Ketchikan, Alaska

If you decide you want to try the fishing in Ketchikan (and I highly recommend you do!), here's some places to visit:

Howard Mckim is the man when it comes to kayak fishing up there.  He maintains a fleet of rental kayaks and will take you out and show you the hot spots.  His site is at:

http://www.yakfishalaska.com/

The Black Bear Inn is the *only* place to stay in Ketchikan in my opinion.  The owners, Nicole and Jim are incredibly hospitable (they will even smoke and/or freeze your catch!) and the Inn is fabulously comfortable.  It's located right on the water (you can launch from the back yard) and comes complete with hot tub and all the other comforts. 

http://www.bbonline.com/ak/blackbear/rooms.html

Skiff rentals can be arranged at Knudson Cove Marina if your butt just gets too sore from all the kayak fishing or you want to venture farther out

http://www.knudsoncovemarina.com/reservations.html

Good restaurants include:

Annabelle's Keg and Chowder House - We "beefed up" here the day before we left for the island.  Great Prime Rib.

Ocean View Restaurante - Very good Mexican and Italian food and marvelous Margaritas.

Burger Queen - Great burgers and Halibut sandwiches.  Good, old fashioned burger shack.  Highly recommended.

Pioneer Cafe - A Ketchikan institution.  Traditional cafe beloved by the locals. Great Clam Chowder

Salmon Falls Resort - Probably the best (and priciest) restaurant in town.  King Crab, Steaks, etc.  Pat and I rated it excellent!

We ended up renting our skiff from Clover Pass Resort ... http://www.olwm.com/cloverpassresort/

Goldenarrow could tell you more about it as he is working the dock there until October.

-Allen

Great info  THanks for passing it on  NOTHING will stop me from going next year  NOOOOOTHING 

What is a ballpark dollar amount for a trip like that?

What is a ballpark dollar amount for a trip like that?

Roughly speaking...

I believe we gave Howard $700 for the trip, airfare about $650 rt, Blackbear Inn about $130/night.  All in, I think Pat and I spent around $2000 each for the 8 days.  A real bargain. 

I'm actually more interested in a remote wilderness trip - basically drop me off (with my kayak and camping gear) in a location (where there's BIG salmon) and come back and get me after a week  That would be my dream vacation - I actually LOVE roughing it. And at the end of the week, I'd like to hit that fancy restaurant and order a cow (rare) for dinner

I'd love to paddle to the location myself, but I'm not aware (or even experienced) with the big tidal movements and the distance involved - maybe this will be something I'd look into after my first experience

Joel,

Sounds great!  I can't imagine that Howard couldn't set you up with a trip like that.

Just one bit of advice, buddy to buddy:  As soon as you get out to that remote bit of wilderness, and you're all by yourself for a week or so without any possibility of human contact, be sure to spray yourself, your clothes and all your gear down really well with bear repellent.  We wouldn't want you to be pestered by any bears.  No sir.

Randy

I'd love to paddle to the location myself, but I'm not aware (or even experienced) with the big tidal movements and the distance involved - maybe this will be something I'd look into after my first experience

Oh yes, you'll look into it.  I already scheming on a number of fronts.   

-Allen

.  We wouldn't want you to be pestered by any bears.  No sir.

Randy.....I truly appreciate your concern But it's really the Bear that needs to be worried...after all, I'am Filipino.....I say this because a hungry Filipino, stuck in the booonies without a rice cooker can be a "menace" to ANY animal lurking around 

I already scheming on a number of fronts.   

Allen - Keep me in the loop 

Heck, that's what Howard does for fun.  He and Cheryl are planning a month long paddle around Prince of Wales island.....just them and their stuff..........way cool.

Joel,

A buddy and I did a two week self supported kayak trip out of Sitka in July/August of 2001. I just picked up a book on sea kayaking in SE Alaska  and then planned the whole thing on my own, starting in April of that year. I think the whole trip cost us around $1400 each, airfare included.  This was more of an adventure than a dedicated fishing trip, but it was plenty easy to pick up silvers on the troll when moving from one camp site to another. We mostly slept in tents, but did rent a Forest Service cabin for 2 days in the middle of the trip. That was the best $50 we spent during the trip. Second best expenditure was the book itself:

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Sea-Kayaking-Southeast-Alaska/dp/0762704098

The same buddy and I are heading to SW AK in Sept 2007, for a fly-in rafting trip. Gonna hurt them fishies, and if lucky, put a tag on a Caribou. We could maybe use a third person on this trip

Scott

The same buddy and I are heading to SW AK in Sept 2007, for a fly-in rafting trip. Gonna hurt them fishies, and if lucky, put a tag on a Caribou. We could maybe use a third person on this trip

Scott

Thanks Scott - but I don't think you want me around any kind of firearm....let's just say "I have an itchy trigger finger" 

Thanks for the link, I'll defintely check it out  Camping,fishing and kayaking is PRICELESS 

The same buddy and I are heading to SW AK in Sept 2007, for a fly-in rafting trip. Gonna hurt them fishies, and if lucky, put a tag on a Caribou. We could maybe use a third person on this trip

Scott

My buddy Tom does this every September.  I'm heading over to his tonight for caribou steaks and to see pics of the 20# lake trout he caught this year.  Let me know if you need info on places to go amd logistics and I'll hit him up for itn

-Allen

Thanks Allen.

We'll be flying out of Bethel with Papa Bear. I'll go with their recommendations as to the river drainage come the week of the trip. No sense in nailing yourself down to one river when the 'bou are all somewhere else. Plenty of good options are available out of Bethel.

I wouldn't mind another source of info, but as it is, I've probably got half a dozen people I could call up to get local feedback, including one person that actually lives in Bethel proper.

Regards,
Scott

Alaska is a new reality for me.  Bethel Alaska Population (2005): 5,690
Bethel, one of the largest communities in western Alaska, lies within the 20 million-acre Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, the largest wildlife refuge in the nation. Bethel serves as an administrative and transportation hub for 56 villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

And though it is dryer, it is lots colder than Kethcikan.........