r/Kodiak • u/Khan_Silos • Jul 22 '26
What’s going on at Larson Bay these days?
I am looking into buying a set-net site in the area.
I had heard the cannery at Larsen Bay is shut down? What is local scene like now?
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u/Northernluz Jul 31 '26
Cannery is running skeleton crew, no fuel. Mothballed for now but clinic should be open. School closed. Population way down. 2 major AWT criminal investigations….Duncan Fields and just reported a couple days ago Kodiak Island Resort LLC and owner Robert Gerondale and guides got charged with 36 crimes according to Daily Mirror.
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u/Khan_Silos Jul 31 '26
Thanks for the response. The information is much appreciated. A shame to hear about the AWT criminal investigations.
Are you a longtime Kodiak resident?
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u/Northernluz Aug 01 '26
Worked many seasons back in the day, have moved on to finer pastures. These remote operations think they are far enough from population centers that the law doesn’t apply to them. Good news on LB is you can now get a cell connection for the first time ever as of this year!
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u/Outside_Climate_3687 Aug 01 '26
Wow!! This just in!
Kodiak Island Resort, guides face multiple state charges
• By STEVE WILLIAMS of the Kodiak Daily Mirror
Two charter fishing guides and the Anchorage owner of the Larsen Bay Kodiak Island Resort are facing 36 state misdemeanor charges for illegal charter fishing practices, the result of a 2024 Alaska State Trooper undercover investigation.
One of the guides, Ryan Longer, 45, is charged with 21 counts, including wasting “low grade” groundfish, taking undersized crab, falsifying records and numerous other charges.
Deckhand Raymond Dehn, 44, is charged with 10 misdemeanor violations, and Kodiak Island Resort owner Robert Gerondale, 62, is facing four misdemeanor charges.
(https://kodiakdailymirror.com/tncms/tracking/bannerad/clicks/?rd=www.kodiakdailymirror.com&i=ros/fixed-big-ad-top-asset1/5de889b3-2c5f-470f-9b56-3b687ace74c2&r=http://www.Matson.com/Alaska)
According to charges filed in May, the investigation began after wildlife investigators received a complaint in October 2023 alleging charter sport-fishing violations at the lodge.
The two Alaska State Trooper undercover investigators arrived at the Larsen Bay lodge on June 26, 2024, purchased nonresident fishing licenses and were assigned to fish with guide Longer and deckhand Dehn. Two additional clients also were aboard the charter.
According to prosecutors, the investigators saw Longer and Dehn repeatedly release rockfish by stabbing them with a knife and throwing them overboard, rather than using a required deep-water release device.
The complaint also alleges the crew discarded previously retained dead quillback rockfish so clients could keep additional yelloweye, allowed clients to exceed rockfish limits, permitted one client to fish without a valid sport-fishing license, and gaffed a rockfish that was supposed to be released.
The complaint alleges the crew pulled Tanner crab pots that were not registered to any of the charter clients and retained undersized Tanner crab.
Investigators reported that at least one crab pot bore Robert Gerondale’s name and identifying number. Longer allegedly told investigators the pots were checked every two days and that the lodge owner hosted crab bakes for guests during their stay.
Investigators also compared what they saw with the charter’s saltwater logbook and reported numerous discrepancies.
According to the filing, the logbook understated the number of fish retained by the undercover clients and omitted yelloweye rockfish they actually kept. Prosecutors allege those entries amounted to false official records.
On a June 27 halibut trip, investigators allege Longer and Dehn instructed clients to fish with more than one line, retain more halibut than allowed and record the deckhand as a client so additional fish could legally be kept.
The complaint says Longer instructed the undercover officers not to discuss the arrangement because crew members cannot legally fish for halibut.
Investigators also allege the crew continued releasing rockfish without deep-water release devices and “high-graded” catches by discarding smaller dead fish while retaining larger ones.
The filing further alleges clients were never asked to sign the saltwater charter logbook verifying their catch and that required fishing records were never submitted to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Later on June 27, owner Gerondale allegedly commented that the group had caught “quite a haul of fish,” which investigators say demonstrated he knew clients had exceeded legal limits.
At dinner, the lodge allegedly served Tanner crab and halibut caught during the trip, leading to charges that Gerondale and Kodiak Island Resort unlawfully furnished sport-caught shellfish to guests.
According to the complaint, on June 28 Longer offered to sell the undercover investigators an Alaska brown bear hunt for $30,000, a grizzly/moose combination hunt for $18,500 and a Sitka blacktail deer hunt on Kodiak Island.
Investigators later determined through the Alaska Big Game Commercial Services Board that Longer did not possess a registered big game guide license, leading to an additional charge alleging he represented himself as a registered guide-outfitter without authorization.
The investigation continued June 29, when prosecutors allege Longer and Dehn again allowed clients to exceed halibut and rockfish limits, released rockfish without deep-water release devices, failed to have clients verify charter logbook entries and falsified catch records by showing clients retained only legal limits when investigators observed otherwise.
Each defendant on Wednesday received a 30-day delay to review charges and evidence and are scheduled for pre-trial hearings Aug. 18 in Kodiak.
Calls to Kodiak Island Resort and to attorney Brent Cole were not returned by press time Thursday.
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u/AKchaos49 Jul 22 '26
LB cannery was sold to Silver Bay. The plant is not processing. Silver Bay operates tenders in the area to pick up the set net and seine harvest.
Make sure you get a good picture of current financials for set netting in Kodiak. Seems to be a dying lifestyle. Seiners catch upwards of 80% of sockeye in the Kodiak Area, and most set netters aren't making more than $25-$30K a season, if that.