The first trip of the season

[Mark Knapp 0]

I just got back from my first trip of the season to the salt water near Sitka. We were there for eight days and worked on the boat for the first one, worked on the cabin for the second one. The boat needed new batteries and a few other things. The cabin just needed opening up for the summer, normal maintenance stuff.

On the third day we got to fish but it was so rough, cold and windy we only stayed out for a half hour. My buddy was changing out a reel in the V-berth and he got sea sick, he never does that. I was conventional fishing because fly fishing wasn't going to work with the conditions. I told Rick I wasn't having much fun anyway and since he was sick we went in.

The first day, I caught these in a half hour.

The second day was still kind of rough but at least it wasn't windy. We were able to keep the flies down so we managed a reasonable catch on fly gear.

The second day, these on fly gear. All black rockfish and one ling.

Third day, all black rocks, on flies.

One of the black rocks and the fly he bit.

On the forth day, we moved to halibut country. While Rick was catching these two 75 pounders on conventional gear, I was fly fish and caught nothing.

I did get a video of this guy chasing my fly around though. He never did get it. He's at eighty feet in this snapshot.

One of my flies in it's natural habitat.

Some black rocks swimming with my fly. This fly is intended for Ling Cod and Halibut. The rockfish just swim with it.

An Argus Herring, one of my patterns with Argus pheasant eyes, and died mountain goat fibers.

An EP herring. It worked well but needed to be combed out once in a while.

Here's a variety of rock fish we've never seen before.

With enough fish in the coolers we both fly fished for halibut the last two days of the trip and on the fifth day I hooked into one of the biggest halibut I have ever had on the line, conventional or fly.

It would have been the new world record halibut on a fly, the record being 138 pounds. Last year we caught a 92 pounder on a fly and this one was twice the size of that one. He hit and started to run. I slowed him down twice and started to gain line back and then he went on his forth run. He had me 400 yards into my backing and just about spooled so I tightened up on my drag a little, then just a little more. Then, my thumb hit the winding knob on the reel and the leader popped. A twenty pound leader is the largest allowable by the IGFA. I had had him on for almost ten minutes. That was about the most fun I ever had. I learned a lot about fly fishing for halibut and will do better next time.

The rest of the day and the next were pretty much uneventful, boating only smaller fish.

We came home with 85 pounds of halibut and thirty five pounds of rockfish, all vacuum packed and frozen.

A great first trip to be sure.

 

[Steeldrifter 0]

Very cool Mark. Those rock fish almost look like a saltwater version of a smallmouth to me lol. And that first pic was a nice mess of fish for 1/2hr!

[Mark Knapp 0]

3 minutes ago, Steeldrifter said:

Very cool Mark. Those rock fish almost look like a saltwater version of a smallmouth to me lol. And that first pic was a nice mess of fish for 1/2hr!

Yes they do, they actually call them Black sea bass.

[chugbug27 0]

2 hours ago, Mark Knapp said:

Argus Herring

Great stuff overall Mark, the halibut stuff in particular. I really, really like this fly, btw (Argus Herring), just superb.

[Mark Knapp 0]

Thanks Chug, you're a nice dude.

[niveker 0]

Sounds like a blast, Mark.  Nice pictures.  

[Mark Knapp 0]

1 hour ago, niveker said:

Sounds like a blast, Mark.  Nice pictures.  

Thanks Bud.