June 27th, 2011

Sea Lions relaxing on Sea Lion Rocks

It's a wonderful day here at Alaska Premier Charters, Inc. and the boats are out fishing for the day. We are excited to hear about their adventures at dinner this evening. The wildlife has been quite active lately, which makes for an even better fishing experience! A few days ago on one of our vessels called the "IT'L'DO", we had a sea lion that attempted to steal a king salmon. The sea lion ripped the head off the fish, and our deckhand Dave managed to net the headless salmon. The fish head was reeled in still attached to the line! Check out the video footage one of the guests captured of this experience!

Humpback Whale sightings have been common in the past month

Sea Lions aren't the only thing we've been seeing. There has also been many humpback whales swimming a short distance away from the fishing vessels. They will break the water's surface with their hulking bodies, and on occasion fully breach and create a tremendous splash! Photos and videos of whales are constantly coming into our Catch of the Day station. Seeing the footage makes those of us that work "on the beach" (as we call it) feel like we were also there on the boat witnessing these astounding creatures.

Orca "Killer" Whale fully breaching

Orca Whales will also come around when we are sitting on a school of tasty King Salmon or Cohos. They sometimes scare away the fish, but are amazing to see in real life. Orca Whales fully breach like the humpback whales, or do something called "spyhopping," which means that they just poke the front half of their bodies above the surface. This is much like a person treading water. The purpose is for the whales to see what is around them on the surface.

Killer Whales Spyhopping

The wildlife has been fantastic for viewing in the past month. Let's hope it stays that way for our guests that are coming in the next two months! We hope to see you soon so we can enjoy these moments together!