An Alaskan Sojourn- Go For It !

Here's a brief review of the fantastic places I visited and lodges I fished in the last week in Southeastern Alaska.

I started out at Sportsman's Cove Lodge on Prince of Wales Island, a 20 minute floatplane ride out of Ketchikan. Their number is 1-800-962-7889. Website www.alaskasbestlodge.com/ This is a fly-in only heaven of a lodge, where, in four days, I caught and released 48 salmon (king, coho, pink) on very light tackle Also caught on the Inside Passage Waters were loads of halibut, cod, and loads of rockfish. This is a lodge you owe to yourself for a lifetime experience. Ask for the "Hopester." Captain Mac is the owner.

Stayed at the Clover Pass Resort, 18 miles out of Ketchikan. Their number is 1-800-410-2234. The website is www.cloverpassresort.com/ . On the "island", this is a drive-to resort that caters to drive-in RecVees, motelliers, and has a huge fleet of rental boats for the salmon right out in front. This appeals to a totally different market than Sportsman's Cove.

In Ketchikan, please include for yourself and your family a must-do visit to the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary and the adjacent and adjoining Canopy Adventure and Wildlife Expedition.
Their number is 1-907-225-5503. Not far from "town", this appeals to eco and sport enthusiasts. The canopy goes from treetop to treetop...Alaska Tarzan, anyone?


Off to Anchorage, command central for all Alaska anglers departing for all points of Alaska. This city has come of age....so many art galleries, restaurants, and museums. Great hotels and a great airport. Best resource, www.anchorage.net/ Email: esiegel@anchorage.net/ Also contact, Jeanette Anderson Moores, same agency.


So much more to write, but always, small moves, Ellie...small moves.

Jan

Dennis Contemplations

So could it be that a fast-moving storm, with a very small eyewall and comparatively small windfield deserves attention, but no more than its characteristics would qualify for? Frances- last year- the slow-moving pinwheel of wet, razor blade-studded movement and character gave such slow torture and decimation to GBI.
Jan

As Summer Unfolds

Every so often, like last Friday, the wind comes out of the west. This also harkens to cooler times of fall fronts amidst the swelter, like a distant welcome shape. Two of those that beckon are Sportsman's Cove Lodge (www.alaskasbestlodge.com) and Bluff House off NE Abaco (www.bluffhouse.com) . Looking forward to those future things as summer swelters.
Jan

Son of Tarpon Summer

The water temperatures have been soaring into the upper eighties. To a tarpon, this is friendly water, truly tropical and quite at home. Today, waterspouts formed off Miami Beach and danced their tubular hula northwards off the ferociously brazen highrises. Cumulus became nimbus early and late on and off in a liquid atmosphere that went from blue to white to gray and back again. These bathtub conditions bring out the tarpon. To me the direct sunlight is less tarpon-friendly than cloud cover, but there I was, at it again with the silver king.

This time there were less strikes, although the numbers of rolling fish were sometimes unbelievable. Miami has rarely seen such quantities of tarpon. In the fifties, hundreds of ladyfish and jacks were more the open bay norm, but in this globally-warmed Miami, it's hard to tell what to expect. Still, I managed to release a forty pounder, which absolutely made my day right smack dab in the middle of High Summer.

Jan