Fishing Tips

Things to Try During The Next Alaska Fishing Season

Fishing Tips / By

During the Alaska fishing season (May-September) you will have the opportunity to fish in a lot of different locations for a lot of different species. To have success in these areas, it’s important to employ a lot of different techniques to adapt to the fish in the Icy Strait area.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the most popular saltwater fishing techniques used by our guests here at Doc Warners Alaska Adventures to help you have the best experience possible. We have had a lot of success with these methods, and we know with a little bit of experimentation, you will too!

Fishing Techniques

1. Drift Fishing

Drift fishing is a very popular method for fishing halibut or pacific cod. To use this method, you don’t anchor your boat, instead, you drift across the fishing area following the current. First begin by determining the direction of the current and then move to the top of the current. Then turn off the motor, bait your lines, and send them to the bottom. 

Drift fishing

You’ll want to keep a close eye on your fish finder as you are drifting to look for significant changes in depth. That way you can adjust how much line you have out. If you ever get a snag in the line, turn on the engine and motor up the current and your line should come free.

2. Use a Downrigger

Downriggers are great because they help you get your line to a specific depth without putting weight on your pole’s line. The downrigger has 8 to 15 pounds of weight on the end of a steel cable, and a small clip loosely attaches the line from the ball to your fishing line, just above the flasher. 

Both lines are put down at the same time to a specific depth. It’s a good idea to put each person’s line down to a different depth until you find out where the most fish are. Next you can begin trolling (see next). Once you get a bite, yank the pole upwards, this will release the clip and weight. Another person can then reel in the downrigger weight while you enjoy fighting the salmon!

3. Trolling

Trolling is the best way to catch salmon. This can be done by placing weights on the line or by using a downrigger. To do this you can use either 8″ or 11″ flashers, but just remember that eight inch flashers require less weight than an 11 inch flasher.  This method is best done by navigating the boat in a serpentine direction going perpendicular to the shore. You do have to be very careful when you use this technique because it is very easy to snag on the bottom.

Alaska Fishing

4. Anchor your boat

The most common way to fish for halibut is by anchoring on a flat sandy bottom. You can find the fish very easily because several of these places are marked on the fish finder in your boat. After anchoring the boat, you bait your line and lower it to the bottom. Then you gently bounce the weight on the bottom. Before too long a curious cod or halibut will decide to take a bite. It’s important to remember to pull the anchor when you decide to move to a new location.

5. Jigging

Jigging Is another common technique for fishing halibut, and It can add an element of excitement to catching small to medium sized fish. This is done by using a grub and a jig head. First begin by lowering your line to the bottom. Then begin jigging the pole at random heights and frequencies. This is a very effective method because often the fish will be snagged on the side. If you catch a fish like this you have to keep it because they won’t survive if you release them.

We hope these fishing techniques come in handy on your next Alaskan fishing trip! It’s important to plan before your trip to know what fish you want to catch. That will help you decide what technique to use and what time during the Alaska fishing season will be most successful for you.

Alaska fishing season

If you are looking for the best fishing lodge in Alaska check out Doc Warners Alaska Adventures!

Contact us today to book your spot during the next Alaska fishing season.

What do Alaska Salmon Fishing Boats Need for a Trip?

Driving A Boat, Fishing Tips / By

If you’re planning to go on an Alaska salmon fishing boat it’s important to get on the right track and have it filled with the right tools. Everything you bring with you must ensure 3 things in this order: safety first, good fishing second, and lastly comfort. With that in mind, here’s 5 things you might want to consider when fishing from a boat in Alaska..

5 Things You Need To Consider to have the best Boat for Southeast Alaska

  1. Fishing Equipment

If you’ve ever fished before you’re aware of the basics: poles, reels, lines, bait, and a bait knife so that you can get into angling. However, Alaskan river boats such as they are, require some more specialized gear packed in

To catch the type of game you’ll find in Alaskan fishing trips, you’ll need: 

  • hooks, 
  • fish bats, 
  • a halibut setup, 
  • pliers, 
  • weights, 
  • mooching rigs for salmon, 
  • a shark hook
  • and dip nets. 

Most lodges you’ll visit will have these provided for you, our fishing lodge at Doc Warner’s surely will. 

  1. Downriggers

A proper Alaska salmon fishing boat isn’t complete with one of these. Downriggers are simple, yet important devices to have in your boat. They keep your lure at a constant depth, and it can be adjusted and released for when there’s a bite. 

These are especially useful when fishing for salmon, since they are located at different depths at different times of the year.

  1. Coast Guard Equipment

This is related to the first point, regarding safety. As you well know, there’s coast guard required safety equipment to have in your boat at all times, in all places. This includes, of course, life jackets, which are not required to be worn by adults at all times, but it is strongly recommended. Aside from this, you need to also carry a fire extinguisher, lights, a visual distress signal, and a sound-producing device for rescue situations, among other things. These three items are especially important in case of emergency situations where rescue is necessary. And speaking of rescue…

  1. Marine Radios

Marine communications have been an essential part of boating since people have ventured out to the waters of the world. Nowadays, cellphones or radios are a required equipment for all who boat no matter the purpose. 

Even though we’re on an age with cell phone and satellite communications available everywhere, keeping an old-school radio that serves as a to shore can truly make a difference when the best of current communications equipment fails. This is especially true in the remote places of the very beautiful, yet very insular Alaska. The team at Doc Warner’s will make sure your boats are equipped with a UHF radio for constant contact with the lodge and other boats.

  1. GPS and Fish Finders

Current technology makes it possible for sonar and GPS devices to allow you to locate fish quickly and easily. With a combination of geolocation and sonar technologies, easy to use interfaces and the right instructions, you will save a lot of time trying to figure out where fish schools are located. More time to fish, less time to guess, more fun all around!

Hopefully, after reading this blog you’re ready for your next adventure in Alaska. If you’re looking for a lodge with the right boats to go fishing, Doc Warner’s offers the necessary Alaska salmon fishing boats all packed up with the supplies needed as well as sturdy construction and the best environments for you to explore and go fish!

 Visit our site to learn more about the amazing offers we have lined up for you.

How Easy is it to Get An Alaska Non-Resident Sport Fishing License?

Fishing Tips, Self Guided Fishing, Travel / By

If you’re going fishing in Alaska, you might want to make sure you have all the necessary paperwork and licensing for your trip to go on without a hitch when preparing a fishing trip. When coming in from out of state, you might be wondering how the process works for getting a non-resident sport fishing license in Alaska.

What are Alaska state fishing licenses for?

Fishing licenses have existed for a long time as part of common fishing regulations as a way to raise funds for the conservation of waterways and fishing habitats. Money earned from the purchase of fishing licenses is designated to the cleaning of trash from water reservoirs, supplementing species at fishing ponds, and funding conservation efforts that allow for the beautiful fishing places of Alaska to remain beautiful and stocked with fish to catch.

Where to find an out of state Alaska fishing license

For the State of Alaska, both residents over the age of 18 and non-residents over 16 need a sport fishing license, but you might be wondering, how does one get around to acquiring it?

Well, it’s not really too different from getting one from any other state, with the advantage of having the process available online for purchase in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website. You can visit here for more on the process of getting your out of state license online.

Another option is to find an Alaska fish permit in sporting goods stores and Fish and Game offices in Alaska. If you find yourself in the Last Frontier without a license, there’s no reason to panic! You can simply visit any sporting goods stores and even some grocery stores where you can buy such licenses.

As for Alaska’s big catch, king salmon, you may want to get what is known as a King Salmon stamp. This stamp is the special permit that allows you to fish for king salmon during its seasonal fishing period. Easy enough to find the same way you can find your Alaska non-resident sport fishing license.

While making reservations at an Alaska fishing lodge, the lodges themselves can offer licensing and have them all setup for your personal use. With Doc Warner’s, for example, you can be assured we’ll set up your alaska non resident sport fishing license and have it ready for you by the time you come up to fish with us.

If you want to focus on just getting up here and having the best experience possible, Doc Warner’s Alaska Adventures has you covered! We’ll take care of all of the logistics for you.  Visit our website to learn more.

How to Tell Salmon Apart

Fishing Tips, Self Guided Fishing / By

The limits for Silver Salmon (Coho), Pink Salmon (Humpy), Chum Salmon (Dog), and Red Salmon (Sockeye) are six per species per guest per day. For King Salmon (Chinook), the limits are set annually and change throughout the year. They can be anywhere from five or six per season with one or two catches per day down to one or two per season. King limits will be given to you when you arrive at the lodge. These limits make it important for our guests to know how to identify salmon species.

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Flashers and Dodgers

Fishing Tips / By

Flashers and dodgers are devices that reflect the sun and can be used to troll for King, Silver or Chum Salmon: fish that are attracted to the reflected light. Because different colors reflect light at different depths, knowing which colors to use at which depths can increase your chances of catching fish. For example, if you are fishing on a sunny day, more light will be reflected at deeper depths, which means you should choose a flasher typically used in shallower waters. Generally speaking, flashers used at deeper depths can be used in shallower waters.  Remember, if the skies are cloudy, not as much light can be reflected, so you may need to adjust the colors to shallower depths depending on the amount of sunlight available. In order to be flexible and accommodate for diverse weather conditions, have a variety of colors and sizes on hand. …

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