Fishing in Alaska

The morning after we arrived in Elfin Cove we were assigned to go out on Ken’s boat along with another couple, Don and Laura B, from Minnesota. On the first day we set out for Cross Sound where Ken set us up for a round of salmon fishing. I can’t remember how many salmon we caught the first day, everyone caught some. However, I do remember that I caught a Coho that weighed more than 15 pounds. After a while, we moved to another spot and started jigging for black bass. They were hitting fast and we pulled in a bunch in just a few minutes. Then we moved again across Cross Sound where Ken rigged us for halibut. Don B caught a 60 pound halibut. It was very impressive to us, although, his wife, Laura, had caught a 200 pound halibut the year before, so it may not have been as impressive to them. We, however, were thrilled!

The next day we were again paired with Don and Laura on Ken’s boat. We left the dock at 7:30 a.m. and again headed out to Cross Sound. We started our day salmon fishing and the bite was good. We caught several nice Cohos in the morning. Don G had the pleasure of bringing in a 21 pound King salmon. It was a beauty! After a while we moved to another location and Ken set us up for halibut. We started jigging and we were in a good spot. Unfortunately most of them were on the small side and Ken was hoping that we would get a big one so we released a bunch of them. I must have caught five including one that was a keeper. (Not nearly as big as Don B’s from the day before, but enough meat for a few dinners.) In all we kept two nice halibut and released about 10.

In the afternoon we went back to salmon fishing and at one point we had three poles going at one time. That kept Ken and Don G, who was acting as deck hand, busy keeping the downrigger lines in the water. By the time it was all said and done we had one King salmon, twelve nice Coho salmon, two decent halibut, and one black bass and we released a large ling cod because it wasn’t in season. We had the time of our lives and enjoyed meeting and fishing with Don and Laura B. Don G was rewarded with a certificate conferring an honorary Associate of Applied Deckhand Technology for helping Ken on the fishing trips. He had a great time learning from Ken who is an expert fisherman.

We had an incredible time at Eagle Charters and Cross Sound Lodge. The food was superb and the staff were so professional and they took excellent care of us while we were there. It was evident that any guest who visits this lodge would have a first-rate experience and leave with memories of Alaska that would last a lifetime. I know that we did.