Nice Pacific Halibut
Finding Pacific Halibut early in the season can sometimes be a challenge in the shallower, inside waters of SE Alaska. This year, I tried several favorite spots between Ketchikan and Juneau in the latter part of May and found the fishing to be very spotty. Was it uncooperative weather? Lack of food for these tasty predators? Or my own poor luck? Maybe all three. Once the salmon runs commence, one can usually find halibut over 25 pounds in depths of 100 to 200 feet. Until then you have to work pretty hard to land a few nice halibut.
Anchoring at Twenty Fathom Bank in Clarence Strait near Kasaan Bay can yield some fish but keep an eye on the water conditions out by Dixon Entrance especially on the tide change. One can also move in and fish the sea mounts south of Patterson and High Islands and avoid southerly winds. There is a nice little spot just north of Ship Island on Clarence Strait. We got lucky with the weather with this spot and were successful in landing a nice fish that was just over 100 pounds. Several places in Ernest Sound that produced fish last year were unsuccessful. Further north in Frederick Sound, it can be fair fishing at the 200 feet depth just north of Pinta Point even in May. We found a couple of halibut there this year but damn near froze when a northerly kicked up and a late snow started falling. The next day the winds reached 35 knots and stayed there. The halibut fishing was over for awhile and like most sane Alaskans, I decided to wait for the return of the salmon.
