AK DIY Fishing

[SagebrushSlayer]

I want to go to AK and get in a day or two of fishing. I am thinking of flying into Ketchikan or Sitka next Monday and leaving on Wednesday to come back. I have the following questions for those that live in AK or have fished either of these places.

1.) Is it better to bring a fly rod and fish the rivers or rent tackle and fish rivers and ocean? Is fishing from the shore feasible for Ocean fishing?
2.) Campsites, availability or is it better to rent a FS cabin vs motel?


I don't have a specific fish I'm going after, but am thinking Salmon, Halibut, Trout. Its kind of a spur of the moment trip and I might do it again in July or August before hunting kicks off. I have some more specific questions regarding fishing, but wanted to cast a line and see if my bait(questions) get any bites. Thanks

 

[cedahm]

For SouthEast - I'd get in touch with Brad Elfers @ www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com (they are out of Juneau). I've been fishing AK (granted, in a completely different part of the state a thousand miles away) for many years - and I order AK specific stuff from Brad every year. If anyone has the lowdown on SE AK - he's who I'd start with.

 

[the nikster]

I saw lots of salmon in Ketchikan when I was there on a cruise 8 years ago. If the timing is right I would guess no problem. A couple years ago I road over to Thorne Bay on POW and there were salmon in almost every creek, again, timing would be the issue. Lots of Bears on POW, maybe not the place to camp if you don't have a bunch of experience with bears.

 

[ringer]

I would go to Sitka. Fished it many times and it is good for silvers, kings, halibut and lingcod. Beautiful area and two of the largest hatcheries in AK.

 

[ringer]

Might still be a good contact: [email protected]. Mike Arthur. Hard fishing guy and very good. Tell him Glen Harwell sent you if you decide to get hold of him.

 

[Gut Shot]

I know someone who will rent you a boat and tackle for ocean fishing in Ketchikan (if it isn't rented) I'll PM you.

 

[SagebrushSlayer]

Thanks for all the great info. I chose Ketchikan this week because of the weather. Looks like Sitka & Seward will be raining. I will be back Thursday, I will get up a feedback report on how it went. My daughter(7) has decided she wants to go, so it might not be an all out fishing day, but it will be adventurous. I plan on staying at a campground south of Ketchikan.

Thanks for the contacts Cedahm, Ringer, and Gut Shot!

Nikster- I might go check out the POW next month. Do you remember the timeframe you were in the POW?

 

[SagebrushSlayer]

Well, the trip was fast and fun. Flew in on Monday, toured downtown, took the bus out to Ward Lake and camped. Tuesday we went out fishing with a charter boat and my daughter caught her first Salmon. She did well and caught the first fish of the boat and the last fish. All we caught were Salmon, including one King. There was an algae bloom that started last year, due to the warm weather. Apparently AKFG didn't find it killing off the fish, but a bunch of the locals said it slowed the amount of fish that came in. Ward Lake trout have tumors growing on them and we talked to a few fisherman and they didn't catch anything out of the lake. I plan on going back at the end of July again. I will update this post on my follow up. Thanks again for the help and enjoy the pics!