Welcome back to another Ketchikan Fishing Minute.
So far this year, we have focused primarily on fishing king salmon, since that run peaks in June. Around the first of July, we tend to see pinks and silvers move into our waters as the kings move out, and that has been the case this year. I often recommend mid-July as a great time to visit, because you have an opportunity at all the Pacific salmon species during that time.
I hit the water Monday morning in a Clover Pass Resort “Yellow Boat” with my friend Erik. We trolled the area out by Tatoosh rocks, and right away, I brought in my first pink salmon of the year. Usually pinks in early July are bright chrome and not showing any signs of their upcoming spawn cycle, but this one was already developing a decent hump. Over the course of the morning, we brought five more pinks in, along with one coho and one chum. Erik was utilizing a downrigger while I fished with a six ounce banana weight. Of the eight fish we brought in, six were caught on the banana weight set up.
On Wednesday, Oscar and I left Clover Pass Resort in one of the Livingston skiffs and headed to Survey Point. The Livingstons do not have downriggers, so I was again using a banana weight while Oscar dropped his line using a diving weight, in this case a Deep Six. Typically, the diving weights are better at getting your line down deeper than a banana weight can, so my line was probably closer to the surface than Oscar’s. The wide variety of salmon species was on display that morning, as I brought in three silvers, three pinks and two chum, while Oscar hit the grand slam by bringing in a king salmon to go along with his two pinks, two coho and a chum salmon!
The ability to catch numerous salmon species, and to do it easily in our fourteen foot skiffs, is another great reason to visit Silverking Lodge and Clover Pass Resort in July and early August. Our reasonably priced, self-guided packages will allow you to create memories that last a lifetime – and fill your freezer!
In addition to the weekly fishing reports, I will be developing some supplemental videos that describe a few of the techniques we use while fishing for salmon and halibut. Be sure to check back for those, and check back next Thursday for another Ketchikan Fishing Minute.