Winter King Fishing with Captain Drew Terhaar

I’m Drew Terhaar Captain of the F/V Audacious and I've been commercial fishing out of Sitka for 13 years. I came up for a summer job and got hooked. I walked the docks until I found a job on a salmon troller and crewed for one summer. I decided to buy my own boat the following year and I’ve been at it ever since. I always liked fishing and didn’t really like working for others as much as working for myself. 

It’s a different pace than the summertime. The weather is constantly changing and it’s far rougher than in the summer months — bigger swells and more wind pretty much everyday. I fish by myself because the volume of fish isn’t a problem. Ten kings is considered a good day. Most people don’t have the patience to stay out day after day since some days you get skunked or catch a couple fish. It’s hard to maintain the motivation, but the good days belong to the grinders who stay out and fish most days. The days are short and more like a 9 to 5 compared to summertime fishing. I leave my stall at 6 a.m. in the dark and pull my gear at 3:30 p.m. when it gets dark.

Most of the time I stay in the wheelhouse with the diesel stove keeping me warm. I use insulated gloves, but ultimately it’s not that cold. I grew up in Chicago so it’s warmer here than it is there!

The winter line is the legal line in Sitka Sound that you aren’t allowed to fish beyond. Most boats try to fish right on the line and try to catch the kings that are crossing into the sound. When the fishing is good it can get pretty busy out there with 60 boats all vying for the prime real estate. A lot of boats get piled into one corner so it’s challenging to dodge all the other boats and run through your lines.

This year started really hot with lots of kings around at the beginning of the season in mid-October. Last season was a record winter season and there have been a lot of fish around this year as well. It's pretty challenging getting used to driving the boat solo and running all the gear and dodging boats and finding space to fish after not doing it for months. If I was a little more dialed in I would catch a few more, but I'm rounding into form slowly.

I prefer summertime — better weather and I like getting into the groove of fishing everyday. It’s easier to find your rhythm when you are out at sea for multiple days. When you come into town there are a million errands to run and things to do. In the wintertime it's hard to get motivated to leave the dock when the weather is bad — especially if you didn’t catch anything the day before. In the summer, I have a crew which helps to motivate me to fish hard and make them money.

I love fishing for you guys and doing everything I can to make sure you get to experience a great piece of fish.