Alaska Fishing Never Disappoints
by Ed H Edwards, Lansing Chapter Member, avid hunter, and fisherman
On Day 5 God said “Let the waters teem with fish” and he created every species of fish and
blessed them to multiply and stock the oceans.
-Genesis 1 20-21
My legs were tight against the boat’s rail and what I had hooked wanted to stay near the ocean floor. The depth was about 250’ and I was fishing close to the bottom, so many revolutions of my reel were going to be turned to bring the fish to the surface. A good start on day #1 fishing out of Seward Alaska on Gone Again Charters!
The trip was a generous donation from Safari Unlimited to the SCI Lansing 2024 banquet. I was the successful bidder and booked July 25-27 hoping for prime weather and good fishing dates for 2025. The donation was for two anglers and four additional were added to fill the lodge and boat. My personal experience is those who like to fish are good people with above average character and our group was no exception.
Further to the point, Captain Jeff and deck hand Dillon were personable, calm, and most important willing to put up with me since I enjoy using my own equipment and techniques.
The Jig and The Line
On this trip I used my long favored heavy jigging outfit consisting of a St. Croix muskie rod paired with a Penn Fathom 25 spooled with 50# braid. The set up consisted of a 10’ fluorocarbon leader, a 12 oz skirted jig at the leader end, and a 3/8 oz jig with soft plastic craw trailer drop shot rigged about 2’ higher.
Fish are sometimes hooked on the big jig however the little jig with trailer is an absolute killer and often will out fish others cut bait. A big advantage of this set up on deep dropping compared to using bait is it is not necessary to wind up to check the bait if you get a bite and do not hookup.
The First Hook
After a lot of lifting up and reeling down, my personal best Pacific cod was scooped up in the oversize net necessary for many fish in these waters. The off shore conditions were way too rough to venture outside the bay on day #1 but we were able to put a nice mess of cod, rockfish and a couple of halibut in the box.
Day #2
The conditions on day #2 improved and we headed out of the bay. Our first stop was for rockfish. Within 30 minutes we all filled our limit of two each. Moving to deeper water we picked up several halibut and yelloweye. The day was finished trolling for salmon without success, but that is part of fishing.
Day #3
Day #3 a flock of feeding gulls and whales led us to the salmon. The bite was wide open and our limit of three quality silvers each were quickly put into the box. The balance of the day was spent deep dropping and more halibut and yelloweye were added to our last day of this epic trip!
I was greatly blessed to fish with old friends Graham and Paul and new friends Monte, Blake, and Kevin.
Seward Alaska, a beautiful fishing paradise with an interesting history.
A three- hour drive south of Anchorage brings you to this seaside village with a year around population of less than 3000 that nearly doubles during the summer months . Seward has a bustling harbor, many small businesses, and a variety of dining options.
Located on Resurrection Bay, sandwiched between the Kenai mountains and the waters of Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward is one of Alaska’s oldest and most scenic communities, with snow tipped Mount Marathon towering behind town.
Seward is the southern terminus of the Alaskan Railroad and start of the National Iditarod Historic Trail a 2,300-mile trail network originally developed to deliver mail by dog sled teams from Seward to rural Alaska Native villages.
Seward is named after William Seward, who orchestrated the USA purchase from Russia in 1867 at two cents per acre while serving as the Secretary of State in President Andrew Jackson’s administration. Considered a waste of money at the time, Alaska is no doubt the best investment made in the history of the US government!
Contact Information
Safari Unlimited LLC has been a yearly doner to our fundraiser providing us with multiple diverse hunting and fishing trips every year. Trip destinations have included, but not limited, to Alaska, Belize, Texas, Louisiana, and Mexico.
Drake Dawson 573-590-1572
Gone Again Charters Captain Jeffrey Bryden is a board member and past president of the Alaska Kenai Peninsula Chapter of SCI.
Phone 907-363-1485
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