Salmon Fishing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ketchikan is known as “The Salmon Capital of the World”, and for good reason!  Our all day guests and cruise guests alike enjoy the thrill of salmon fishing in Ketchikan.  King Salmon are available all year, but we begin targeting them in May and they peak in June.  King salmon are the largest, and put up an emmense fight.  Here is a video of a king salmon fight in Ketchikan.  July brings our early run of Coho salmon, and the beginning of pinks and chums.  A grab bag month when all of the species are available.  August is wide open with pinks and they are aggressive!  The end of August through October we turn again to our Coho salmon.

King Salmon (Chinook, blackmouth, spring)

Kings are the largest, most prized salmon in Alaska.  They have the lowest numbers and can be very elusive.  Trolling whole herring or metal lures (spoons) at depths typically between 30-100 feet, we target “The King” of salmon May through early July.  Kings are targeted near bait.  Schools of herring “ball up” when they are threatened by predators.  Years of experience and top of the line electronics combine to find the bait that will hold a King near it.  Once bait is found, the task is to stay on it and work the gear.  Depth, speed, leader length, and so much more comes into play.  Fishing for salmon in Ketchikan can be a game of inches and angles, and that is where our experience comes in!  Let us take you to your Ketchikan King salmon!

Coho salmon (silver)

Coho salmon show up in great numbers in and around Ketchikan.  They are targeted with cut plug herring, spoons, hoochies, and spinners.  Coho are excellent eating and great fighters.  By the time some people get to a rod, a Coho has run away from the boat, back at the boat, and are in mid air trying to throw the hook.  Very erratic, some Coho fights seem to be 50% in the water and 50% putting on an airshow!  They pull hard and know a load of tricks to get a hook out of their mouth.  In the Ketchikan area, we have a run of Coho that hits in early July.  They move through, and the later run fires up about mid August and continues to get better into October.

Pink Salmon (humpy)

Pink salmon are the smallest of our salmon, and show up in the highest numbers each year.  They are mostly targeted using HotSpot flashers and small hoochies.  Pinks are a favorite among many cruise ship passengers simply because they are aggressive feeders and provide alot of action in a short time.  They carry a liberal limit of 6 per person.  Pinks can be a trick to land because of their soft mouths and head shaking just out of reach of the net.

Chum Salmon (Dog, Keta)

Excellent fighting; that’s what comes to mind when I think of Chum salmon.  They attack, pull hard, make great runs, and refuse to give up.  Chums have a light, mild meat and are great eating for those that don’t enjoy the stronger flavors of Kings and Silvers.  They are fished fairly deep with flashers and hoochies.  When we find a good school, be prepared to get worn out!

Farmed Salmon (Atlantic, Trash, Garbage, Unhealthy, Dyed, Disgusting)

No, we don’t go fishing for them…just figured I would let people know what my personal thoughts of these fish are.  Come catch your Wild Alaskan Salmon and you may just think the same!