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The Lure of Alaska
Texas Sporting Journal, March/April 2005by Brian Thurston
Alaska and Boardwalk Lodge beckon with spectacular scenery, cool summer temperatures, deluxe accommodations, wildlife watching and memorable fishing. Deana Fenton and her guide took this rainbow trout, just minutes from where anglers caught silver salmon and halibut.
Four runs into the fight, this fish is still making acrobatic leaps in a frantic attempt to break the line, or beat me into submission, whichever comes first. But this is my day and my time.
Ol' Silversides makes one more short dash, then finally comes wallowing to the boat. Waiting at the gunwale, my ace guide, Red, deftly slips the net under my prize.
Yessss! This is fishing, Alaska style!
You know the drill: You book an awesome fishing trip, and you're itching to go. You toss in your sleep. You check your gear list a dozen times, and as the countdown continues your friends can't wait to see you leave. After all, you are heading for the Shangri La of fishing while they stay home and work.
But too often, once you reach your destination, "guide talk" begins… The tides are too high. The spawning run is late. It's too windy. There's too much bait. The moon is in the seventh house of Jupiter.
Then there's the dreaded, old standby: "Shoulda been here last week. Man, they were really biting."
But every once in a great while the fish Gods align everything perfectly, and you actually do find yourself living the dream.
For the angler
looking to test his tackle — and his
stamina — this is the place to be.
That happened last September when
my wife Pam and I boarded a flight
from Seattle to Ketchikan, Alaska, then
hopped a Beaver floatplane to Thorne
Bay on Prince of Wales Island, home of
the Alaska Boardwalk Lodge. I had heard amazing stories about the Thorne Bay area and Boardwalk, so when we were greeted by lodge manager Art Moody, my enthusiasm was already piqued. Then came Art's brief intro:
"Boardwalk Lodge is all about you. Simply tell us what you want. This is a personal experience, not just about fishing. Our goal is to be the destination lodge in Alaska."
With that, Art's crew grabbed our bags and we headed for the lodge along a walkway made of cedar boards (hence the lodge name) spanning a small inlet. We stowed our bags in the rooms — more on that later — and were joined by my co-worker Don Fenton and his wife, Deana, who had arrived a day earlier. When Don approached, I could see he had this silly grin and a glaze in his eyes that a Lab pup gets on his first whiff of a pintail.
"You won't believe it, Brian," Don says. "We must have hooked into a dozen big silver salmon, and we were only out there for two hours! Biggest problem is trying to get these freight trains to slow down and cooperate!"
That was all Pam and I needed to hear. Lunch could wait. The four of us headed down to meet Red who would be our saltwater guide.
Standing by was an oversized, ruddy Swede with a big smile, a beard that supported the nickname, and a wealth of local knowledge. Thorne Bay has been his home for the past 30 years, and like all Boardwalk guides, he has invested a huge amount of time learning his home waters and the giant fish that live there.
Using medium-action tackle, the author got into non-stop action on silver salmon (coho) weighing up to 21 pounds. The season peaks in September.
To our delight, the lodge uses safe,
stable boats, 26-foot rigs by Olympic,
ideal for Alaska's quirky weather.
However, the area around Thorne Bay
offers many protected inlets and fjordtype
waters with relatively calm areas
where you can fish without worrying
about losing that fantastic breakfast
you just ate. Roughing it?
The boats feature heated cabins,
enclosed head, comfortable seating and
of course, nothing but top-quality
fishing gear. Red did nothing to quell
our fires.
"It's not if you are going to catch
something, it is how many and what
variety."
I liked this guy right away! Red
determined we needed to run 15
minutes across the bay where silvers
(coho salmon) in the 10- to 18-pound
class, were feeding. These fish put on
as much as a pound a week prior to
heading up the streams to spawn, and
they are famous for their hard fighting
and acrobatic skills. Often, they jump
several feet out of the water numerous
times before you're able to bring them
to the net.
The action was immediate and
fierce.
"Fish on!" Deana yells, as line
began spilling off a rod with a huge
bend in it.
One look at my wife, and I knew
she was not ready to tangle with 17
pounds of angry coho, so it was up to
me to lend her a hand. I willingly assumed the rod, with a huge smile. I
got the fish close to the boat when
Deana yelled again.
"Fish on!"
Again she grabbed a severely bent
rod. It went this way for the next two
hours. For once, it was not merely
fishing, but catching.
This put everyone in jolly spirits,
resulting in a lot of high-fives, teasing
and competitive spirit to see who
landed the biggest. It was only the
beginning. To my amazement we saw
action like this every single day.
We caught and released more than 50 salmon in three hours of fishing.
If this kind of fishing is appealing —
are you still breathing? — it's yours to
be had out of Boardwalk Lodge. It's
especially good in September, when
Texans are weary of the summer heat
and ready to turn the page. While there is tremendous fishing for all kinds of fish from April into the Alaska autumn, literally millions of silver salmon are gorging themselves during the September run. Alaska is famous for its weather, but in this stretch the day-time highs may be in the 60's, sometimes in the 70's.
What an awesome time to add a little variety to your coho fishing. It's not often you visit a fish haven where the angler can have his choice for the day — Saltwater or fresh? River or lake?
One morning the boys and girls split up. Don and I went with Forrest (one of two Orvis specialists at the lodge) to his favorite spot for flyfishing and spinning. We found the river to be absolutely choked with silvers and pinks.
Once we got the hang of things I would estimate we caught and released more than 50 salmon in three hours of fishing. If you have never experienced a chrome-bright silver salmon on a fly rod, you owe it to yourself to commit to the effort. Eight pounds of silver can turn a big guy like me inside out if they decide to treat you to some 50 yard runs and acrobatic leaps. It is a sight you will never forget.
Back in the salt, you can have a go at Hippoglossus stenolepsis, an outsized beast shaped like a Texas crappie, otherwise known as the Pacific halibut.
This fish is the real Paul Bunyan of the North, as it can grow to 8 feet long and weigh more than 700 lbs. The largest halibut caught on rod and reel weighed 459 pounds.
Hard-core solo anglers know southeastern Alaska to be a fishing haven for silver salmon, halibut, lingcod, rainbows of southeastern But the author (right) and his wife, Pam, along with Don and Deanna Fenton, found Boardwalk Lodge to be couple-friendly.
Leave it to Pam to come up with her own unconventional way to jig for halibut. No matter how often I chided her for poor technique, a minute or two later she yelled for somebody to grab her so a runaway halibut didn't pull her overboard.
Her biggest halibut, 121 pounds, brought a gleam to her eyes I haven't seen since the Nordstrom's post- Christmas sale. Not to be left out, we all caught halibut, along with two other tasty bottom-feeding species, the lingcod and yelloweye (snapper). Snapshots all around.
The fish preparation was nearly as remarkable as the fish catching. Back at the lodge, all fish were expertly filleted, the meat vacuum-packed in meal-sized bags and frozen for our trip home.
"We must have hooked into a dozen big silver salmon, and we were only out there for two hours!"
On the return flight I suddenly
realized that there was no chance for
us to jam 150 pounds of filets into our
freezer. Solution? First call of duty was
the purchase of a new chest freezer.
You might want to assess your own
storage situation prior to this trip! As a side note, each passenger is allowed two checked bags of 50lbs. each at no additional charge. This adds up to a lot of filets.
Alaska Boardwalk Lodge was a pleasant surprise and it lived up to Art's original statement about being a personal experience. With rustic-looking rooms that offer all the comforts of home, we found it to be a delightful spot for couples and families. This Orvis-endorsed lodge has rooms with queen-sized beds, with roomy showers that deliver plenty of water pressure. And the view... it's straight out of a Chamber of Commerce postcard.
Boardwalk is just right for hardcore individuals, too. For the angler looking to test his tackle — and his stamina — this is the place to be.
Five days at a lodge like this leaves a visitor with enough stories and memories to last until he or she comes back. That's just what we plan to do!
Southeast Alaska's 5-Star Adventure!
800-764-3918
Thorne Bay • Prince of Wales Island • Southeast Alaska