Went to Sitka and got a hundred king salmon from the
last 2 days of the winter troll season. After years
of pushing totes of fish up and down our docks in
Juneau, it was such a pleasure to load the fish once –
from the boat to the totes on my truck – and drive up
the ramp and onto the ferry and off to my procesor
when we returned to Juneau.
Juneau has no drive down access at any of it’s
harbors, even though the commercial fishing industry
brings in millions upon millions of dollars a year.
Hard as it is to believe, it’s easier to get on the
ferry and travel to Sitka to get fish than it is to
load them right here in Juneau.
Sitka was bustling with activity. Trollers were
coming in with fish, getting historically high prices
for their catch, and spring was in the air. Good to
see the commercial fishing sector in an upbeat mood.
Boats there looked alot better cared for than when I
was looking for a boat 6 years ago, when salmon prices
were bottoming out.
The king salmon were the largest average weight I’d
ever seen. After caring for the fish at my processor
here in Juneau, I delivered to our local customers,
and we bought a fish for ourself. Boy howdy, are
those winter king salmon great – full of oil and fat,
not to mention it’s been 6 or 8 months since we last
had fresh king. Seemed like all my customers felt the
same way, and glad I was able to find good fish in
Sitka.
Had to cancel a second trip to Sitka this week. The
spring fishing is restricted to near shore areas, my
truck broke down, and the weather is crap. So, we’ll
try again next week.
–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com