Fishing?
 

Just got back from a trip to the SE of Alaska, and the fishing was disappointing as compared to a few years ago. The limits imposed by the State were less than before, but it didn't really matter because we couldn't catch even that much. Was this an aberration, or is this the new reality?

I can't speak to Southeast, but I know that there have been issues with the fisheries in Southcentral in the last couple of years, and some (small-time, family-run) commercial fishing operations (including some run by friends of mine) have been very dissatisfied both with the productivity of the fisheries as well as how the state has handled some of the issues.

Curious as to what the OP was fishing for. King runs are down statewide...it's starting to become a big hot button issue up here. Unfortunately, at least in my opinion, the King downturn is due at least in part to overfishing. Reds and Silvers are still quite plentiful.

Halibut are a bit different. I've never fished for them in SE Alaska, but I know in Homer and Seward the charters are having to go farther and farther out to find them. That said, I usually do my halibut fishing off Kodiak Island and never have a problem catching them. Your mileage may vary, so to speak.

Thanks! Yeah , that's exactly the info I was "fishing" for. We've been going to SE Alaska for about 20 years, mainly to Elfin Cove. Over the past couple of years, one lodge has burnt down, and another has gone banko. So on the latest trip, we tried a different lodge, and the salmon fishing (both Chinook and Coho) was much worse than in prior years. So instead of coming home with 200 pounds of salmon and halibut as in prior years. we got about 150 pounds of fish, half of which was the "black bass" that we used to throw back. Of course, the lodge owner said it was just a seasonal issue, and come back next year. But I would tend to agree with the overfishing theory, perhaps coupled with global warming. The sport fishing limits are also lower. Then you get into the sport vs. commercial controversy. (It seems to me that per cap, Alaska grosses more from sport fishing vs. commercial, but of course that's controversial, but I don't think there's any doubt that somebody that pays to stay at a lodge spends a lot more than a commercial fisherman. Those lodges aren't cheap.) I think we may try Kodiak this year. Thanks again.