Trolling as a winter occupation?

fishkilla

2008-03-17 10:47:10

Hi everybody,

what a great site! After reading through Josh's post, it gave me a bit of a reality check on what it takes to make it as a troller. But I guess I'm in a separate boat (pun intended) on the topic. For starters, I am a Ak Peninsula setnetter who is trying to figure out what to do with my winter months. I love southeast, went to UAS in Juneau, and would love to spend my time down there without having to get a "real" job. I have been looking at boats and permit prices and figure I might be able to get into the business for a small hunk of change, but am wondering would it be a feasible option, or would I just be wasting my time trying to make a few dollars in the months from September thru March? $5-15000I would opt for the hand troll since it sounds like the winter catch is pretty low compared to the summer months, so I might not have as much to keep up with (hopefully not, but realistically, I've glanced at some seasons past catch reports). After what some ppl were saying about a year round gross of between $5-15000, I suddenly don't feel so optimistic. Any suggestions or thoughts? Thanks!

PJ

Salty

2008-03-17 22:44:53

My family has been winter trolling since 1946. I have been winter trolling since 1978. I do not recommend it as a sole source income venture. October and April are usually the only time it pays to be thinking about it full time. Even then most of the money is made by pushing weather envelopes and fishing tough weather. Some of the young guys with troll permits here in Sitka spent this winter grey codding. Another really fun occupation.

I just talked to a good winter power troller who had fished five days, some in tough weather for 10 small kings in the last week or so. With the fuel prices the way they are it just doesn't make sense to try and scratch for 1-2 a day. The first year I power trolled March and April seriously with my present boat I averaged less than 2 fish a day. If I hadn't caught 17 on April 14th it would have been about 1 a day. And 13 of those came in one clatter. One winter I had a skunk trip for 6 days of fishing.

But, if you are really tough, persistent, skilled, and lucky there are those days. Catching over 100 kings in a day winter fishing by yourself without another boat in sight is the kind of fishing experience that keeps us going. Catching three hundred in a week when the price is high in the winter is a very profitable experience. But, we all hear about those experiences and dream about them. Reality is usually another scene. But here is a picture of a fun winter day run through of the gear on one side once.~~[attachment=0]~~Winter fishing 12.jpg[/attachment]

fishkilla

2008-03-17 23:02:17

Thanks, Salty. I guess this whole idea has been a bit of a pipe dream of mine for the past few months, and maybe sometime in the future I might get a bit more serious about it. There've been a few guys from back home spending winters down in Sitka doing winter trolling, but they are the type that have already built up their nest egg and can afford a bad season more than a young salt such as myself. You might have seen them around that way, Bob Pletnikoff and Martin Gundersen? If you do know them and happen to see em, tell em PJ said hi. Honestly, I have never even trolled before, and would like to try it some fall or spring if I could, but I'm not sure how many captains need a hand during those times. Probably when it's slower more guys do solo trips. Just curious, are there many commercial guys who have simple troll rigs in say, open aluminum skiffs, or anything like that? I'm sure that'd be a pretty tough way to go if anybody actually did it. Or would it be necessary to have stabilizer poles rigged up? I guess I don't know much of anything about the subject. Lessons, please.

Salty

2008-03-18 03:43:14

My grandfather fished out of an open skiff one summer. I will try and post a picture. I started seriously handtrolling out of skiffs and fished 3 seasons out of a 19 foot outboard rig. My friend Randy Konrad started out of a 16 foot aluminum Lund. He is still fishing, albeit out of a nice wooden power troller. I do not recommend it. See the posts on hand trolling.

If you really want to get into the troll business I recommend starting out by crewing. Crewing on a decent troller from April through September should be worth $10,000 to $15,000. More if you get on a boat with some halibut or a freezer troller. Plus, the education will prove invaluable when you start on your own. Try to avoid the chum and humpie trollers. A hell of a lot of work running gear and unloading for not much return.~~[attachment=0]~~Christian Jordan circa 1960 11.jpg[/attachment]