Woke up to fog at 5 am this morning, which I saw as a clear sign from above to get back in bed. Got fishing right at the start of the flood tide about 8:20 am.

The sealions finally got the better of me and I pulled my gear, took my ball, and went home. I tried fishing the north side of North Inian Pass after tide change, after fishing North Is. on the flood tide. A lone sealion got every fish but one, so I called it a day at quarter to 5pm. Only 28 coho and 14 pinks today,and we decided to increase our prices a bit due to low catches and high fuel cost. I did see two bull orcas on the trip across, riding the ebb tide out the pass.

Weather changed this afteroon. The sun came out, and I’m heading to one of my favorite anchorages at Fern Harbor, which is right in front of the Brady Glacier – the glacier shown on our fish box.

As I entered the harbor, two sea otters took note of me. Pink salmon were jumping everywhere. After I droppped the hook, I began repairing the retrieval line to my stabilizer. The glacier water was so clear at the surface with the sun shining overhead that I could sea a harbor porpoise just below the surface as it surveyed the boat. LOTS of bugs here, though.

Mark Stopha
F/V Dutch Master
Alaska Wild Salmon Co
4455 N Douglas Hwy
Juneau, Alaska 99801
907-463-3115

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Fished the same spot as yesterday for more coho (42) and fewer pinks (32), which is a much better ratio. I even started shaking some of the female pinks as their bellies are getting thin as their eggs mature. Next year we’ll try to find a bait market for the roe.

Did not sleep well last night and felt like crap in the morning, so didn’t get to fishing until 8 am. Since I started late, I thought I’d make up for it by quitting early, which I did at 4:45 pm, so only about 9 hours of fishing today.

Would have caught more fish if not for a big male sealion that shadowed me most of the day. The critter was so bold it came right up behind the boat so close I could almost touch him. Almost like he escaped from Seaworld, he seemed so tame. He got who knows how many salmon from my gear.

Anchored in a cove I’d never been to before. Looks bulletproof to all winds, and beaches that deer might come down to for 180 degrees. Kind of a long row to shore in the punt, but I’m sure I’d try if I can see horns.

Mark Stopha
F/V Dutch Master
Alaska Wild Salmon Co
4455 N Douglas Hwy
Juneau, Alaska 99801
907-463-3115

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Another slow day of coho fishing. Caught about 30 and happy to get that even. Nice larger fish, too, and not so many pinks today about 45 or so. Fishing is so slow I heard 2 guys heading to theharbor because they think their not catching fish has something to do with missing sacrificial boat zincs and not to lack of fish. This year our direct marketing is paying off the most with catches so low.

I fished along an island at North Inian Pass today. The current is so strong in the pass that if you get sucked down through it, you can’t troll back through because the current is faster than my boat will go. I was stuck there for a couple of hours before I could get back to where the cohos were biting, and by that time they were gone. Sealions and or sharks stole several spoons, too.

Mark Stopha
F/V Dutch Master
Alaska Wild Salmon Co
4455 N Douglas Hwy
Juneau, Alaska 99801
907-463-3115

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King fishing remains poor, but coho fishing improved today. We decided to start marketing our pink salmon this year due to the derth of chum salmon…which means I actually have to clean all the little buggers. The pink salmon will soon pass thru, however, and I know I need to make hay while the sun shines. We ran into Elfin Cove as the forecast calls for 25 naut easterlies. This makes it tough to anchor in our usual spot, and tough to fish Cross Sound, as I learned fishing this winter. So, we may run into the inside waters to fish, knowing we may not get any kings in there, but also knowing we arent missing many kings out here either. The high point of the day was that we caught a very large dime bright king late in the day after catching none for a few hours.

Mark Stopha
F/V Dutch Master
Alaska Wild Salmon Co
4455 N Douglas Hwy
Juneau, Alaska 99801
907-463-3115

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In the harbor today due to high winds. A distress call to the Coast Guard came over about noon from a fishing vessel taking on water. The vessel location was where many boats are normally fishing, but are not today due to poor weather. When the CG answered the call, the captain, who both Sara and I think we must know because his voice is so familiar, said he was taking on water and heading for shore. The CG sent up a hilo to assist, which was 2 hours out.

Mark Stopha
F/V Dutch Master
Alaska Wild Salmon Co
4455 N Douglas Hwy
Juneau, Alaska 99801
907-463-3115

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Fished in more sheltered waters, as the west wind was sure to making things sloppy in the outside waters. We caught a dozen king salmon. Not a great catch, but most of the fish were large, and all were bright.

Mark Stopha
F/V Dutch Master
Alaska Wild Salmon Co
4455 N Douglas Hwy
Juneau, Alaska 99801
907-463-3115

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