WELCOME ABOARD

You are holding something we created in very limited numbers.

The Sharon Mae Private Reserve begins aboard our commercial fishing vessel, the Sharon Mae, in the Pacific waters off Washington's Olympic Coast. Each King Salmon selected for this reserve was caught by hook and line, one fish at a time, then carefully handled and chilled aboard our vessel.

From an entire fishing season, we set aside only a small number of remarkable Kings — chosen for their exceptional richness, natural marbling, and the quality we believed worthy of bearing the Sharon Mae name.

Only 250 individually numbered tins make up this Private Reserve.

We invite you to step aboard and follow the journey from the Pacific Ocean to your table.

TK & Sharon Kelly
F/V Sharon Mae
Kelly's Fresh Fish

La Push

A Fishing Place

Historic Aerial View of La Push and the Quillayute River

Early La Push Settlement with James Island in the Distance

Commercial Fishing Boats on the Quillayute River at La Push

The La Push Fishing Fleet and Harbor

La Push Harbor and the Quillayute River Entrance-2006

La Push and the Pacific at Sunset

Our journey begins at La Push, Washington, where the Quillayute River meets the Pacific.

The Quileute people have lived along this coast for thousands of years, with the ocean and its marine resources central to life here. In more recent generations, La Push also became home to a working commercial fishing fleet, with fishermen crossing the river bar in pursuit of salmon and other Pacific fisheries.

The boats have changed and the harbor has changed, but La Push remains closely connected to the ocean beyond its shores.

Each season, the Sharon Mae returns to this harbor before crossing the Quillayute River bar for the fishing grounds off Washington's Olympic Coast.

The Origin of our Private Reserve.

STEP ABOARD THE SHARON MAE

Come fishing with us.

*The Sharon Mae is a 42’ steel commercial fishing vessel*

The F/V Sharon Mae is the heart of Kelly's Fresh Fish!

From La Push, we fish the Pacific waters off Washington's Olympic Coast, harvesting wild King Salmon by hook and line, one fish at a time.

Every salmon selected for the Private Reserve begins its journey here.

Before we continue, open the parchment chart included in your Private Reserve box and take out your Sharon Mae coin.

Turn the coin to the side bearing the Sharon Mae. Along the bottom you'll find a set of coordinates —

47°54'15"N 124°38'40"W.

Find that position on your chart.

That's where your fishing trip begins.

JAMES ISLAND — A-KA-LAT

More than Just an Island

*The iconic James Island and the mouth of the Quileute River*

Rising above the mouth of the Quillayute River, James Island—known to the Quileute people as A-Ka-Lat, “Top of the Rock”—has watched over these waters for generations. A place of profound cultural significance to the Quileute people, it has served through history as a village, lookout, refuge and sacred place.

Today, every trip aboard the Sharon Mae begins and ends beneath its unmistakable silhouette. As we leave La Push and cross the river bar for the Pacific, James Island is our last landmark behind us—and one of the first to welcome us home.

Let’s depart

Our Trip Begins

*The Sharon Mae departs the Quileute River*

The chart in your hands isn't simply a map of Washington's Olympic Coast. We've marked it with the names we use aboard the Sharon Mae — the fishing grounds, landmarks and places that have become part of our lives on the Pacific.

Now, with the chart open and your coin in hand, come fishing with us.

We'll leave the Port of La Push, cross the Quillayute River bar and head offshore. Along the way, we'll show you where we fish, how we find King Salmon, how each fish is caught and cared for aboard the Sharon Mae, and why only a few from an entire season are chosen for the Private Reserve.

INTO THE PACIFIC

A Unique Wilderness

Black Footed Albatross

Nesting in the Hawai'ian islands and migrating to our fishing grounds, these remarkable seabirds are a familiar sight on our fishing grounds. They are rarely seen from shore and are a reminder of just how far into the Pacific we've traveled.

Looking across the Bow of The Sharon Mae

Every trip we encounter other fishing vessels, ships of all kinds and many different types of wildlife

An Epic Sunrise on the Fishing Grounds

These type of experiences never get old

The Gallows Point on the Fishing Grounds

Pacific troller fishing vessels operate along the Pacific coast, using careful hook-and-line methods to catch salmon and other species with precision and minimal bycatch, prioritizing sustainable practices and selective targeting to protect marine ecosystems.

A Gull and Common Murres

Common Murres: Compact black-and-white divers with short wings and sleek bodies, often diving beyond 100 ft feeding on fish.

Pacific Gulls: Large, heavy coastal gulls with broad wings and strong bills. Opportunistic feeders—fish, crustaceans, carrion, and scraps—seen loafing on logs, rocks or low over surf.

A Humpback Whale surfaces offshore

Humpbacks are regular visitors to the productive waters of the Pacific Northwest, where they feed on krill and small schooling fish. Encounters like this are part of what makes every trip offshore different.

Once clear of the Quillayute River bar, we turn west and northwest toward the open Pacific.

The prevailing westerly swell meets the Sharon Mae on her starboard side as we make our way offshore. When we've put enough distance between ourselves and the coast, we can safely turn the vessel and point her toward the fishing grounds we've chosen for the day.

Now we're in the Pacific Ocean wilderness.

Out here, we never know exactly what we'll encounter. Whales may surface alongside us. Orcas, dolphins and porpoises travel these waters. Albatross and other seabirds appear miles from land. Sometimes the ocean is remarkably calm. Other days, the wind and swell remind us very quickly where we are.

And somewhere ahead of us are the King Salmon we've come to find.

So how do we find them in an ocean this big?

THE HARVEST

Not every King Salmon becomes part of the Sharon Mae Private Reserve.

During the season, we set aside only a very small number of Kings that stand out for their exceptional richness and natural marbling. The creamy white fat you see running through this fish is exactly what we look for — a remarkable fat profile that gives these Kings their richness, texture and flavor.

Each is caught by hook and line, one fish at a time, off Washington's Olympic Coast, then carefully handled and rapidly chilled aboard the Sharon Mae.

The fish chosen for our Private Reserve represent only a tiny fraction of our annual harvest.

They aren't selected because they're the largest. They're selected because they're the best.