annual trip to Icy Bay Lodge starting tomorrow

Started by ksong, June 23, 2018, 06:02:20 PM

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ksong

I have been fishing British Columbia and Alaska about two dozens times.
Now I settle down at the Icy Bay Lodge and fish there annually just because fishing is fantastic, especially on jigs.
I got 270 lb halibut on a jig on the first year. The beauty of fishing there is you can use light   8 - 10 oz jigs as we fish only 90' - 100'.
Big ling cod invaded the offshore spot last year and it was common to catch 30 - 40 ling cod in 20 lb - 40 lb all on jigs on one day trip.
I just talked with Capt Michael and he said weather was not favorable from Monday to Thursday and they went out to offshore. As usual, he said fishing was great. They kept halibut upto 97 lb and release 150 lb halibut.

Here is pictures of yesterday's catch.
I will post pictures and report.

ksong

#1
5 days incredible fishing is finally over.
We are very fortunate to have wonderful weather and we could go out offshore.
Everyday, we could catch and release many halibut in 30 lb - 60 lb and countless big ling cod and rockfish, all on jigs except Wed which is non-halibut day.

All used light Black Hole USA rods and they all are facinated with using the light rods for big halibut and ling cod.
Biggest halibut of 150 lb was caught my daughter Jumee using Black Hole Cape cod 80g jigging rod.

Food was fabuouls and crew were so kind and friendly.
I will post detailed report and pictures/video of this incredible trip.



scrinch

#2
Sounds like a great trip. I'm glad your daughter earned the honors for largest halibut. I'm sure she was proud. Her arms must have ached that night!

I'll be going to Sitka for salmon/halibut in mid-August.

ksong

heading for Yakutat from Seattle



arriving at Yakutat


waiting for a plane to Icy Bay Lodge at Yakuat Lodge bar.


heading for Icy Bay Lodge





our cabin


food was excellent prepared by Chef Rick







It is 11 pm and it is time to go sleep for the next day fishing.


ksong

heading for Yakutat from Seattle



arriving at Yakutat


waiting for a plane to Icy Bay Lodge at Yakuat Lodge bar.


heading for Icy Bay Lodge





our cabin


food was excellent prepared by Chef Rick







It is 11 pm and it is time to go sleep for the next day fishing.


ksong







You don't have to buy ice here. :)



black bass is a nuisance here.



My first ling cod using light 6'8" Black Hole Charter Special Slow Pitch jigging rod



My daughter Jumee got her first ever ling cod using the same 6'8" Black Hole Charter Special Slow Pitch jigging rod.



her first yellow eye rockfish ever


Steve who lives in California wanted to catch big ling cod and his wish was granted on the first day. :)



Mike who lives in NJ and he got his first ever halibut using Black Hole Cape Cod Slow Pitch rod.


See Fred's happy face. He uses Black Hole Cape Cod Slow Pitch rod.


Steve lives in NJ and he got his first ever ling cod using 7'3" Black Hole Charter Special rod.



Chris who lives in NY got the taste of big ling cod using ultra light Black Hole Tai Special rod. The blank weighs only 1.4 oz and it is lighter than normal trout rod.









Happy birthday Steve. :)

happy anglers on the first day.


ksong

It was another gorgeous day.





Jumee's 150 lb halibut using Black Hole Cape Cod 80g jigging rod.







80 lb halibut using 6'8" Black Hole Charter Special Slow Pitch jigging rod









115 lb halibut by Chris using 6'3" Black Hole Cape Cod Slow Pitch jigging rod



nice halibut by Steve using Black Hole Cape Cod 80g  jigging rod







fighting a monster skate







not a bad day at all :)

ksong

Wed is non-halibut day. So we chose king salmon jigging.  We got only 2 king salmon on jigs, but king salmon were there as we landed 3 king salmon and lost three on troll.



We still caught halibut while king salmon jigging. We released them all.



Chris got two king salmon on FCL LABO SL 120g jig.


smallest halibut on a jig














ksong

We opted to go offshore again as weather was gorgeous.
We could see the summit of Mt Saint Helias which is second tallest mt in Alaska.

I did not take many pictures as most halibut was 30 lb - 60 lb.
We must caught about 30 halibut and countless ling cod/rockfish, all on jigs. We kept two halibut.




















ksong

The final day.
Finally we had rain and it became windy.
We stayed close to the shore.
We started to troll for king salmon, but bait and salmon were gone.
We decide to anchor very close to the shore (  1 mile). I didn't expect much and I thought our trip was over. But to my surprise, there were many halibut inn 20 lb - 60 lb range. I released 11 halibut on jigs myself.



.



Steve fighting 75 lb halibut using 7'3" Black Hole Charter Special rod.










huge skate










At the end of fishing, we picked up shrimp (spotted prawn) traps in the bay.
What a finish of this trip. :)


theswimmer

What a trip!
I had many a great trip with my Dad , you are both very luck to have time like this together
There is nothing like lying flat on your back on the deck, alone except for the helmsman aft at the wheel, silence except for the lapping of the sea against the side of the ship. At that time you can be equal to Ulysses and brother to him.

Errol Flynn