A tug on your line sends your heart thumping. The crew on the boat hollers in excitement, and you reel in the best souvenir you could imagine – a beautiful, shiny coho salmon. Sitka is one of the first stops on a salmon’ s journey to spawning grounds, so its waters are a hotbed for catching some of the region’ s best wild salmon.
BOOK EARLY
The summer season fills up quickly here! Charter companies encourage you to book early and details their prime fishing seasons based on the type of fish you’ d like to catch. For coho( silver) salmon, mid-June through mid-September is ideal, and for halibut, fishers can come any time from May through mid-September. If you visit when salmon and halibut aren’ t in prime season, however, charter companies work with commercial fish processors to make sure clients still go home with a fresh catch.
FLY FISHING
If you prefer fly fishing, you can check out Classic Casting Adventures and Sitka Alaska Outfitters for guided tours in the fresh waters around Sitka. Under the towering Sitka spruce and hemlock trees, you can fish for salmon, trout, char, and steelhead. Both companies will provide you with all the gear you need and perfect casting locations.
The wonderful thing about the bountiful salt and fresh waters of Sitka is that there are plenty of fish for the charters and lodges to help anglers make unforgettable memories( and to take some of the best seafood in the world home with you).
LOCAL CHARTERS
Cascade Creek Lodge offers accomodations in an oceanfront lodge and fishing trips guided by locals. Their lodge is located only 3 miles from downtown Sitka, right down the road from Sandy Beach, a State recreation site and great area for tidepooling and sunset chasing. At IslandView Resort & Charters, guests enjoy waterfront lodging with a private dock( and many return year after year). Merkel’ s Charter Service offers clients all inclusive packages, from lodging and meals to licenses and raingear. If you want to take your adventure one step further, check out Beyond Boundaries Expeditions at their secluded Wilderness Base Camp, where after a day of fishing, beachcombing, and up-close whale watching you can nestle up in a private cozy yurt to sleep underneath a canopy of ancient old growth forest.
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