusing on catching world class sport fish in and around the waters of the Golden Gate including the Marin County Coast, San Mateo County, the Gulf of the Farallones, and San Francisco Bay. The Sea Turtle fishes out of the Clipper Yacht Harbor — Sausalito, CA
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