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Alaskan Diary
Alaskan Diary
Six days in our 49th state. Two people. One who loves to fish, one who hates to fish. Can this work? You never know until you try. The following is a diary of my recent trip to Alaska.
Day 1 - Arrival
Arrived into Juneau about 1:30 pm. The six-hour journey was a breeze. My wife and I had been using our Alaska Airlines credit card and had put enough on it to get two round trip tickets to Juneau. Our side trip to Sitka was included also.
The place we were staying was less than 10 minutes from the airport. We rented a car, which I would highly recommend in Juneau. The city is very spread out.
It is a privately owned triplex that overlooks Auke Bay. Our unit had three bedrooms, even though we just needed the one. Jerry the owner graciously put us in his nicest unit. It also had a kitchen with all of the conveniences one would want. The view from our bay window was breath taking. The hot tub sat beneath our window between the bay and us.By the time we settled in and unpacked it was about 3:00. We then decided to go into town and do the shopping tourist thing. It was raining but we did not let that stop us. It has been said about Juneau in the summer that if you wait for the rain to stop to do something-you probably won't do anything.
Downtown Juneau had lots of little shops and things to do. I personally don't get how a lot of these shops survive. How many stores can you go into that basically have the same t-shirts, sweatshirts and souvenirs? In the summer up to 10,000 people a day come to Juneau from the cruise ships. I assume these are the people who gobble up this junk.
After we did the city thing we came back to the B&B so I could fish. Auke Bay was a 30-yard walk from our front door. I had brought along a 3-piece travel rod from Penn with me. This six-foot rod came in an easy to carry traveling case and served its purpose quite well.
It was now 6:30 p.m. and was semi pouring. I was not going to let a little water ruin my fishing. I first cast out a ½ ounce Krocodile but just brought back seaweed with every cast. The water was to shallow and the lure to heavy. I then put on a Thomas Buoyant lure at ¼ ounce and slowly fluttered it in. I had a fish follow me all the way in on my second cast. When I say all the way in, I mean all the way in. It came right to my shoe, which was barely in the water.
The next cast produced a nice 14" dolly varden. These trout like fish are nice little fighters. The next cast produced some sort of kelp fish. It was about a pound and a half. I had a few more followers but the rain continued even harder. Happy to get on the scoreboard early I went back to the B&B to dry off.
By the time I got back and undressed the rain stopped. I caught some fish so I was happy. After dinner we sat in the hot tub. It sprinkled on us as we watched bald eagles 50 yards away swoop down and get their dinner for the night. All in all a pretty good first day.
Day 2 - The Mendenall Glacier
The Mendenall Glacier is perhaps Juneau's most famous attraction. The glacier, which was a ten-minute drive from our
B&B, is larger than the state of Rhode Island. Our goal today was to see this magnificent freak of nature close up.
B&B, is larger than the state of Rhode Island. Our goal today was to see this magnificent freak of nature close up.Once again it was raining. With a raincoat on and a destination to get to, we barely noticed the precipitation. Besides the rain we had one other small hindrance. Bears. Seems that they are all over the hiking trails near the glacier. In reality they want to run into you as little as you want to run into them. Still your heart pumps just a little faster when you are coming up to a blind bend with thick foliage. My wife asked me if I was scared at all because of the bears. I explained to her that since I could out run her I felt pretty safe.
We took the East Mendenhall trail, which was a moderate rated 3-1/2 mile hike. I brought my rod in its travel case just in case we came to any fishable waters. While I did not use it for fishing it became quite handy as a walking stick. I am not sure if the good people at Penn would like that or not.
The semi strenuous hike in the rain was quite tolerable because of the unreal beauty that we hiked through. Certain locations offered us spectacular views of the glacier. Behind the dirt and the white ice were patches of blue ice. The word is getting redundant in this article but spectacular is the word to describe the scenery.
After this hike we decided to try another one on Mt Roberts. There is a tram in the middle of downtown that will take you from sea level to 1600 feet onto Mt Roberts. It cost $20 per person but is worth it. We had lunch on the mountain, which overlooked the city of Juneau. I was expecting mediocre food but must admit it was pretty darn good. After lunch we hiked around some more. Once again there were numerous signs warning you to be careful of the bears. We hiked around with nowhere in particular to go to for an hour. We did not see a bear but did see a marmot, which is like a chipmunk on steroids. I stared at the animal that was 20 feet from me for 30 seconds until I remembered that I had a camera. Just as I took it out of my backpack and got ready to take a photo the damn thing ran away. In retrospect we hiked about 7 miles today. I figured not bad for an old man. The hot tub was going to be calling my name tonight.
Day 3 - The Taku River
I woke up excited for this day. Morning called for fishing and the afternoon we would take a floatplane to the Taku Lodge on the Taku River for a salmon bake.
I was going to go fishing with Dave Hansen of Access Alaska Charters. 
Dave grew up in the Juneau area and has been on the water nearly all his life. The only problem was that when Dave checked the tides he indicated the best bite would be about 1 or 2:00 in the afternoon. I had already booked and paid for my Taku Lodge afternoon trip so we had to leave in the morning and take our chances.
Dave grew up in the Juneau area and has been on the water nearly all his life. The only problem was that when Dave checked the tides he indicated the best bite would be about 1 or 2:00 in the afternoon. I had already booked and paid for my Taku Lodge afternoon trip so we had to leave in the morning and take our chances.To sum up the fishing trip, the company, the scenery, the boat were awesome. The catching was not so hot. I have no one to blame but myself. Dave forewarned me that this was not a good time to go. Being the great guy that he is he took me out anyway.
It's a shame because Dave's vessel is awesome. His 43-foot motor yacht is called the Accessible One. It is equipped with two staterooms, two heads, a separate shower, a full kitchen and a barbeque. On long trips Dave's wife Cynthia who is a gourmet chef sometimes comes along and does the cooking. That is when she is not tending to her restaurant in town the Vintage Fare Café.
As far as fishing equipment the vessel has all the latest electronics including an underwater video that is hooked up to the 19" TV in the galley. That way you can possibly watch a fish take your bait.We were trolling with cut dead herrings on some rigs and various hoochies on some other rods. Down riggers took the bait down to the desired depth. Dave and his deckhand Brenna did all they could to get us on the fish. They were there but with the high tide the fish just did not want to bite.
While they trolled I was able to learn a lot about Juneau through conversation with the other anglers onboard which included Dave's sister Chris and his friends Ken and Pam who are all residents of Juneau. To show how gracious they were they let the visitor grab the rod when the reel started singing while we were trolling. I quickly brought in an 8-pound coho salmon that Dave was embarrassed to take a picture of. Small to him but I was happy. That was our only fish of the day.
The Accessible One is available for charter on six hour, full day, overnight or custom charters. I highly recommend Dave if you want to fish in Juneau. Dave started up the Juneau Charter Boat Cooperative. If his boat is not available he will steer you to someone in the cooperative that he trusts. His telephone number is (907) 780-2232.
Later in the day we took a floatplane to the Taku Lodge. The floatplane took us on a 25-minute journey over five glaciers to the Lodge. Once there we feasted on freshly caught king salmon and other culinary delights. Everything was delicious. After your meal you have an hour or so to explore the area. One note of caution though-Be careful of the bears.
As usual the scenery around the lodge was spectacular. This is a must do on any trip to Juneau.
We had dinner in one of Juneau's most popular spots, the Red Dog Saloon. This gold rush era bar cooks up a mean burger, good spirits, has fun entertainment and is filled with all sorts of oddball memorabilia from the last 100 years. Even if you don't have dinner there stop in and bend an elbow and check it out.
Day 4 - The Tracy Arm Fjord
Had a long and exciting day planned. We would take an all day trip to the Tracy Arm Fjord aboard the 56-foot Adventure Bound. Captain Steve Weber departs at 8:15 am and returns at 6:00 pm. For about $100 bucks apiece you get your moneys worth.
The Adventure Bound takes you to scenery you could only dream about. Glaciers, waterfalls, mountains, icebergs and wildlife make for a great day. The inside of the boat has a large comfortable galley with plenty of seating and warmth. The outside has an ample walk around deck for unobstructed views and numerous photo opportunities. Don't forget your camera.It was a slow day for us as far as wildlife is concerned. We did see bald eagles, killer whales, humpback whales and seals. Steve told me on most days he would sight some bears, mountain goats and porpoise.
Steve also explained how his company also does fishing trips on some other 
boats that he owns. He said that these trips have one purpose-load up on fish. These multi day trips usually do just that he told me. If you want to go on a hard-core fishing trip for salmon, halibut and lingcod contact Steve for more details.
boats that he owns. He said that these trips have one purpose-load up on fish. These multi day trips usually do just that he told me. If you want to go on a hard-core fishing trip for salmon, halibut and lingcod contact Steve for more details.Sad to say this is our last night in this great town. Tomorrow we go to Sitka.
Day 5 - Sitka
Arrived in Sitka about 11:30. It is just a 25-minute flight from Juneau. Took a shuttle to our hotel. Sitka is pretty small so there is no real reason to rent a car like you would in Juneau.
As a side note the weather was beautiful. It was about 65 degrees and barely a cloud in the sky. I only mention this because every other time I have fished in Sitka the weather sucked. It could be 70 degrees for a week straight but as soon as I touch ground the weather gets ugly. Which means my boat ride gets ugly. The fishing has always been great though.
We checked into the Crescent Harbor Getaway and then went into town. Once again we walked around the shops and looked at the sites. Sitka used to be a Russian town so there are several Russian attractions. These include the Russian Bishops House, the Russian Blockhouse and St. Michael's Cathedral. Most everything is in walking distance.In the afternoon Linda took a walk in the magnificent Sitka National Historical Park. This rain forest park is filled with bald eagles, totem poles, and Tlinget Indian history.
I took the opportunity to do some shore fishing. I switched between a Thomas Buoyant and plastic on a ¼ ounce jig head. Both worked well. King and coho salmon were jumping all around me. I caught neither but it was exciting watching them break water. What I did catch was a pink salmon-about 4 pounds along with 2 dolly vardens and 3 of the kelp like fish that I caught in Juneau. I caught the salmon and the dollies on the Thomas Buoyant and the others on plastic. It was a blast on the travel rod and a reel filled with 6-pound test. The locals looked at me like I was crazy.
After a couple of hours it was time for dinner and preparation for some real fishing the next day.
Day 6 - Sitka (Blue Charters)
I would be going out with Big Blue Charters today. Mike Keating the owner put me on his boat. He has 3 boats total. It was foggy early in the morning but it was supposed to clear up in the day. The boat ride was pretty choppy on the way out and Mike kept giving me glances every time the boat hit a big swell. Like it was my fault.
If Mike wants to give me blame for the ride I will accept it as long as I get credit for the fishing. It was excellent as always. We started out for Kings and all had our limit with in an hour. There were two other anglers on board. Eric Swanson of Utah and Jerry Smith of Newport Beach. Eric got the first King on board. He did a great job of getting the 25-pound fish to the boat. I released 3 about that size before settling on my 34 pounder. After we had our limits of kings we went looking for cohos. Also known as silver salmon these feisty, tasty fish run about 8 to 15 pounds. Soon into our first drift all reels on board were screaming. Mike had to start playing traffic cop as he directed us all up and over, left and right to keep all our lines from turning into one big mess. And as soon as you brought a fish up Mike would put another bait on and within minutes the reel would start to scream again.
It didn't take long for all of us to get our limits of silvers. It was fun and chaotic while we were catching them. Mike handed me a knuckle buster reel to catch a few fish. Basically the drag is the palm of your hand. And when you go to put your hand on the spool to slow it down your knuckles get in the way of the handle. Thus the name knuckle buster. A well-deserved name I might add.
It was now time to go for halibut. Mike had told me that the last week or so the halibut were smaller than normal. They averaged 20 to 30 pounds. Awesome for southern California but sub standard for Sitka.
Mike set us up at a spot around 225 feet deep. We were getting bit but lo and behold the fish were all around 20 pounds. Good for the barbeque but it would have been nice to get something a little bigger. It is a little hard to complain when you have just limited out on Kings, silvers and halibut though.If you ever go to Sitka I recommend that you hook up with Big Blue Charters. I have never gone to Sitka and not limited out on what ever species I was fishing for. They have their own fish processing plant so your fish is frozen and vacuum-sealed for your flight home. Their processing fee is nominal.
Linda took a 5-hour kayak ride while I fished. If you go to Sitka with a spouse that does not fish this is something to look into.
Unfortunately, I am going home tomorrow. I wish I had one more fishing day in Sitka.
Day 7: Time to go home. Leave the liquid sunshine of Alaska for the real sunshine of California. I now have plenty of time to start planning next years Alaskan vacation.
JUNEAU
Lodging:
Alexis Suites, Kitchens, Fully stocked, cable T.V., Very nice , Phone 907-789-7473, www.alexissuites.com
Fishing:
Acess Alaska Charters. 907-780-2232 www.juneaucharterboats.com
Steve Weber - 907-463-2509
Things to do:
Taku Glacier Lodge
Take a float plane to salmon feast, 907-586-8258, www.takuglacierlodge.com
Sawyer Glacier Cruise
Full-day cruise with Adventure Bound Alaska
907-463-2509
Mt. Roberts Tram - in the center of town
Restaurants:
Fiddlehead restaurant -907-586-3150
Red Dog Saloon - In center of town, burgers, beer, fun
Rainforest - Top of the tram on Mt Roberts. Good food, great views.
Hanger on the Wharf - Need reservations on friday or saturday nights. On the water
Raven dinning room - At the Westmark SheeAtika Hotel
SITKA
Fishing:
Big Blue Charters, 907-747-5161 www.bigbluecharters.com
Restaurants:
Raven dinning room - At the Westmark SheeAtika Hotel
Channel Club: 3 miles from center of town. Courtesy van will pick you up.
