Greg Kain is a guide who takes his fishing very seriously - just the way I like it! Greg is the owner and operator of Kain's Fishing Adventures, based in Edgewood, Washington. He specializes in steelhead fishing in Washington and salmon fishing in Sitka, Alaska. Northwest Fishing Holes fished with Greg and experienced his steelhead expertise on the Wynoochee River last year. This past July, my wife Elaine and I had the opportunity to sample the other half of Kain's Fishing Adventures, in Sitka.

No less an authority than Nick Amato, the editor of Salmon Trout Steelheader, believes that Sitka offers the best salt water salmon fishing on the West Coast. After experiencing it for myself, I have to agree. With miles of protected bays, channels, and inlets, as well as easily accessible open ocean water, anglers very rarely see a day when weather absolutely prohibits fishing. The Sitka area boasts at least one large salmon hatchery, but more importantly, it lies on the edge of the biggest salmon highway in North America.

Greg leaves Washington behind and moves up to Alaska to begin his Sitka operation in May and returns home towards the end of September. Chinook begin to show in the waters around Sitka in May and start to taper off in late August and September. Coho, the other most targeted salmon species, begin in mid-July and continue to peak through September. Halibut, lingcod, and a variety of rockfish abound in the area and are available throughout the entire five month season.

Sitka is situated on the west side of Baranof Island along the southeast corner of the Gulf of Alaska, southwest of Juneau and northwest of Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchikan. Alaska Airlines has daily jet service into Sitka via Seattle. It is served by Alaska Marine Highway Ferries, and is also a favorite stopping-off point for cruise ships going up and down the Inside Passage. While Sitka is a fairly good sized town with plenty of amenities, most of the area is still unpopulated, and the scenery is spectacular. It is a real oasis in a desolate stretch of island, glacier, mountains, and fjords. (For a detailed map of the area, see nautical chart #17320, Coronation Island to Lisianski Strait.)

Greg headquarters this northern half of Kain's Fishing Adventures in a beautiful lodge overlooking Sitka Sound, just north of town on a road aptly named Halibut Point Road.

Set up to accommodate eight guests, the lodge has three bathrooms, a beautiful living room, dining room, and kitchen, and a spectacular deck complete with hot tub and a breathtaking 180 degree view. Inside, guests can relax near the bar, watch a large television, play cards, or just sit and watch a variety of wildlife. We viewed eagles and deer from the living room window on a daily basis.

The day begins with a large breakfast, and guests are sent to the boats equipped with generous box lunches. Plenty of coffee, soft drinks, and cookies are also available. From the lodge, guests are shuttled in a van to the harbor, just minutes away, where the two Kain's boats are waiting. Greg is captain of Raising Kain, a 27-foot Orca powered by a 250 hp Mercury outboard.

Captain Lou Javete skipper Bite Me, a twin of Greg's boat. Greg's assistant and deck hand is Bryce Kilponen and Josh Perlatti works with Lou. Typically, four guests fish on each boat. Both Captain Kain and Captain Javete specialize in mooching with plug cut herring, which suited Elaine and I just fine. While trolling can bring a lot of fish to the boat, we enjoy holding our rods and doing our own fishing. One of the hallmarks of Kain's Fishing Adventures, whether in Alaska or Washington, is that Greg expects a little fishing out of his clients. He believes it makes for a more rewarding experience. Again, I have to agree.

 
Both boats provide anglers with ten and a half foot Loomis rods and Shimano Triton reels lined with Izoreline. This quality equipment makes fishing more enjoyable and more successful. We used Gamakatsu hooks, the sharpest hooks on the market, and a sliding sinker setup which made bite detection much easier. Both are critical when mooching for salmon. In addition, the sliding sinker rig permitted a direct line to the fish without feeling the weight, making playing fish more fun and exciting.

Our first day began with a run north, inside Kruzof Island via Olga Strait and Nova Strait into Salisbury Sound. Later, we fished our way down the outside of Kruzof, stopping at Cape Georgiana, Point Amelia, and Shelikof Bay. We caught a mixture of Chinook and coho in the morning and then spent some time halibut fishing. Our Chinook were in the upper teens and low 20's and our largest halibut was about 60 pounds. We had flat water and sunshine the entire day. As was the case every day, we fished about eight hours, not including the run to our fishing destination.

 Typically, we left the dock around 5:30 a.m. and returned by 3:00 or 3:30 p.m.
The morning of our second day, we woke to a steady rain and some wind, but because of the covered cabin on Greg's boat, quality raingear, and the ability to get out of the wind behind an island, we hardly knew it was a miserable day. First thing in the morning we anchored in 120 feet of water and began to mooch for salmon. Greg runs very sophisticated sonar equipment, and he was able to identify Chinook over other salmon and call out their depth. He would tell each of us what depth to fish (determined by number of "pulls" off the reel), when to reel up, etc. This added an extra precision and thrill to the hunt, and kept us all ready, anticipating the exciting tap tap of a salmon mouthing the herring.

That second day was awesome! We caught king, coho, chum, and pink salmon all from the same anchored location. Two of the Chinook were over 30 pounds and several were in their mid 20's. Some of the coho reached ten to twelve pounds. Later, we pulled anchor and moved out around Cape Edgecumbe to fish for lingcod. Later still, we anchored in 280 feet and fished for halibut. By the end of the day, we and the two other guests on board headed in with a boatload of fish and tired arms.

One of the more impressive aspects of the operation was the way Greg and his hands handled and cared for our fish. Greg was more than happy to carefully release fish, or if you decided to keep one, kill and bleed it immediately. Our fish were quickly cleaned and iced onboard and upon returning to the dock, the crew filleted and vacuum packed the meat within hours. The fish were then taken to a commercial seafood processor for flash freezing and packing. Upon our departure, fish boxes already labeled and packed were delivered to us at the airport. This is an aspect of fishing often overlooked, but from my point of view, absolutely necessary. Now, at least three months later, we are still enjoying salmon, halibut, and lingcod that tastes as fresh as the day it was caught.

Our third day of fishing was another sterling display of both Greg's talents and the abundant opportunities in the Sitka area. We were catching fish when other weren't, visibly enjoying ourselves (read gloating) with a variety of high fives and yells. It's hard not to show off I guess. We even began to harass Greg and our likable deckhand, Bryce. Of course, being the only woman onboard became an issue for my wife after she proceeded to catch the first five salmon of the morning. Once again, before the day was over, we had boated kings up to 30 pounds, several coho, and numerous halibut. We also took time to view whales, seals, and eagles.

Evenings after fishing are fun too, since you are free, and have plenty of time, to visit the sites, shops, and restaurants of Sitka. Shuttle service is provided by some local restaurants or by the lodge. Taxi service is also available. Some ot the finest seafood in all of Alaska is served in Sitka restaurants. We also enjoyed socializing with the other lodge guests, comparing fish stories, and just relaxing on the deck or in the hot tub.

Kain's Fishing Adventures books trips a year in advance. In fact, many of Greg's guests are repeat customers who book their next trip before departing the lodge. For a beautiful color brochure and more information or to make reservations, contact Great Kain at 800-926-7932, or email him soon!

You can contact us via e-mail email@kainsfishingadventures.com or call us toll free at: 1-800-926-7932