Alaska is Great Location for Cruisers

Alaska is hot.If that sounds counterintuitive, hang on to your mittens!As a tourist destination, the last frontier sizzles and, consequently, space aboard the flotilla of ships that call the 49th state home from May through September fills quickly.

In the 17 years from 1990 to 2007, for example, the number of cruisers who've sailed there has nearly quadrupled from 235,000 to a tad more than a million, says Marty Trencher, owner and managing director of Travel Direct and Alaska Cruisetours Online, a 9-year-old firm specializing in vacations to the "Last Frontier."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-cruise_alaska_pmfeb10,0,7378194.story

See also Alaska cruise fishing

Update on Fisheries Meetings

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The state Board of Fisheries meeting is winding down after two weeks of listening to public testimony and voting on proposals.
Some attendees say they are disappointed with the outcome and according to a few Mat-Su fishermen, the board is showing favoritism to commercial fisheries in the central district.
The fishermen asked the state to declare silver, red and chum salmon as stocks of concern. The Board did agree to list sockeye salmon in the Susitna and Yentna Rivers as a "stock of yield concern."

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=7863653

See also sportfishing in Alaska

Crab Season Begins

As the sun set on a slushy gray Monday, the last crabbers still in town were scrambling to leave for this week's tanner crab opener in Southeast Alaska.
The crew of the Mongoose, at Aurora Basin boat harbor in downtown Juneau, was loading crab pots for the tanner season. They were still unsure of where they were going, or when they would leave.

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/021208/loc_246228452.shtml

New Regulations for Early King Salmon Fishing

The Alaska Board of Fisheries passed four proposals Monday in Anchorage dealing with early-run king salmon on the Kenai River as amended by record copy 158.
Record copy 158 was prepared by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to address concerns they had with the proposals brought before the board dealing with early-run king salmon regulations. These proposals were placed before the board by sport fishermen in an effort to promote fishing for kings on the river during the early run.

http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/021208/news_4209.shtml

See also Alaskan king salmon fishing

Fisherman Rescued Near Kodiak

The Coast Guard assisted rescuing a fisherman from a capsized fishing vessel after it was washed ashore Saturday near Kodiak, Alaska.
From a Coast Guard press release: The Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers and the Bayside and Kodiak City Fire Departments rescued one individual from a capsized fishing vessel after it was washed ashore Saturday near Kodiak.

http://alaskareport.com/news28/z48189_boat_kodiak.php

Proposal During Alaska Fishing Trip

Move over, Jonah. Make room for a gemstone inside that great fish.

Remember the biblical story of Jonah, the man who fled when God asked him to go to Ninevah?
Thank heavens, Lori Peterson didn't do that when God beckoned her to Alaska.

This is a wonderful Valentine story of love and faith. Wait 'til you read how a Pacific halibut helped Larry propose a year later.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=66634&section=features&freebie_check&CFID=4072037&CFTOKEN=26647850&jsessionid=8830207893b1594370e5

Alaska Fishing Board Has Big Decisions To Make

After more than six hours of deliberation and decision-making at Saturday's meeting, the Alaska Board of Fisheries called it quits for the day in order to take more time to review proposals dealing with commercial fishing seasons.
Proposal 83, which would extend the end of the late-run sockeye season to from Aug. 10 to Aug. 15, set off confusion amongst board members, who tabled discussion of the proposal until this morning.

http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/021008/news_4173.shtml

Looks like there are a lot of decisions being made concerning commercial and sport fishing interests all over the state. There are issues dealing with Cook Inlet, Kenai, Stormy Lake and other fishing areas.

More on Red Salmon Fishing

Invasive Snow Crab May Affect Alaska Crab Sales

KODIAK -- It's an invasive species problem that Alaska would love to have. Millions of snow crab are on the march in the Barents Sea, and no one knows how they got there or what to do with them -- yet.
The Barents Sea, which straddles Norway and Russia, is the same source of all of that jumbo king crab, much of it caught illegally, that wreaked havoc on Alaska's market for the past couple of years.
But unlike king crabs, which were purposely introduced by Russia into those waters in 1966, the opilio, or snow, crab is a true invasive species. Longtime market analyst Ken Talley reports that no one is sure how the snow crab reached the Barents. The first sightings appeared in the Russian zone in 1996.

http://www.adn.com/money/story/310803.html

Making the River Safer for Anglers and Bears

SOLDOTNA -- There'll be some changes in how bears and humans see each other along the Russian River this summer, starting with the bears' hair.

As part of an interagency effort to pacify a danger zone where hundreds of anglers daily mingle with bears expecting to dine on human leftovers, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game plans to make over several grizzlies in bright shades of drugstore hair dye. The idea behind yellow, green, orange or blue bears is to make them instantly recognizable to anyone who reports an encounter, area wildlife biologist Jeff Selinger said.

http://dwb.adn.com/front/story/8902973p-8802899c.html

Sounds like a radical idea, but if you read the entire article, you'll see that bear specialists don't see dyeing the bears as a problem. With so many fishermen and bears congregating in the same place, there are bound to be confrontations. The best idea in the article is to give anglers a place to dispose of their fish carcasses so bears won't find huge piles of treats left by humans.

Federal Funding for Fishing May Get Dropped

Alaska fisheries and jobs from Ketchikan to the Yukon will be big losers if more than $7 million in federal funding is cut by Congress.
The looming shortfall took state policymakers by surprise, according to industry watchdog Bob Tkacz.
In his "Laws for the Sea," a weekly report on fisheries news before the Alaska Legislature, Tkacz said the state had already written the money into its FY09 budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.

http://thearcticsounder.com/news/story/1305

More on Alaska fishing

Fishing News Updates

This year there will be a few changes in the halibut fishing regulations. The regulations have not been printed yet, but they are coming soon.

First, charter boat operators can expect a change in halibut retention. I have not seen a final rule yet, but expect a change to be coming.

http://www.sitnews.us/0208Viewpoints/020608_drew_mathews.html

Nice Alaska Salmon Photo

Katie Beesley, Clearfield: Katie caught this 55-pound king salmon while fishing near Denali National Park in Alaska in July. She managed to get the beauty in on a 20-pound test fishing line.

Check out this photo of a 55 pound salmon caught near Denali National Park.

http://www.sltrib.com/outdoors/ci_8187577

What a fish!

See also Alaska King Salmon Fishing

Fly Fishing Show in Charlotte, NC

The Fly Fishing Show, the largest event of its kind in the Southeast, has for years been a fixture on the Charlotte scene during what is one of the slowest months of the year for sporting activity.

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20080203/NEWS/432481599/1018/SPORTS

One of the big door prizes is a fishing trip to Alaska. The winner will stay at the Lake Marie Lodge and the To-toy-lon River Lodge for four days each. If you're suffering from cabin fever during the slower fishing season, the Fly Fishing Show will get you back in the angling spirit.

See also Alaska fly fishing

Fishery Board Meeting Highlights

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- More than 100 Alaskans showed up this weekend to testify in front of the Alaska Board of Fisheries.
The board says it heard viewpoints from individuals as well as groups on some 277 proposals it's considering that deal with management of the Upper Cook Inlet Fishery...

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=7816608

This is a good example of anglers standing up for their rights to fish.

See more on Alaska sportfishing