Surfcasting Alaska Part 2

[HalibutHunter]

Surfcasting Alaska – Part 2

Alaska’s Common Saltwater Fish for the Surfcaster

It really would take more than several volumes to list all of the species available to the angler fishing Alaska’s beaches so I will be focusing mainly on halibut and those you are most likely to encounter when you surfcast the shorelines. Again this series of articles deals primarily with traditional surfcasting using long rods and heavy terminal tackle but keep in mind that many of the species are available to anglers using smaller rods and more “common” gear.

Halibut –
Little research has been done on near shore behavior of Alaskan halibut; so much of our information comes from observation, experience and studying of stomach contents and bait preferences. It has taken almost four years to nail it down as it pertains to surfcasters but we think we have gathered enough information to make an educated guess as to what is going on down in the shallower murky depths.
A popular misconception is that halibut are opportunistic ambush predators that simply lay on the bottom in wait for something to swim by or something to scavenge. When we are talking about the fish caught in nearshore waters this is simply nowhere near the truth. These are active, highly mobile predators feeding throughout the water column. They are in fact opportunistic but are by no means lying about or scavenging. One of our test bed locations is a beach near a cannery that dumps chopped fish guts into the sea daily. This is where we can always count on a HUGE biomass of a variety of species of fish, mollusks, cephalopods and crabs; this is where we regularly open up and study the stomach contents of halibut caught. Every single halibut caught so far has been obviously not a resident fish of the area. Because the beach is adjacent to much deeper water they seem to make fast raiding runs into the shallow water (20-45 feet deep) in order to feed on the other creatures that do in fact reside here feeding on the waste fish parts. Never have we found a halibut’s stomach (even the juveniles) to contain these chopped fish parts but instead they have eaten juvenile crab, Pollack, flounder, octopus, cod or sandlance. We have observed them traveling in small groups of three to four and charging right into an areas in a frenzy feeding on anything moving they can fit into their mouths. Also, we have frequently seen halibut chasing schools of baitfish up to the surface and splashing about like feeding tuna.
In addition, none of the halibut caught on any of the beaches has yet been caught on a stationary or “dead drift” bait. If it isn’t moving they are just not interested. This can be attributed to the fact that they are also highly visual predators. Scent plays a great part in their routine but when zeroing in on a target they have extremely acute vision and use it to it’s fullest. This tends to slant our choices in bait and artificials towards the more visible colors such as whites and glow-in-the-dark.

One of the facts that are well documented is that smaller halibut under 50lbs (mostly males) are highly migratory and far less territorial than the larger fish that frequent the deeper water. Therefore you are much more likely to hook these guys than the true barndoors. That is not to say that the bigger fish do not come inshore, they often do for the same reason. They are hungry and you go where the buffet is but with any halibut over 50lbs it becomes a matter of being in the right place at the right time rather than the “magic spot”. A shore-based angler can count on an average size range from 15-35 lbs. No they are not giant, but they are in fact the average for the boat based fishers as well and you can be sure that a fish of this size is going to put up more than enough fight on surf gear when compared to the typical boat rod we use for flatties.

Seasonal migration is really the only deciding factor when considering the “fish no fish” question. During the winter months October – April they move enmasse into the deeper waters, with the larger fish heading for the continental shelf for spawning around December to February, after the spawn they begin to migrate back into shallower waters. Come May they are once again within range of the shore caster (depending on location).

More on gear, location tides etc.. in future articles.



Flounder –
While there are multiple species of flounder in Alaskan waters the ones most often encountered by anglers are – the Yellowfin Sole, Starry Flounder, Rock Sole and Sanddab.
This gang of characters will be your most often caught fish when pursuing halibut from shore. They are so numerous in certain areas that the running average is about 150 of them for every halibut hooked. They are voracious scavengers and will impale themselves on 10/0 hooks with abandon. Especially if you are fishing anywhere near a cannery or commercial fishing dock, being that you have to check every bump with a strike in case it is “the big one” you will find yourself reeling these in till you are literally sick and tired of them. Many of our friends from the East Coast are stunned by the biomass we reel in and are shocked to learn that we use them for bait or just toss them back, but that is in fact the case. Because they are scavengers, if you are fishing near a release of fish waste, these guys eat it up. The meat takes on the smell and flavor of their diet and it is not pretty and makes for a mushy, smelly cookout. Away from civilization they are rather tasty because they feed primarily on small crabs and shrimp. Averaging 1-2lbs they are not large but some Starry Flounder regularly reach the size of doormats. These guys tend to follow the halibut in migratory patterns.

Irish Lords –
There are a couple of species of this fish regularly caught in Alaska but neither of them is the one usually caught by shore anglers. This fish is commonly misidentified as an Irish Lord but is actually a Greater (or Giant) Sculpin. While considered edible by the native population up here they are not commonly kept for consumption. They are in some places the second most often hooked species from shore. We call them “Bucket Mouths” or just “Pain in the A&&” because they are 60% head and mouth and the rest is a rather anemic looking body with spikes on it’s fins and a bulging belly. They are scavengers and crab eaters and when hooked open their gaping mouths that act like a drift anchor and make for a rather uninteresting drag into shore. Little is known about the migratory patterns and daily habits of this species…if any.

Salmon –
Yeah I know some of you have been looking forward to this one. Well the skinny is this; they are difficult to hook from shore in the salt. We are still exploring several methods to catch them with consistency (see later article) but have yet to either run out of ideas or stumble onto the magic formula. Part of the problem is location; the places where they come nearshore enough to cast to are few and far between. These are pelagic fish and only really approach shore when chasing baitfish such as herring, sandlance or eulachon or when they are heading for a river mouth to gear up for spawning. When they do come in they are moving fast and if they are not actively looking for prey they are hard to get to chase a hook. Most of our success has come from casting flyrods with streamers to imitate baitfish or small thin Rapala like plugs or Needlefish spoons. Limited attempts have been made with casting floats and herring and so far they seem to be working but again it becomes a matter of a lack of consistency. Seasons are well known and charted and need no repeating here except to say that we can catch Kings almost year round in the salt from shore but the other species tend to be a bit before and during the seasons listed for appearance in the freshwater.

Cod and Pollack –
Catching any of the species of cod from shore is usually because of a nearby heavy concentration of food such as a cannery or commercial fishing dock. They will school up nearshore when there is enough food to sustain them and that includes scavenging and predating on smaller fish attracted by fish waste. They are however a good indicator of water suitable for halibut feeding raids. The juvenile Pollack and cod as well as tomcod are a regular meal for halibut. They can get rather large, with the Pollack hitting 15lbs and grey cod caught that exceed 30lbs, and will put up a good fight but again nowhere near that of a halibut or salmon. This is another species that if caught from shore near civilization we recommend you don’t keep for eating. This is mainly due to a lovely little parasite known as a seal worm. The cod and Pollack over 12” in length caught nearshore are 99% likely to have this parasite resembling a round worm found in dogs. The unfortunate part about this parasite is that it burrows into the meat wall and can infect humans if consumed and is also really gross to look at let alone put in your face in the first place. They are midlevel predators so will strike at anything put in front of them and can be a welcome break from the flounder when hooked however.

Sharks and Skates –

Yep we got um’. Our most common sharks are the Mud sharks or Spiny Dogfish averaging 3-5 feet. They will maul baits meant for halibut when fishing in the brine near the mouths of rivers. While not a hard fighting fish they are fun to catch sometimes and can be a welcome diversion.
The only large predatory sharks regularly seen in Alaska are the Salmon Sharks and to my knowledge nobody has yet to hook and land one entirely from shore using a cast rig rather than deployed.
It is my understanding that in other parts of the country Skates are actually pursued as a gamefish. Not here. They are common nearshore when casting for halibut and are sometimes kept for eating but our problem lies in the fact that they can and do exceed 100lbs regularly when hooked from shore and they can and will destroy tackle. This is mostly because they are a hard fight but not a fast fight, so drags are usually set incorrectly for them or the fisherperson becomes impatient and starts to horse them in. Bad idea, especially with long sensitive surf gear not designed for horsing.
Although the migration of the Mud Sharks in the fall to the upper parts of the major bays is well known there is still little we know about what goes on the world of the Skates and the Salmon Sharks.

Trout –

You heard right, trout. These are Dolly Varden, a sea-run cousin to the Arctic Char. They show up about the end of April and cruise the shorelines chasing sandlance, eulachon and herring. They are not usually a targeted species for surfcasting but we always bring a smaller casting rod or flyrod rigged with a smelt like imitation when fishing early in the season and they are sighted cruising the shore. Success has also been had when fishing a weighted casting float with herring bits suspended beneath it and allowed to drift with the tide. They are a migratory fish entering the freshwater to spawn in the spring. They are found in the salt throughout Alaska in the spring and again in the fall in smaller numbers.

Rockfishes, Lingcod, Greenling and other structure oriented species –

This group is the most dependant on location more than any other, most notably a proximity to both structure and deep water at the same time. Black Rockfish and Greenling are the most commonly caught of the group nearshore. This is when casting near steep rocky drop-offs or kelp beds. They are opportunistic predators and will most often strike at anything presented including top water baits. The other species of rockfish are rare for the surfcaster to hook because they prefer very deep water. Lings are caught but within our core group only 3 of us have managed it so far and that was done on a VERY remote beach in the Gulf of Alaska and again in Southeast Alaska. But again, it can be done if you’re adventurous enough. This is a group still totally under fished by shore casters because of a lack of accessibility to the habitat.


Again this was clearly not intended as a complete species guide, just a primer for the angler intending to try his hand at fishing the salt from shore. In the next article I will begin to cover gear commonly used and rigs that we have so far found to be productive then we will begin to move into techniques and methods. I apologize to the picture hungry types but honestly, pictures of these fish abound on the web and I don’t really have anything here you have not seen before like albino lingcod or upright halibut, so I have saved the room for info instead.
As I have stated before please feel free to let me know if I am leaving anything out and I will try to fill in the blanks where I can.

Part 3 coming – Gearing up for Alaska’s Surf

[cst]

people here fish for rockfish, lings and greenling from shore pretty frequently. popular baits include squids of fish, squid, mussles, clams and plastic swimbaits and grubs. have you used tried the swimbaits at all?

[HalibutHunter]

Sure cst, we have actually started using swimbaits with some positive results and are playing with them when we can, but again our (larger) lings tend to run very deep and accesability can be a major problem. Black Rockfish,baby lings and greenling are really no problem as kelp beds nearshore are easy to locate but the large yelloweye rockfish,copper and the like are commonly found around the 200+ foot mark so finding a beach with that kind of depth within range of surf gear is tough to come by. Or perhaps it's not, honestly there is more room for discovery up here than you can imagine and I am the first to admit that it would take me a lifetime to learn even a small fraction of the variables and locations that will work up here by myself. Which is exactly why this series is more of an invitation to come up, find a beach and be a pioneer, there is still lots of ground to cover.

[Local Rookie]

Whoa! That is a lot of very impressive research done! I want to catch skates from shore. Anyway, I cannot wait for part three!

[Wahoo!]

Awesome article! Very interesting. I love the idea of surf fishing being so new up there right now and being able to find new things every day.

[surfmaster]

I've caught cod( lot's of cod),irish lords,salmon,chicken (halibut),arrowtoth flounder and 2 diffetrent species of salmon when i fished there from shore. I didn't notice any "seal worms" but now I'm worried. Any symptoms and cures that you know about.. Ps. Iwas in Valdez for 5 months

[HalibutHunter]

Originally Posted by surfmaster

I've caught cod( lot's of cod),irish lords,salmon,chicken (halibut),arrowtoth flounder and 2 diffetrent species of salmon when i fished there from shore. I didn't notice any "seal worms" but now I'm worried. Any symptoms and cures that you know about.. Ps. Iwas in Valdez for 5 months

Your in good country for avoiding seal worm in Valdez. Prince William Sound has a low occurence of the parasite overall.
Anasakis Decipiens otherwise known as the Cod Worm or Seal Worm is a nasty little nematode that first makes its presence known by giving you a sore or irritated throat, usually immediately followed by actually coughing up a worm into the mouth. Severe abdominal or digestive tract pain can also be a possibility in some cases. Symptoms can appear within a few hours to a couple weeks after consuming undercooked infected fish. About ten cases of infection are seen a year and the only known surefire cure for severe cases is the surgical removal of the adult worm from the stomach lining....now Who's up for sushi?
The simple rule is, if you want to avoid this bug; cook your catch well and avoid keeping any fish that look to be not 100% from the get go.

[El_Kazong]

Great articles man! Thanks for all the effort in writing them, I'm looking forward to the next installment...

[BeachBear]

Loved the article, WAY COOL. I want to see a seal worm, but not experience it.

[HalibutHunter]

Originally Posted by BeachBear

Loved the article, WAY COOL. I want to see a seal worm, but not experience it.

Not much to see really, if you've ever seen a dog with round worms you've seen the twin brother. They resemble moving yellow bean sprouts. Dunno if they taste anything like sprouts though...