Fisher Girl DeLise

Memorial Weekend Sitka, Alaska Sitka from Castle Hill How do you spend 4 rainy days in Sitka while you wait for the next king salmon opener? Boat projects, paperwork, laundry, gin rummy, walks in the rain… We walked to town every day – to send off mail, pick up fishing gear or just to stretch our legs. Sitka has Tlingit, Russian, and American heritage that is still apparent, especially when looking at the architecture.   It’s also a very active fishing village with a large number of trollers based here. I’ve visited before but this is the first time I’ve had 4 days to just explore.   We even got a brief window of sunshine when we were at the Baranof Castle Hill (historic site) which is a great place to get a view of town and Sitka Sound. Russian Church in downtown Sitka Harbor We also worked on fishing gear and boat projects. My favorite fix was a spontaneous “remodel” of our living space.   With me aboard, the bed that Doug has been using was no...

Monday, May 21, 18 Anchored last night on the NE side of Magoun Island in a little cove by ourselves. We broke out our newest kitchen tool - the new Instant Pot per our friend Lisa’s suggestion.   We made a pork tenderloin with potatoes and brussel sprouts in less than 30 minutes! The wind gusted up to 40 knots and we were really swinging on the hook! There were deer on shore and we saw a weasel of some kind - maybe a mink or a martin? The fish opening was delayed until tomorrow here and the wind and rain continue today with a gale warning so we are not leaving the anchorage. We spent the day here prepping for tomorrows opening. I polished brass spoon lures for kings and sewed upholstery to fit our cushion Doug had cut down in Skagway to give us more sitting room. Doug pumped bow water and checked the engine and generator. Rain and wind finally slowed down around 4 and we had a much quieter night at anchor. Tuesday, May 22, 18 First King on board First day of fishi...

Tuesday, May 15, 18 Haines Harbor We left Haines and headed to Juneau to provision for our trip to Sitka. Finally on our way to the fishing grounds! We saw our first humpback whale south of town at the Katzahen River mouth. We also passed Sea Lion Rock, a haul out spot since I lived here in the early 1990s but the population has increased from about 300 then to over 1000 on the official count this year! Maybe that is part of the reason the king salmon run is low in the upper Lynn Canal- those guys can eat a lot of fish! Doug, who is amazing at seeing both sea and land mammals, spotted a black bear cruising the beach so our first bear sighting as well!  Eagles on Mab Island where we anchored We anchored in Bridgit Cove behind Mab Island. Pretty little cove with literally hundreds of eagles there, as well as sea lions and even a whale came in close to the boat in the evening! Wednesday, May 16, 18 Wednesday awoke to fabulous sunshine before 5am. We ran to Juneau in ...

Fisher Girl DeLise? The end of 2017 I quit my corporate job to go commercial salmon fishing in Alaska. I would join my partner Doug on FV (Fishing Vessel) Pacific Son, his 37’ troller. My friends and family were not exactly surprised as I love a good adventure but I am a greenhorn when it comes to commercial fishing. My dad was a bass fisherman so I’ve held a rod and even caught a few blue gills as a kid, but nothing anything like trolling for salmon in the waters of SE Alaska. I’m a newbie so please forgive my ignorance and lack of experience as I fumble thru the language, gear and experience of fishing. I had spent a couple of summers in SE back in the early 90s and always wanted to come back to Alaska to see more of the state. Doug lived there for 15 years and spoke of coming back to fish when we first started dating in 2010. In fall of 2015 he started looking for a boat and found Pacific Son (PacSon for short) in Oregon. He and a sailing friend of ours, Kim, motored her up t...