Leaving the Seward dock at the ungodly hour of 4:30 a.m., the anglers on board are filled with a combined sense of anticipation and uneasiness. This is not your normal fishing trip, but rather an expedition in search of Alaska’s most powerful gamefish. Fishing with Ezra of Alaska Northern Outfitters and Nate of Silverado Charters aboard the 5-Hole, a well-appointed and powered catamaran, we will make a long journey to Hinchinbrook Island in search of salmon shark.

Joining us are Lars and Jason of KTUU, Channel 2, as well as Ezra’s deckhand Trent. During the ride to Hinchinbrook, Trent rigs up the high quality gear. With an average salmon shark in the neighborhood of 300 pounds, it is important to have reliable and suitably heavy equipment to handle these bruisers. We will use Penn 6-foot tuna sticks with Penn 50 VSW International V reels. Attached to heavy monofilament main line is a 15-foot steel cable, a 5-ounce banana weight, a whole 6- to 9-inch herring threaded on a large J-hook with a toothpick through it to keep the bait straight in the water.

Arriving at the chosen destination, we gently jig the herring from the bottom to the surface. Ezra coaches the anglers as to what we should expect. He has found these sharks to be extremely light biters, noticing that they typically mouth the bait before committing to eating it. Therefore, we will need to be patient and let the sharks turn and swim away from the boat with the bait in their mouth before setting the hook.

We decide ahead of time that we will keep the first shark that we catch (if we catch one) and split the meat between the group. Salmon shark is delicious when bled and gutted immediately after dispatching it. Lars is first to get a strike and after good coaching from Ezra, he is fast into his first salmon shark. We quickly get a Braid “Power Play” fighting belt system around his waist and this immediately helps Lars apply leverage to the shark. In a short 20 minutes, he has brought a medium-sized shark next to the boat. Two shots from a .44 caliber pistol and the estimated 300-pound shark is subdued.

Jason is next and once into the shark, it is clear that this is a larger animal. The expression on his face said it all—a mixture of excitement, apprehension and no small amount of exertion combined for a sort of wild-eyed grimace. He works hard to get the shark to the boat and is rewarded with another back-breaking run. Jason and the shark ran out of energy at about the same time and the shark is released.

In the end, it was a fun day with Ezra, Nate, and Trent and a unique experience for most anglers. Having fished for salmon shark in Valdez, Cordova and now Seward, it was easy to notice similarities and differences in technique. One thing remained consistent across all the experiences, and that was the look of awe on the anglers face as they fought the strongest gamefish in Alaska.

—Marcus Weiner

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