A Brief Welcome to the Wilderness of Ketchikan, Alaska
I am so excited to tell you about fishing around Ketchikan in Southeast Alaska, along with all the other once in a lifetime experiences it has to offer. The first thing you’ll notice when you get there is the endless expanse of islands jutting out of the water like pillars of the sky. Tongass National Forest is dense with spruce and firs, surrounded by hemlock and the infamous devil’s club all on a sea of spongy plant matter called muskeg. The land here is rugged and unforgiving - it truly makes you earn every step.
Each day is a new experience on the water, the environment is ever-changing and unpredictable. The ocean may decide to put its raw power on display and catch you in five foot swells and thirty mile per hour winds while it's raining sideways one day, and then the next day you could get sunburned driving for hours on the glassiest water you’ve ever seen. Below the surface, there definitely is no shortage of wildlife.
On your trip you could potentially go home with hundreds of pounds of fish, given you play your cards right. The salmon are as temperamental as the environment they live in; some days you can’t keep them off your hook and other days you’ll try everything in your tackle box without a single bite. You’ll surely hear the phrase “that's why it's called fishing and not catching” enough for one lifetime.
The halibut are much less picky and they’ll eat just about anything you give them, but it's best to target them on what is called the “slack tide.” Slack tide is a window of time around an hour long when the tide finishes ebbing or flowing and the water is practically still, allowing the scent of your bait to evenly disperse giving you the greatest chance of attracting any halibut in the area.
Aside from beautiful Coho and Chinook salmon and some giant halibut weighing hundreds of pounds, there is a wide variety of fish in the area that are carefully regulated by the Department of Fish and Game to ensure they thrive to provide sustenance to all species and future populations. The locals love where they live and (most) are happy to share it with tourists, but they demand respect for their land as much as the land itself demands respect.
During all of this you will undoubtedly see humpback whales and orcas drifting by you without a care in the world and huge Steller sea lions will linger around the dock looking for scraps from your filleted fish. The bald eagles are as common as pigeons in a big city and the black bears will take advantage of the low tide, putting on a salmon catching clinic for passersby.
The three years I have spent in this part of our country has left an unforgettable impression on me. The memories it has given me and the things I have learned are invaluable. I believe you would have the time of your life, even if it was only for a few days.
