By John L. Beath, N.W. Editor of Western Outdoors Magazine.

Sitka reigns king of halibut fishing in Southeast Alaska. The vast open ocean waters on the west coast of Kruzof Island or the inside waters of Sitka Sound could easily produce a once-in-a-lifetime halibut. A few years ago, while fishing just offshore from Cape Edgecumbe in 325 feet of water, I hooked and landed my biggest halibut ever, a 7-foot 1-incher that weighed 325 pounds. It was my goal to catch and keep a trophy that year and that’s the very reason I choose Sitka to attempt and ultimately achieve my goal.

Several other factors also make Sitka a top choice on this list. First and foremost, the salmon fishing gets red hot, especially the coho fishing with generous six fish limits. Early in the season, from mid May until mid July anglers can also enjoy spectacular king fishing. Typically anglers can catch a limit of salmon and halibut in the same day, making this destination one of my all time favorites, especially when fishing with Kain’s Fishing Adventures!

But for anglers who want to target triple digit halibut it’s simply a matter of asking the charter operator prior to booking your trip. But be aware that most of the guides practice catch and release on large fish. This practice has worked out well and provides many anglers the chance to catch large fish without depleting the resource. Anglers who want to go home with their more-than-generous fish limit of 2 halibut per day won’t be disappointed. Skippers working for Kain’s Fishing Adventures almost always limit their customers on halibut, even when other charter operators experience scratchy fishing conditions. Kain’s skippers always seem to know where to find halibut and what they want to eat.

Savy anglers who fish for three or four days will likely notice that the charter captains self regulate themselves by fishing in areas with average-sized halibut most days and fish areas with larger halibut only part of the time. This practice as worked well to maintain the resource and works out well for anglers who want to bring the highest quality halibut fillets from halibut weighing 30 to 50 pounds. As stated above, if you want to catch bigger fish let your captain know your intentions ahead of time – including your desire to release big fish or keep them. It’s much better to communicate your wishes with the captain prior to booking your trip.

Best Methods

Virtually any traditional method of catching halibut works well in Sitka, but anchoring is the norm here. Kain prefers 16-ounce leadhead jigs with 8-inch Kalin white scampi tails. “We also use an 8/0 stinger hook crimped on the leadhead hook and a red twister tail worm on that hook too.”

Best depths, according to Kain, typically range from 250 to 500-feet deep. During late summer the shallow waters of Sitka Sound can provide top action too.