My best day of saltwater fishing to date occurred way out on the Pacific side of the Alaska Peninsula, within a stone’s throw of Castle Rock just down the coast from Chignik. Author and photographer Mark Emery does an exquisite job detailing that emerging sport fishery later in this issue, and for me, his enthusiasm rings especially true. With a clear blue sky and calm waters providing the backdrop, we began our day by casting flies to schools of eager black rockfish, pretty much catching at will. Some were larger than others, and with every hit there was some of the particular mix of excitement and anticipation Marcus discusses in his Alaska Traveler this month. In the end, though, after four or five hours angling, there was nothing truly impressive about either our catch rate or the size of the fish. Alaska’s saltwater fisheries are often like that—prolific, but always battling against the state’s already impossible reputation for large and abundant fish.
As the day wore on we transitioned to the skiff and chased baitfish balls around the bay, sight-fishing to saltwater coho. Again, great stuff, with a similar feel to bonefishing on the flats, but while I’ve never experienced such steady saltwater action for silvers, each was in truth just an average fish.
Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I’m rather just trying to make a point—we all know Alaska is the place to visit for a shot at true trophy fish, but what experience teaches you is that if a trophy is your hope, build your plan around something other than luck. Time, in fact, is what you need, for obviously the longer you fish in Alaska, the better your chances at coming face to face with a lunker from the deep.
That simple fact jumped out at me upon my return when I received a letter from Nancy Konop, mother of 7-year-old Cody Konop. Last summer this young angler extraordinaire broke the IGFA Junior World Record for Yelloweye Rockfish, as well as the Junior World Record for Lingcod. He then proceeded to break his own lingcod record three times during the course of the fishing season, finally settling on a whopping 51.6-pounder as the top mark.
In any sense, this is impressive stuff, but having spent many hours hauling up much smaller fish, I have some inkling of the time and effort young Cody must spend and expend on the water. A jigging aficionado, who prefers lingcod and silver salmon most of all, Cody does most of his fishing in the waters of Prince William Sound aboard the 62-foot Miss Brizz, which is owned by his father, Tom Konop. That’s where he got his start with the records—his dad has been a certified IGFA Captain since 2005—and of course, it’s also where he started his love affair with fishing at the age of two. Just recently, Cody also received the IGFA 2009 World Record Achievement Award for First Place, Male Smallfry, having set the most world records in his age category throughout the year.
Clearly it’s something other than luck then. Great job, Cody.
–Troy
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