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

[Steve-O]

great pictures and walk-through of that part of alaska

I saw you were using a low profile reel on your shore fishing session, which reel was it?
also another reel I could recognize on your list jigging day.

saludos

One of my rods had the low profile Okuma Komodo on it. not pictured apparently.


The one you see here with Daiwa Color Metered line is an Omoto Talos- very smooth and a pleasure to use.

On the river I switched between the Okuma Raw 2 40 series spinner and mostly the Abu Garcia Inshore with a larger power handle paired with a GLoomis Salmon/Steelhead rod - the 1086 I believe.  That one was one smooth Salmon hauler.

I recall now that I used the Abu Garcia Inshore reel and GLoomis rod on Spiny Dogfish sharks and it well on them also.

The sharks without fail would swim directly underneath the dock I was fishing from and it doubled my rod over and down into the water beneath my feet until I could get the fish to turn and come back out.

After netting one and having it rip right through the net, I changed tactics to tiring the fishing out enough to get it parallel to the dock and then I quickly kneeled and leaned down to grab the shark by the neck and one arm haul it straight up and onto the dock  - kind of a clean and jerk move....mostly a jerk move due to the fact the shark could have flailed the rear tail  spur into my arm, neck, back or side with just a tail flick. But I did not hold on to the fish more that one of two seconds between water and dockside.

[Steve-O]

Steve glad you are home safe and elated by a wonderful adventure. Dominick

Thanks, Dominick. Other than a lack of sleep and a few line cuts, it was general wear and tear on the back, shoulders, knees and finger joints. Nothing a little ibuprofen, tylenol, neosporin and Mt Dew won't cure. I wore black nitrile gloves most days on the river to keep the salmon teeth at bay after my bout 2 years ago with necrotic cellulitis. That was some bad infection.

[inodan2]

Did you stay at Kingfisher lodge?  How much of your fishing was done on a boat?  For the pier fishing, where did you get information as to where to fish?  You have put this fishing trip on my bucket list.  Thanks for any information that you are willing to share.

[Dominick]

mostly a jerk move due to the fact the shark could have flailed the rear tail  spur into my arm, neck, back or side with just a tail flick. But I did not hold on to the fish more that one of two seconds between water and dockside.

I trust that the jerk reference was to the method and not the fisherman. Crikey.     Dominick

[Steve-O]

I think it is applicable either way now that I think about it.

I mean -  a 3-4 foot shark with 2-3" spurs, add an 8/0 circle hook, leaning over a dock edge, reaching down a foot, doing a snatch and grab on said shark....maybe jerk was the technique and "less than thought through well enough" was the over enthusiastic angler.

[Steve-O]

Did you stay at Kingfisher lodge?  How much of your fishing was done on a boat?  For the pier fishing, where did you get information as to where to fish?  You have put this fishing trip on my bucket list.  Thanks for any information that you are willing to share.

Yes, I have stayed at the Kingfisher Lodge for 18 of my 19 Alaska trips. After the first trip I haven't ever felt the need to go elsewhere. The one other spot I tried was just west of Juneau back in 2011 for halibut only that week. Unbeknownst to me, I was fishing in the same waters as our resident halibut slayer, gstours...aka...Gary.

Did all fishing this trip on land or wading either fresh or salt water.

As to the where to fish...just about anywhere you drop a line into water will hook a fish.

However, on a whim, I started casting and jigging off the lodge dock and have caught a variety of species. My Idaho buds fished with me one day and then tried the lodge dock they stayed at 10 mikes north of me. They caught the dogfish shark so that's where I went this trip and caught and released 8. Plus all the crabs.

Log Cabin Resort and RV park is that lodge name and is run by good people. The owner Skip Fabry offered me crab pots, boat use, and free dock fishing at no charge. He even took pics of me holding one shark.

Several lodges on the island are DIY and less expensive than the full catered places that run near $3-4k for a full week. You can rough it as well as my friend Dan, from OR, does. Sleeps in his  Toyota truck for a month, fishes and takes home 800# of salmon to give away to his "friends" .

PM me if you want more specific info.

Like I told envious coworkers back in NC 10 years ago...save your lunch money and you'll be there next year.

They ate out every day for lunch. Then September rolls around and ...waahhh.... We're still broke and can't go.

[Dominick]

I think it is applicable either way now that I think about it.

I mean -  a 3-4 foot shark with 2-3" spurs, add an 8/0 circle hook, leaning over a dock edge, reaching down a foot, doing a snatch and grab on said shark....maybe jerk was the technique and "less than thought through well enough" was the over enthusiastic angler.

Nicely put... Dominick

[steelfish]

I recall now that I used the Abu Garcia Inshore reel and GLoomis rod on Spiny Dogfish sharks and it well on them also.

hmm thar reel seems to have good power then, time to start using my lexa 300 bit more from the shore with my okuma inshore stalker rod 8'.

[inodan2]

Thank you for the info and I will ping you if I am ever allowed to plan that trip.

[Tiddlerbasher]

Thank you for a lovely trip Steve-o

[Steve-O]

Thank you for the info and I will ping you if I am ever allowed to plan that trip.

You're welcome.

I just spoke with the lodge owners a few minutes ago and penciled myself in for 2017 - around September 20 - 27

[Steve-O]

Thank you for a lovely trip Steve-o

you're most welcome.

So maybe you can give a definitive answer on eating the shark species I almost harvested after catching and releasing 8 of the beasties last week.

As I understand it the Brits eat a version of fish and chips called "rigg"  which is either Spiny Dogfish or SmoothHound Dogfish. Of course the other F n C can be Cod or other white fish.

From Wiki :

In Britain and Ireland, cod and haddock appear most commonly as the fish used for fish and chips,[31] but vendors also sell many other kinds of fish, especially other white fish, such as pollock or coley, plaice, skate, and ray (particularly popular in Ireland); and huss or rock salmon (a term covering several species of dogfish and similar fish).


So what say ye?

[Alto Mare]

Excellent report Steve, I enjoyed every bit of it.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

Sal