There are strict rules on fishing King. You need a special endorsement on your fishing license for starters ($30 extra). You are only allowed to catch 1 fish on rod & reel, and after that you cannot fish for anymore - not even catch & release. It's time consuming & requires a lot of luck.
Due to Alaskan state law, we could only keep 2 Halibut per person (per day). They are very strict in that you need a license to fish. The seasons for fishing are also short and for some species they impose rules like "no bait" to make it harder. These rules are adhered to and strictly enforced, all part of an effort to fish in a sustainable manner.
I understand now more than before why most fish in our markets is farmed (especially salmon). Commercially fishing some of these delicate areas would be devastating to these ecosystems.
Tomorrow we are going on the Kenai River for King Salmon, as the season just opened on 7/1 for that species. I'm excited for the adventure, and the opportunity to bring home some wild caught Kings (superior to farmed).
Today we flew out of Soldotna,AK on a small plane to Wolverine Creek, which trickled into a beautiful glacial lake (notice the color of the lake in the photo, it's that way from glacial silt). The mouth of the creek was a slice of heaven with plenty of Sockeye Salmon, Grizzly Bears, and Bald Eagles all in a contained area. Sockeye were tricky to fish because they don't bite so you have to get lucky and hook them. Nevertheless, we managed to catch 33lbs between my brothers, my Dad, & I. The best part was flying back, where we flew up and over a glacier -absolutely amazing!!!
