When you think about your trip to Alaska, Spring fishing in Kodiak is a fine time to get out and start filling the freezer with delicious fillets of king salmon, halibut and rockfish. You’ve been eating all of last year’s fish and the larder is starting to get empty. This time of the year gives you the chance to get a line in the water at the front side of the season and to put some high-quality fish over the rail and into the fish box.
Starting in May, clients at Kodiak Legends Lodge get to enjoy angling for king salmon. In order to find these highly coveted salmon, the largest and arguably most delicious of the five Pacific salmon species, we cover plenty of water by trolling. Once a king eats the bait or lure, it’s up to you to do battle with this supremely powerful fish. Thick-shouldered kings make strong runs and don’t come to the net easily. And when one of these specimens is a real big one, the adrenaline rush of seeing it’s block spotted, purple backed, sea-lice laden chrome flanks is enough to raise the heart rate of even the most experienced anglers. Take a deep breath, stay focused, and our veteran crew will give you guidance and help you to land the fish. Kings typically weigh in the 20-pound range, but far larger specimens are possible and caught every year. It’s one of the most exciting fishing opportunities on a trip to Alaska
At the same time during spring fishing in Kodiak, fishermen aboard our boats get to target halibut and rockfish. In order to catch Pacific halibut, which are the largest flatfish species on the planet, anglers need to get baits or lures near the bottom. Halibut lay on the sea floor, using the camouflage on their mottled brown side to blend into the mud. They ambush prey from this position, and will often chase down a bait if motivated. Soaking bait near the ocean floor or jigging lures in the bottom ten feet of the water column, are the two most effective ways to get a halibut to strike. At Kodiak Legends Lodge, we are conservation minded and seek to release all halibut over 100 pounds; but that doesn’t mean we don’t catch them! If you do hook a goliath halibut, apply steady pressure and gently work it towards the surface. The harder you pull, the harder the big flatfish pulls back. Slow and steady wins this race.
Rockfish come in many species, and you will see several of them in a normal trip to Kodiak Legends. Black, China, quillback, and yelloweye are common varieties typically boated. Black rockfish are abundant in Kodiak waters and this is the species we target. A good-sized black rockfish weighs about five pounds and produces delicious fillets. At the same time during this window of spring fishing in Kodiak, it’s not uncommon to hook and land lingcod. These big, toothy predators are abundant and seemingly always hungry. During this timeframe, lingcod are closed to retention so we don’t target them, but they are still caught in the pursuit of rockfish and halibut.
Come visit us in May and June to get in on the spring fishing in Kodiak on your trip to Alaska. We’ll be ready with top-notch crews, boats, gear, lodging and food. All you need to bring is a big smile and with a willingness to reel in multiple exciting and delicious species of Alaska gamefish.
If you or someone you know is looking into a 2023 trip to Alaska, give Chad a call at 907-847-2200.
