Fishing on the way to Alaska and once there

[tcoop]

Planning to go to Alaska next year or the year after. I just read on ASD's blog that Alaska has different regulations for crab and shrimp pots than Oregon. So I was wondering what gear others take to fish? Should I plan on fishing BC as well? When I say fishing I am thinking Salmon, Halibut, bottom, crab and shrimp. What do you take with you? What are the little known things to watch out for?

Thanks
Tim

 

[Lepke]

You need a license in BC. You can get one online:
https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp...RPhf0NbM0YRjikFfUCvOhZbnzfUk7bzOp03B3FELbyfMA
Non-resident: $105 - annual or a 1-3 day for $8 to $33. Plus a salmon stamp $6.25
I buy an annual since I'm passing both ways.

I troll for salmon and bottom fish. When anchored I put over crab pots. If local fishermen are landing shrimp, I usually buy off the boat a 5 gallon bucket worth and freeze what we can't eat.

 

[Russell Clifton]

Do some research online to see what the regulations are for crab and shrimp pots in BC and Alaska. The differences are mostly in the size and location of the escape holes and the size of the rot twine holding them closed. You might need to rework your pots to be able to legally use them up there.

No special regulations with reference to rods, reels, downriggers, etc.

Remember you will need a license for each place and you are not a citizen so they are more money. Especially Alaska. You will need a separate Chinook permit that is a additional $100.00 over and above the regular license.

Read the BC fishing regulations very carefully, especially the parts relating to packaging and transporting your catch. Also, learn what a RCA is and the rules relating to them.( Rockfish Conservation Area). I downloaded all the RCA areas and boundaries to keep on my laptop as they have not printed maps for several years. (Haven't checked this year)

 

[ofer]

king salmon stamp another $100

 

[tcoop]

Thanks for the replies, I will defiantly bone up on the reg.s before hand. For Halibut we use electric reels for dropping 750' with 4lbs of lead. Any need for those?

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Thanks for the replies, I will defiantly bone up on the reg.s before hand. For Halibut we use electric reels for dropping 750' with 4lbs of lead. Any need for those?

No. I use electric downriggers.

Just make sure you read the "U.S. federal" regulations for halibut.

Also I have told many folks from Washington that the crab pots they use in Washington are illegal in Alaska. Escape ring is too small along with different twine requirements.

 

[tcoop]

Thanks ASD, I appreciate the heads up. I had planned on using the traps I have for Oregon not thinking there would be differences between states. On a search there are a couple of places from Seattle that sell AK legal traps.

I assume you are using the downriggers for Salmon, correct?

BTW: we are the tug moored one spot inside Redlinger at St Helens. We have heard your horn a couple of times.

 

[Tator]

Always check the most recent local regulations. For instance, right now non-residents cannot fish for King Salmon in SE AK.

The use of electric reels and downriggers for halibut is new one to me. We've been fishing for halibut here for 30 years and have always just used a stiff rod and a good reel. We've caught all the halibut we want in anything from 40 to 110 feet of water including some over 200lbs. We haven't found the need to got any deeper. For us, the ideal weight for taste and ability to handle is 10 to 30lbs. We release anything over 60lbs as they are the breeders. We are not fishing halibut for bragging rights. Unless it's late in the day or we already have what we need, we usually put a rod over the stern at anchor and have caught a fair number of halibut that way.

Be also aware of the Regs and fines set up by the International Halibut Commission (which apply to both US and Canadian waters) concerning catch limits and processing on board. They are very strict and are enforced.

Tator

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Always check the most recent local regulations. For instance, right now non-residents cannot fish for King Salmon in SE AK.

The use of electric reels and downriggers for halibut is new one to me. We've been fishing for halibut here for 30 years and have always just used a stiff rod and a good reel. We've caught all the halibut we want in anything from 40 to 110 feet of water including some over 200lbs. We haven't found the need to got any deeper. For us, the ideal weight for taste and ability to handle is 10 to 30lbs. We release anything over 60lbs as they are the breeders. We are not fishing halibut for bragging rights. Unless it's late in the day or we already have what we need, we usually put a rod over the stern at anchor and have caught a fair number of halibut that way.

Be also aware of the Regs and fines set up by the International Halibut Commission (which apply to both US and Canadian waters) concerning catch limits and processing on board. They are very strict and are enforced.

Tator

Good points. The Admiral caught a 103lb butt in 170ft of water from the dingy!!

 

[Benthic2]

In Massachusetts, all striped bass have to be kept whole so legal size can be verified. This makes sense for a day tripper, but seems like it would be a problem for liveaboards ? Is this problem unique to Mass ? How/when are you supposed to filet your fish?

 

[Alaskaflyer]

In Massachusetts, all striped bass have to be kept whole so legal size can be verified. This makes sense for a day tripper, but seems like it would be a problem for liveaboards ? Is this problem unique to Mass ? How/when are you supposed to filet your fish?

It’s (mostly) the same for halibut in many Alaskan IPHC regulatory areas and I’ve never inquired further since we were always just out for the day anyhow.

 

[slowgoesit]

In Massachusetts, all striped bass have to be kept whole so legal size can be verified. This makes sense for a day tripper, but seems like it would be a problem for liveaboards ? Is this problem unique to Mass ? How/when are you supposed to filet your fish?

I see it as a potential problem in Washington State as well, since we will be full time cruisers, and the F&W rules specify "so much fresh caught" rest must be frozen solid . . . . so do I have to take my fresh caught off of boat each night to friends house, freeze, then return it to my boat once it's frozen solid?!?

That's the problem with 'One Rule Fits All' approaches . . .

 

[CmdrDick]

We caught Halibut and Dungeness crabs from the dingy

We caught Halibut from the dingy in Alaska waters in and around Kodiak. We never fished more than 100' deep and filled the freezer. Very different laws for non-residents. ie; we could put a moose and 50 salmon in the freezer every year without buying any license under resident subsistence law.

On the flip side, Fisheries posts people in tents just a short way from shore in many places thru-out the state during the summer months. They ain't there to gather mosquitoes.

Read the regs carefully, the AK courts always accept the side of the officers and their opinion of what was going on.

True story; A guy goes hunting for moose with 2 friends. A moose stands up and he shoots it. The moose takes off running and he shoots again. The moose gets up and a third shot is fired. When they walk over, there are three dead moose. An officer heard the shots and boated over. They tried to pretend that each had shot one, but the officer claimed that the other guns had not been fired. Fine; $10G's for each animal taken and they couldn't even keep the meat. Lots of stories out there about rigid regs applied to non-residents while local rules were commonly ignored. Just be careful.

I loved that place

 

[AlaskaProf]

//true story...\\
We had a summer place in Seldovia, 17 miles beyond Tom Bodett's "end of the road." There is a run of Kings right through the village which can be fished from the harbor and especially from the bridge on the road to the airstrip, subject to all the State limits and regs. The locals wontonly snag them with big treble hooks (Seldovia dry flies).

One day three tourists with thick Mittel Europa accents and "wild and crazy" attire showed up at the bridge taking dozens of photos. "Vould you hold zat vun up? Danke!"

You guessed it, ADF&G.

 

[CmdrDick]

Seldovia

//true story...\\
We had a summer place in Seldovia, 17 miles beyond Tom Bodett's "end of the road." There is a run of Kings right through the village which can be fished from the harbor and especially from the bridge on the road to the airstrip, subject to all the State limits and regs. The locals wontonly snag them with big treble hooks (Seldovia dry flies).

One day three tourists with thick Mittel Europa accents and "wild and crazy" attire showed up at the bridge taking dozens of photos. "Vould you hold zat vun up? Danke!"

You guessed it, ADF&G.

We lived on our 32' Seattle Marine salmon boat in slip six there in Seldovia during the Commercial Halibut season back in 1980-82. Loved that place, quiet and close to everything if the ride to Homer on a rickety Cessna 206 didn't scare you. Also spent lot's of time supporting various AK departments when I flew choppers and my C185 on floats for Bud Lofstedt at Kenai Air. All over the state from Lonely DEWline station to Kodiak. In '84 the Airlines were calling and the $$ were there. Miss it all, but life moves on.

 

[AlaskaProf]

We owned the Boardwalk Hotel 95-2004. You were docked in our front yard.

 

[DNT99611]

We lived on our 32' Seattle Marine salmon boat in slip six there in Seldovia during the Commercial Halibut season back in 1980-82. Loved that place, quiet and close to everything if the ride to Homer on a rickety Cessna 206 didn't scare you. Also spent lot's of time supporting various AK departments when I flew choppers and my C185 on floats for Bud Lofstedt at Kenai Air. All over the state from Lonely DEWline station to Kodiak. In '84 the Airlines were calling and the $$ were there. Miss it all, but life moves on.

If you flew for Kenai Air you knew my mom Mary Small world.

 

[Raduran]

In Alaska waters, you must have a deep water release on board should you catch a rockfish.
Fisherman's Warehouse has them for $7 or you can make your own. Stiff fine if you don't have one ready when Fish and Game shows up.



Rockfish Deepwater Release, Alaska Department of Fish and Game

 

[tcoop]

Thanks Raduan, we have a similar requirement in Oregon. We have a few defenders onboard when bottom fishing. We have a group here that does a great job of educating anglers and providing defenders free. The group is OCEAN.

 

[CmdrDick]

In Alaska waters, you must have a deep water release on board should you catch a rockfish.
Fisherman's Warehouse has them for $7 or you can make your own. Stiff fine if you don't have one ready when Fish and Game shows up.

Rockfish Deepwater Release, Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Check the website
"This is a tool that ADF&G "RECOMMENDS" sport fisherman use". They can't fine you for not having a "recommended" device.

Are you selling/making these?

I do agree that quick release should be carried out.

 

[CmdrDick]

DNT99611
quote "If you flew for Kenai Air you knew my mom Mary Small world."
Yes, for many years we all had great memories. Your mom, Mary, was one of the best.
I last saw her in 1984. If still with us, tell her that Dick Wilson sends a warm hug.

 

[CmdrDick]

I walked by your place at lease a hundred times, chasing for food, mail, etc.
I always wondered what the place was like inside, but slept on my boat.

 

[tcoop]

My last post should have referred to descenders not defenders. Spellcheck strikes again.

 

[guy with a boat]

Check the website
"This is a tool that ADF&G "RECOMMENDS" sport fisherman use". They can't fine you for not having a "recommended" device.

Are you selling/making these?

I do agree that quick release should be carried out.

The regulations now say that it is required: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/...southeast/2021se_sfregs_general_saltwater.pdf

The link referenced earlier, although linked to multiple times on the ADF&G website, is from 2011. They certainly could make it more clear, but my understanding is that it is now a requirement and not having it results in a violation. In any case and as you suggest, its easy enough to comply with so no big deal either way.

 

[bowball]

Stupid question from a newbie…where do you keep the live crabs on board before you cook them later for dinner?

 

[Russell Clifton]

A 5 gallon bucket on the swim step if you only have a couple. Change the water every hour so they don't die. Or, put them in a crab pot, tie the doors closed, and hang it overboard. Just don't forget about them.

 

[guy with a boat]

Stupid question from a newbie…where do you keep the live crabs on board before you cook them later for dinner?

Not a stupid question at all. There are a few ways to keep them alive with varying levels of success, but none are perfect. We clean them and cook within an hour of bringing them back to the boat. If that’s early in the day, we refrigerate after cooking and reheat before eating or eat them cold in crab salad. They die pretty easily and then are no good so we avoid that entirely by doing the catch-and-cook.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

A 5 gallon bucket on the swim step if you only have a couple. Change the water every hour so they don't die. Or, put them in a crab pot, tie the doors closed, and hang it overboard. Just don't forget about them.

I drill holes in my 5 gallon bucket and throw it off the swim step. Just remember to pull it in. Don't ask.

 

[koliver]

I drill holes in my 5 gallon bucket and throw it off the swim step. Just remember to pull it in. Don't ask.

+1 on the holey 5 gal bucket. I use the propane stove to heat up an old style soldering iron (like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/810528...9546&msclkid=85c615227a8313ce12d47400b27e2842)