a Silver Mine One of the definitions of the word “mine” is: a rich source of supply. In that regard, it seems that Alaska is a fish mine for many, with plentiful fish available to harvest and enjoy. Certain species are more plentiful than others. For example, Chinook salmon are the largest but least abundant of all salmon in North America. They are arguably the most desired by sport anglers. However, they’ve been at a period of low abundance for the past several years. Pink salmon are the smallest and most numerous. However, they’re the least desired. Perhaps it’s their size, or that their meat is not as rich or as deeply colored as other species. Coho salmon strike an interesting balance. They’re not as large as Chinook but are larger than pinks. Their fat content is not as high as a Chinook’s, but the meat is flavorful and richly colored. Coho are much more numerous than Chinook, but not as numerous as pinks. Coho are hard-fighting and capable of reaching 20 pounds, though the average fish will likely be in the 7- to 10-pound range. In many saltwater ports in Alaska, a generous daily bag limit of six coho per person per day with no annual limit means anglers can harvest a fair quantity of salmon even on a short trip, if they can find them. For anglers looking for great sport, great eating, and an abundant harvest, coho just might be viewed as the mother lode of salmon in many saltwater ports due to their quality, both on the table and on the line, combined with their abundance. Sitka sits smack-dab in the middle of the west coast salmon superhighway. It’s a fantastic place to mine for silver salmon. My sister, Delores Krumm of Portland, Oregon, cousin Tom Krumm from Anaconda, Montana, and I flew into Sitka on August 21st. The weather forecast looked great for the next several days with seas between two- and five feet and light winds. This was my second DIY trip to Sitka last summer. The first trip was earlier in the year—June—targeting kings and halibut. I found the fishing as well as the equipment and service provided by Fish Baranof to be so perfect for a great DIY fishing experience that I just had to try it again, targeting coho. Despite not being an expert in the Sitka angling scene, we did quite well and had a most enjoyable experience. Day one found us trolling with downriggers northwest of Vitskari Rocks. Anticipation was high, but after a couple hours of trolling all we’d managed was a single pink salmon. We released that fish and decided to head out towards St. Lazaria Islands. Upon arrival, the fishfinder showed lots of fish. We again dropped the lines down and trolled, but unfortunately, what we encountered were large numbers of small, suspended rockfish. After an hour or so of constantly releasing rockfish and redeploying the gear, we decided to move out to Cape Edgecumbe. As we approached the Cape, we could see a large number of boats working the area, including commercial trollers as well as private and charter boats. Most were trolling, but a few of the charter boats were mooching. We dropped the gear down and began trolling north. Less than five minutes into our troll, the first fish yanked the line out of the downrigger release and the rod tip popped skyward, then was yanked down and line peeled from the reel. It turned out to be a small king which we released without netting. We continued trolling with the fleet and though we didn’t experience hot action, we did put four coho in the box, and released maybe twice that many pinks. Most of the fish were caught at 60 feet of depth in water from 200-to 300 feet deep. Struggling to find good numbers of coho, we decided to drop the hook to try for halibut. I motored to the coordinates of a spot in 210 feet of water that had produced limits of halibut in June. Tom and Delores deployed bait rods while I chose to jig. Their gear consisted of typical halibut bait rods, Daiwa Tanacom 750 electric reels, spreader bars with 16 ounces of lead, and a bait rig consisting of two 10/0 J-hooks snelled on 135-pound-test Izorline First String. An eight-inch, luminous hoochie, size 6 luminous Corky, and a scent chamber filled with Pro-Cure Butt Juice Super Gel rode on the line above the J-hooks, and we skewered herring and chunks of pink salmon onto the hooks. We then slathered the entire thing in Pro-Cure’s Butt Juice Bait Oil. We call this rig “The Reaper” because halibut are nearly always hooked and landed when they bite it. I jigged with a Daiwa Harrier X model HRX66HB with a Daiwa Saltist 35H reel and 65-pound-test Daiwa J-Braid x8 Grand line. My jig of choice was an eight-ounce lead-head jig with a luminous, eight-inch Berkley PowerBait Saltwater Grub with a liberal coating of Butt Juice Super Gel. I hoped eight ounces would be heavy enough; turns out it was. Unfortunately, a couple hours’ effort only produced two small halibut (20- and 25 pounds).