After the umpteenth Dolly Varden, Arctic grayling, or pink salmon has been landed during a fishing season, it is easy to take for granted how amazing the fishing can be in Alaska. Likewise, seasoned anglers don’t go fishing for sockeye on the Kenai during the peak of the run and still wonder if they will bring home fresh red salmon. Rather, they go to the river wondering how long it will take to land a limit.

Alaska’s saltwater produces the same result. For example, halibut hunters entering the waters of Cook Inlet or sailing away from ports like Sitka, Juneau, or Ketchikan are generally fixated on the size of the halibut long before they reach the fishing grounds—rarely does the discussion begin with “if we find them.”

After spending countless angling hours over the last half dozen years catching fish of virtually every sport-caught species, I, too, am finding it easy to lose perspective, sometimes forgetting to acknowledge the miracle of Alaska fisheries. Stocks around the globe are faltering and in many cases completely absent. Alaska remains as one of the best places on the planet to find great numbers of wild fish. My perspective was renewed this past summer when fishing with a group of seasoned anglers from within the fishing industry.

A media trip was arranged to bring together manufacturers reps and media personnel and to fish the salt and freshwaters of southcentral Alaska. Day trips for silvers on the lower Kenai, saltwater fishing for halibut and silvers out of Seward, rainbows on the middle Kenai, and even a fly-out for silvers across Cook Inlet were part of the agenda for our group of fishermen. The anglers in the party have more experience fishing than most, as our group was composed of everything from employees of rod and hook makers to editors and writers for other magazines. These guys fish often and well. But it was their excitement and attitudes that left a lasting impression on me. It’s one thing for the traveler to Alaska who has never caught a salmon or who has rarely fished before to be overwhelmed by the angling. It’s quite another thing when professionals are awestruck by the beauty, serenity, and numbers of fish.

It’s not as if the fishing wasn’t incredible. Fishing with Mike Flores of Ninilchik Saltwater Adventures one day, we leave Seward for a ride to Montague Island. Upon arriving, we will mooch for silvers before dropping to the bottom for halibut. It doesn’t take long before the boat is hot and heavy into coho, and I estimate that several of the larger fish were in the high teens and pushing twenty pounds. Anglers are switching positions, high five’s are being thrown left and right, and the over and under rod dance is performed flawlessly to a silent tune. Once all the anglers have filled coho limits, we switch to halibut. Before too long, I am fighting a big fish and getting ribbed by the whole boat to get the “chicken” aboard. I am rewarded with silence when the fish gets to the surface and it’s a triple-digit contender. Both the camaraderie of fishing with new friends and the solid action all day combine to make this trip memorable for all parties.

So the next time you find yourself sifting through pinks to get to silvers, remember how lucky you are to have such a problem. There are anglers across the globe who would give up their favorite fishing rod to catch pinks all day. For the trout bums across Alaska (me included) who get tired of countless Dolly Varden when trying to find that one steelhead, remember the angler on the East Coast whose season is made when landing a 10-inch brook trout. You’ll gain a new perspective for a 20-inch Dolly.

—Marcus Weiner
Publisher