Thousands of productive salmon fishing areas dot the Pacific Coast and inland waters like a gigantic connect-the-dots painting. Anglers who connect the dots with hook and line, and spend time discovering and exploring the West Coast's vast salmon fishing areas will eventually learn about one of the most productive saltwater salmon fisheries on earth-Sitka, Alaska.

A quick glance of a map or chart reveals why Sitka ranks high on the must-fish list for hard-core salmon anglers from around the world. Sitka sits strategically facing the bountiful Pacific Ocean, and has the protection of Kruzof Island, which gives Sitka anglers the ability to find lee waters when the ocean becomes wave torn. Remoteness from "mainland civilization" also plays a key role in Sitka's allure. Inaccessibility by road to mainland keeps cars and large amounts of people from traveling to the quaint port helping Sitka remain unspoiled from mass development.

For centuries Sitka has been one of the Pacific Coast's major salmon feeding areas. The nutrient-rich, super fertile Pacific Ocean waters in front of Sitka attract baitfish of epic proportions. The vast shoreline surrounding Kruzof Island, to the west of Sitka, also offers a healthy kelp forest for baitfish and in turn attracts salmon by the tens of thousands. Sitka Sound's protected waters also attract numerous baitfish including herring, candlefish, squid, and shrimp. Add this all together and you end up with a massive baitfish buffet combined with a massive customer base of salmon, halibut, lingcod, and rockfish-that all want to gorge themselves with an easy, free meal.

My first trip to Sitka happened eleven years ago, after hearing multitudes of stories about Sitka's salmon fishing action that could not possibly be true. I booked a trip with Greg Kain, owner of Kain's Fishing Adventures. Kain, a hard-core river fishing guide from Washington State, had also heard about the incredible salmon fishing from Southeast Alaska's small port of Sitka. Kain visited Sitka to see first-hand if the stories were true and when he found out they were he decided to start a lodge.

Kain was ahead of the curve of most of his lodge operating friends. In the past decade he's seen Sitka's sport fishing fleet grow exponentially. Sitka, for the record, harbors one of the largest charter fleets in all of southeast Alaska. And its reputation is backed up by statistics. Sitka produces some of the largest numbers of salmon caught every year, not to mention some of the biggest salmon caught. Those fish over 50 pounds that help perpetuate Sitka's reputation typically come from the outer coast en route to the spawning grounds in other parts of Alaska, Canada and the lower 48. Despite a large portion of the catch coming from Sitka Sound, you will find plenty of fish caught further north near Salisbury Sound and Nakwasina Sound.



Be forewarned. Once you leave the protection of Kruzof Island you enter into a world of open seas and potentially dangerous waters.

Near Salisbury Sound, the area that separates Baranof and Chichagof islands, most of the salmon caught are headed for terminal fisheries. The west end of Salisbury is an ideal collecting area for baitfish; subsequently it's one of the better areas to find fish. It is here that you'll find Sitka's main charter fleet pounding the near-shore reefs.

Back in Sitka Sound expect to find plump, mirror bright Coho and kings feeding on the massive schools of herring, squid, candlefish and shrimp. On a recent trip here with Kain, we enjoyed non-stop action, including several quadruple headers. We also hooked several king salmon in the 20 to 30 pound range, which is fairly common of the salmon that prowl these waters.

After that first trip, I have made many trips to Sitka and fished with Kain several times. As mentioned earlier, a trip to Sitka is a life-changing experience. Once you experience the consistency and quality of fishing you will return, even if you have to save up your money for years.

Last summer I visited Sitka with a goal of catching monster halibut with a side of salmon. Not only does Sitka offer anglers awesome king and silver fishing, it offers world-class halibut fishing, too. While most Sitka's halibut range in size from 20 to 60 pounds, trophy-sized halibut can be caught if you know where to fish. Instead of running offshore and anchoring in any one of a hundred known "chicken" holes (small halibut ranging in size from 15 to 25 pounds are called chickens) it's recommended to look for any hump or rise on the bottom. While fishing with Kain last summer he stared at his fish finder, watching for any sudden rise on the ocean floor. Suddenly, with no other boats in sight, we stopped the boat, turned 180 degrees and slowly motored over a high spot on the fish finder.



Within minutes of anchoring perfectly above the high spot, which rose just 20 feet at its peak, I hooked a nice 120-pound halibut. Soon after the first halibut, another halibut rod bent over double. One of Kain's deckhands had baited the rod with a 20/0 circle hook and loaded it up with fresh salmon guts and scent. The deckhand pulled on the monster halibut and then passed the rod to me, the second biggest I have ever fought. The battle lasted about 40 minutes and bent the rod into a pretzel. When the 300-pound barn door appeared under the boat, its massive body created an intimidating shadow. Staring into the abyss, my eyes focused on the massive flat fish, giving me enough adrenaline to pump the fish within reach. With the help of a deckhand, Kain handled the fish and hoisted it over the gunwale.

During last summer's trip I also caught and released lingcod ranging in size from 15 to 55 pounds. In addition, like every trip to Sitka, the salmon proved easy and fun to catch. If you want a challenge catching salmon, go somewhere else- because catching salmon in Sitka is the closest sure thing in salmon fishing you will find.

Anglers who visit Sitka typically book with a lodge, and choose a three or four-day fishing package. For many anglers, a trip to Sitka will usually guarantee them of bringing home at least two 50-pound boxes of vacuum-packed fillets. Many lodges limit anglers to their two 50-pound fish boxes. Some lodges allow anglers additional boxes at a fair processing price.

When you're looking to book with a lodge, ask pointed questions about equipment, boats and accommodations. For example, Kain runs 32-foot fishing boats with private marine heads. The boat cabins provide a warm, dry ride to and from the fishing grounds. Each boat is equipped with "state of the art" electronics for navigation, communication and finding fish. These vessels are very seaworthy in Alaskan waters, cruise at 25 knots, and have to range to get to the best fishing grounds. An Alaska waters experienced U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain pilots each boat.

Each boat also has an experienced deckhand to bait hooks, net fish and keep anglers from tangling during double, triple and quadruple headers. It's a recommended upon landing a salmon to immediately bleed, gut and pack the stomach cavity with shaved ice. Back at the dock the salmon will be filleted and ten cut into meal-sized portions, vacuum packed, and flash frozen.

Mooching is a favorite method for catching Sitka salmon. The method consists of drifting over prime locations where feeding salmon have been spotted on the depth sounder; it could be a prime migration route where you wait for waves of salmon to swim past your bait. When anchoring, the captain watches the fish finder closely and calls out the proper depth where he sees salmon feeding on baitfish. The technique works great, and causes multiple hookups when the fish move through. When the bite goes wide-open, success means simply stripping out line to put the cut-plug at the desired depth-a bite will usually occur within seconds.

During most trips, anglers catch their limit of salmon first, and then venture offshore to target halibut, lingcod and rockfish. Anchoring over prime bottom structure is the preferred method among almost all Sitka-based charter captains who maintain a GPS logbook chock full of prime locations to find limits of halibut for their customers. In addition to using fresh salmon guts, bellies and heads for halibut bait, I've caught halibut on 24-ounce lead-head jigs equipped with a rubber worm or small scampi stinger hook. Jigging can be addictive, especially when the halibut hit is so hard, you almost lose the rod.

Situations like that only add to the stories told by numerous Sitka-crazed fish junkies. Sitka's legendary fishing lives up to its reputation and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that fishing and catching are one and the same in Sitka. To this day, after fishing hundreds of locations, Sitka remains the most consistent salmon and halibut fishing destination I have encountered.



Prime time for kings runs from mid-May through July. It is still possible to catch king salmon in August, but not as likely as prime time Coho arrive in mid-July and build in numbers through September. Two nearby hatcheries put out millions of fish with returns expected to number about 2 million annually, which explains the generous six Coho per day limit. Mid-May through September is prime time for halibut. Halibut follow bait and salmon into the area and feed voraciously throughout the season. Lingcod can be caught throughout the season as well as big, feisty rockfish.

Sitka was originally named Shee-Atika by Tlingit natives, which means people on the side of Shee. Long before Europeans discovered Sitka, these resourceful Tlingit Indians forged a comfortable living from the area's bounty of saltwater delicacies. In 1799 Russians first sailed into Sitka after Czar Paul claimed Alaska as a Russian possession. He soon appointed Baranov as the first Russian Governor of Alaska. Soon after his appointment, Baranov established a post inside of Sitka Sound, at the mouth of Katlian Bay. Sitka provided a protected port for the tall ships and an abundance of seafood to feed settlers throughout the winter. By 1840 Bishop Innocent, (Ivan Veniaminov), had St. Michael's Cathedral built, downtown Sitka's centerpieces. Sitka was the capital during Russia's reign of Alaska, which gives Sitka special distinction among followers of the Russian Orthodox faith. The Russian and Tlingit's lived together for years prior to Alaska's transfer from Russia to the United States, which took place in Sitka. In 1966, a tragic fire destroyed the original cathedral and in 1977, a replica of the original cathedral was reconstructed giving the tiny town its centerpiece once again. Visitors can tour the building and see many of the original artifacts for a nominal donation.

The Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center provides one of the best up close viewing opportunities for anyone who loves eagles and other raptors. Sitka also offers visitor the chance to visit the Sheldon Jackson Museum, one of the best native museums in America. Visitors can also go to the National Historic Parks, or Castle Hill. The Centennial building by the marina also offers daily Russian, Ukrainian and Moldavian folk dances along with performances by the Tlingit Native Dancers.

Mount Edgecumbe, a semi-dormant volcano on Kruzof Island, provides a scenic reminder that Sitka sits on the edge of the Pacific Rim of Fire. Several area trailheads lead to Edgecumbe viewing spots and lakes full of fish. Area streams also provide fast action when the season allows the taking of salmon. A few anglers bring pack fly rods and take advantage of miles of shoreline teaming with pink salmon. Failure to catch pinks on a fly here means you didn't use a hook! Pink salmon swarm Sitka in July in numbers to great they try jumping into every small drain-pipe emptying water into Sitka Sound.

Kayaking excursions as well as wildlife viewing abound in Sitka. Flight-seeing tours also provide a unique view of the area. All of these activities seem tempting, but it is hard to spare time away from Sitka's "reel" draw- a saltwater bounty to be experienced rather than told.