THE WASHINGTON OUTDOOR REPORT Week of July 17

North to Alaska (again)

Last week I got the opportunity to go fishing in Alaska again with my daughter, Faith. Our destination was Sportsman’s Cove Lodge on Prince of Wales Island, offering the opportunity to catch halibut, cod and salmon in a wilderness setting with luxury accommodations and gourmet dining. It’s a place we’ve been to three times now and we have loved every expedition.

On past trips we were blessed with mild winds and sunny days but this time we were treated to real Alaskan weather (cool and wet). Normally we take a scenic 15-minute floatplane ride from Ketchikan to the lodge but the weather ruled that out with a low cloud ceiling and stiff winds so the boats that take us out fishing made a two-hour voyage from the lodge to town where the 30 departing guests were let off and our group of 30 embarked.

Arriving at the lodge that night we had a delicious dinner before turning in for the night. The next day, we met our Captain, Brian Williamson, deckhand (Solomon) and two couples from Texas who had come here together. They were Todd and Terri Mclain along with Marcy and Mark McHenry, the two men being former fraternity brothers at the University of Arkansas in the early 1980’s.

Heading out of the secluded cove where the lodge was located, we were again greeted with rain and steady winds. Nobody had much luck fishing the halibut grounds the six-boat charter fleet usually goes to and our Captain decided to try for some more protected waters. The move was a good one. Faith soon hooked up with a big 70-pound halibut that we released at the boat. Not long after that, Terri Mclain hooked into a monster halibut that weighed more and was measured longer than she did. Despite that Terri was able to get the 65-inch, 121-pound halibut to the boat where the captain shot it with a .410-gauge shotgun before Todd Mclain and the deckhand hauled the massive flatfish into the boat.

Anglers are allowed to keep one halibut a day, but halibut between 40 and 80-inches have to be released unless you are willing to pay for them through the Guided Angler Fish (GAF) program. This program allows commercial anglers to sell some of the fish they have in their catch quota to anglers on board charter boats. The price for this halibut? $525; a price the McLain’s and McHenrys decided to go in on together.

The next two days brought better weather. It still rained off and on, but the wind was not blowing and the bite improved too. We caught halibut, true cod, rockfish (most of which were released) and a few salmon, to include a 15.6-pound king salmon caught by Faith, the biggest of the trip for our group.

Unfortunately for us, the salmon (kings, silvers, pinks and chum) were just starting to show up in in our area during our time there. The day after we left, we heard from one of the deckhands that we just missed out. The salmon had just shown up in good numbers and were being caught by anglers in all of the boats. Despite the weather (and taking home a few less fish than we were used to), the whole experience remained amazing. The scenery is beautiful and wildlife is abundant. We saw two black bears, deer, eagles galore, as well as sea lions, Orca whales, humpback whales and porpoise during our trip.

There was a new chef this year and the food the cook staff served was amazing. We dined on halibut Olympia our first night, fresh caught cod fish and chips along with clam chowder made from scratch on the second and a glazed salmon dish that followed an amazing appetizer of sushi rolls for our final dinner. The desserts were delightful and tasty too. Blueberry cobbler and the best lemon cheesecake I’ve ever had all helped me to put on several pounds during our four-day, three-night stay at the lodge. Couple the food with the amazing customer service, made possible with a staff of 31 employees for our group of 30 guests, and we were pampered, well fed and ready for every morning of fishing we got to enjoy.

Sportsman’s Cove Lodge is fully booked for this season and is already filling up for 2023. If you are interested in finding out more and booking a trip, you won’t regret it. The website to go to is www.alasakasbestlodge.com and if you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email at john@northwesternoutdoors.com, I’ll be happy to help you plan a great fishing trip to Alaska.

John Kruse – www.northwesternoutdoors.com and www.americaoutdoorsradio.com