Prince of Wales Alaska Trip - Day 1,2,3,4,5 & home

[Steve-O]

Day one. Short report. Got up, went fishing! It was a very busy day.

Species caught:

Pacific Cod
Staghorn Sculpin
Great Sculpin
Northern Rock Sole

Silver Salmon adult  male and female and juvenile Jack Salmon
Pink Salmon male and female
Yellow Sole
Dungeness Crab male and female
Red Rock Crab male and female
Spiny Dogfish Shark 1 female -released

Saw one 2 year old  black bear

Crabs with Ketchup, tabasco and wasabi sauce for dinner. Yum!

The salmon are the reason for the meat trip.    Just being here is all gravy.

I drop down from 4500 feet altitude to sea level and the air is thick with ocean and forest aromas.

The shark caught was a definite high point of the day. I had intended to catch and eat one last year to see of they would be worth pursuing. Didn't happen.

Today,however,  I scored on the first cast and bait soak. The rod was resting on the table with no drag on the Abu Inshore reel and it still tumbled and jumped around before I could grab it and tighten down the drag for the hookset. I knew right away it was no little bottom fish.

More later. Got go set up gear for a 4 am out the door to get a slot on the river. It is waaay crowded up here.

Half of Idaho, Utah, and Nash-vegas, Tennessee is here. 6 trucks per spot on the river and there's only 5 spots to park.

But I know, I know....we need to see pics.

And yes, the silvers are biggee sized!

[Steve-O]

More pics.

The shark did not like being held. It was like trying to hold a wet 40 grit leather bag full of mad cats.

They have two spines and know how to use them. The close up pic shows the Spine in Spiny Dogfish. Close to pinky length and just like a marlinespike on a naval pocketknife for rope splicing.

Got a few pics. Dunked it in the bay. Took a few pics, back in the water. Got a couple videos.

Going back for more tomorrow after I get my Six Silvers.

[Steve-O]

Some more....

I dispatched my harvested fish via the bonk, bleed and Iki Jime technique. Got them on ice asap as well.

I kept 5 chromers today and released 3-4 blush fish. Hoping to see improvement as the sunny weather departs in the next 24 hours . A 60 mph blow is supposed to come through.

[Steve-O]

Some more...

Soaked pink salmon heads in my crab net for 10- 15 max times 7-8 pulls. Also used hand line traps while shark fishing.

Brought up around 30 dungeness and 15 or so Red Rocks to harvest enough keepers for dinner.

3 males @6.5 inches width for the Dungies and no size or limit on the red rocks.

[sdlehr]

Wow that looks yummy! Thanks for keeping us up to date!

Sid

[Bryan Young]

Looks like a lot of fun v

[Shark Hunter]

Great shots Steve-O!

[Dominick]

Thanks for taking the time to report.  Good luck for the rest of the trip.  Looking forward to updates.  Dominick

[Tightlines667]

I can almost smell that AK salt air

[David Hall]

Good job Steve, you will fill that freezer fast at the rate you're going.

[Bill B]

Cool beans brother...keep catching.....Bill

[Big Tim]

Day 2 I know you have day 2 

BT

[Steve-O]

Good job Steve, you will fill that freezer fast at the rate you're going.

That's for sure and for certain!

Two days limits = one 50 # fish box.....I'm fishing 5 days and still haven't decided on killing a shark yet or not.

My buds from Idaho arrived..they are the one who got me on this shark thing. We jigged 32# of Cod fillets off my dock so they wanted to try it out on theirs thinking they would also get Pacific Cod.

Spiny Dogfish shark was the fish du Jour.

So they asked me via text were they good eating....sure, I says...it's British fish n chips called rigg.

They bought it and ate it. Loved it.

If i harvest one that tips me over into 3 boxes...which is where I'm already headed.

PS...sorry for the typos..

[Steve-O]

Day 2 I know you have day 2 

BT

OK Big Tim...Day Two coming right up.

[Steve-O]

Dia Dos!

Up at 4 and out the door!

Got to the river to find 4 trucks already there before 5.  Nice rowdy bunch of anglers from Olympia peninsula area. Invited me to join them but I moved down to the next slot and sat until 6am for the bite to turn on.

It did!  6 silvers by 745 with a few throwbacks due to being dark blush. Big boy was 12# even.

Got 'em iced down and to the lodge for processing. Once done i headed back to the lodge dock with the crabs and sharks to try my luck again.

Another sunny nice day..which has ended with the start of the big incoming storm.

So back at the dock.

It was a Shark Fest! One after another for a solid 1.5 hours. Then the bite tapered off.

Total count was 7 with the big girl at 22# .  Smallest was at a guessed 38" and 10# or so. The rest were all close to 14#.

Definitely a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Pulled up 3 more Dungies, 1,2,3. No little ones. Caught a Sole and packed it in.

Came back to the lodge and puttered around...visited with the owners...got some red velvet cupcakes as a treat and then grabbed my gear and hit the dock for the sunset jigging party.

I used my Japanese slow jigging rods and homemade jigs.

Cod after cod were jigged up with only 3-4 sculpins. Big cod was about 6 pounds. Tossed everything back. Took some pics and called it good.  I'm running on fumes without my afternoon naps. 15 hour days are for the birds.

I think I'm at 18 hours non-stop for today. Fumes is all that's in the tank. 

Pics? Let's see.