It's not often that you'll see my big blond buddy nearly brought to his knees by a fish. He's caught tens of thousands of fish...and plenty of big ones too. But here was Babe Winkleman straining with all his might to right himself against the pounding fight of a large fish.
Well, if this is how halibut fight, we were going to have our hands full in this our first day of fishing Alaskan waters. If you can imagine what it would be like to play tug-of-war with a fish that is a cross between a 50-pound bluegill and a manhole cover, then you'll have an idea of what I'm talking about.
During a recent September, Babe Winkleman, Dan Nelson, and I--along with Babe's TV. crew--experienced Alaska for the first time. Now I can see why words such as "spectacular," "awesome," and "breathtaking" are so often used to describe Alaska. This state is all that and more, from its rugged snow-capped mountains to its lush, almost tropical-like forests.
Waterfall Resort
The host for the first leg of our trip was Pete Gherini of the luxurious Waterfall Resort. This sportsman's paradise, located on the western shore of Prince of Wales Island, is just a 30-minute flight from Ketchikan, Alaska's southernmost city.
"Roughing it" are not words you'd ever use to describeg this resort. In 1980 the present owner spent $8 million renovating what was once Alaska's largest cannery and creating the best fly-in resort I've ever seen. Waterfall Resort features gourmet family-style meals (even a pastry chef!), elaborate recreation lounge and bar, billiards, ping-pong, video movies, hot tub, and exercise room. The only thing rough about this lodge is leaving it.
Oh yes...the fishing. We started with halibut, landing about 30 that first day that ranged from 15-45 pounds. Our guide was almost apologetic we didn't get a big one; the camp record is 313 pounds and 100-pound-plus fish are fairly common.
After dinner we walked down to a small river a short distance from camp. The water was alive with pink (or humpback) salmon. We caught them on spinning gear and spoons until our arms grew tired.
Day two on our early September trip was spent chasing the hard-fighting, acrobatic silver (coho) salmon. We slow-trolled with weighted cut-bait rigs and constantly pumped our hand-held rods. The technique is called "mooching" and it accounted for 30-35 silvers being boated.
After dinner, fly rods in hand and camera crew following behind, Babe and I walked to a beautifully picturesque waterfall. Thousands of salmon milled around in the pool below the falls. We hurried down the bank and Babe quickly made his first cast.
"Here's the first one," he taunted. His fly hadn't traveled five feet.
"You're already down two fish!" I shouted.
"How? You haven't even made a cast yet," Babe responded.
"I know, but the big black bear right behind you has already put two on the bank," I replied.
Babe, the bear, and I shared the salmon-rich area, and we all caught our fill.
I've been to many fishing destinations, but for quality accommodations, world-class fishing, and gourmet food, this operation is in a class by itself. If you never caught a fish (very unlikely), the trip would still be great.
Boardwalk Wilderness Lodge
The next few days took us to the calm, protected waters of the world-renowned Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska, a short floatplane ride from Waterfall Resort. It's also a 30-minute flight from Ketchikan.
We stayed at the beautiful log home owned by Sid and Cathy Cook on the Prince of Wales Island in the Tongass National Forest, near the community of Thorne Bay.
Although this Boardwalk Wilderness Lodge also offers top-quality fishing for king, silver, and pink salmon, along with red snapper, cod, and door-sized halibut, we were more interested in the freshwater streams and the superb fly fishing they offered. We weren't disappointed.
After a quick introduction, some hasty unpacking, and time to reassemble rods and gear, we were off to the nearby Thorne River to do battle with silver salmon.
I never thought I would get tired of catching fish, but it nearly happened. Cast after cast resulted in hooked fish...sometimes two or three on a single cast. The were numerous silvers in the stream, but the pink salmon were in massive schools that numbered in the hundreds or even thousands.
As the tide began to fall and draw down the stream's water level, I noticed a shallow, rapid run to my right that was roughed up by "rocks" just under the surface. About 10 minutes later the rough water appeared to be moving , and I realized what appeared to be rocks was a massive school of salmon migrating over a sandbar. It took the school 20 minutes to cross it.
At both resorts, May through early July is the prime time for the run of king salmon. I couldn't imagine hooking as many 30- to 50-pound kings in a day as we did silver salmon, but it happens. The deep-water halibut and cod fishing is good anytime. Silvers start to show up in June, but the action is hotter in July, August, and early September. They are supposed to be "two-year fish," running up the rivers to spawn every two years. "I don't know which is the 'good' year," Sid Cook adds, "because thousands run up the rivers and streams each year."
Boardwalk Resort offers world-class stream fishing, in addition to outstanding open-water drift fishing and trolling. Steelhead start running about a week or two before Thanksgiving. The spring steelhead "run" is said to start about April 1 and lasts into early June. Biologists say some fish hold in rivers all winter.
Summary
The luxurious Waterfall Resort can hold up to 80 guests, has dozens of employees, plenty of extra benefits, and resembles a quaint Cape Cod fishing port.
Boardwalk Resort offers visitors a something close to what most of us view as the ideal dream home--a luxurious log palace that takes up to eight guests and is surrounded by a rugged scenic wilderness that abounds with eagles, deer, wolves, and bear.
To find out more, check out the websites of Waterfall Resort and Boardwalk Wilderness Lodge.
Copyright (c) 1996 Spence Petros. All rights reserved.