what to expect with salmon fishing

[emu1987]

Hello!

As I am preparing us for our first Alaska Cruise next week, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of what to expect when you go salmon fishing. I have booked Ken with Northern Lights Charters in Ketchikan, and he has told me some things, but I was just curious,

I have both a camera and a videocamera and would like to get some nice shots, but I am unsure if it is worth bringing them with us on the fishing excursion. Will we have time to take pictures? Will we run a chance of them getting wet? what are your experiences?

 

Also, what should we wear the day of the salmon fishing? something that dries fast? (I already know to wear layers-haha)

 

Any comments/advice is appreciated!

[EatPrayCruise]

Hello!

As I am preparing us for our first Alaska Cruise next week, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of what to expect when you go salmon fishing. I have booked Ken with Northern Lights Charters in Ketchikan, and he has told me some things, but I was just curious,

I have both a camera and a videocamera and would like to get some nice shots, but I am unsure if it is worth bringing them with us on the fishing excursion. Will we have time to take pictures? YES you will, and personally, I would suggest bringing both. Ken has become "friends" with a pair of eagles that have been returning for about 15 years now. When we were with him on May 23, he tossed a herring to both the male and the female. She is pretty timid, but he catches the herring in mid-air! What a shot if you are quick enough. I'm attaching a photo of her grabbing the herring. Will we run a chance of them getting wet? I doubt it. We had our camera with us and when we weren't using it, I just set it inside the cabin on the table. what are your experiences?

 

Also, what should we wear the day of the salmon fishing?something that dries fast? (I already know to wear layers-haha). We both had rain pants with us on the ship but didn't need them. We wore layers including a top layer of gortex or raingear. After a few hours, I was down to my long-sleeved shirt that I had pushed up the sleeves on.

 

Any comments/advice is appreciated!

 

From my comments on our trip with Ken last month under Ketchikan Salmon Fishing...

 

"Well, first and foremost, Ken, of Northern Lights was kind/funny/helpful and just an all around great guy. He met us at the dock with a sign with our name on it at 7am. We walked down a walkway right next to the ship down a dock to his boat. We trolled just outside of Skagway for an hour or so and were not fortunate enough to catch a salmon. We were a little early for them to be around in numbers. In fact, there were at least 10 other fishing boats out while we were and it appeared as though no one was catching anything. Finally, one guy got a salmon but not us.

 

Ken really wanted us to catch something so we went into a little deeper water to fish for bottom feeders. We dropped our line and my husband got a bite right away. He reeled in a Sole fish. First catch of the day. Just a short time later I had a bite and reeled in a Rockfish. I got a 9-10 lb cod next which took quite a while to reel in and my arms were screaming with pain! I used to unload semi-trucks for a living (10 years ago) but I guess my arms are just not quite as strong as they used to be!

 

Finally, after Ken told us that we were fishing at about 500 feet down (and I moaned about having to reel my line in from that deep), I got a bite and started reeling! I caught what turned out to be a not-very-common Tiger Rockfish. It was very pretty and looked like something out of Finding Nemo or something like that. I actually counted the number of times that I turned the handle to reel in my fish and it was 277 times! Ouch!

 

We saw plenty of eagles while we were out and some came in very close to the boat. That was truly a bonus to the trip!

 

We ended up only fishing for about 4 hours, but were very satisfied with our catch. We didn't keep the fish as we were pretty much there for the experience - unless we had caught some salmon! (We had chartered the boat and had it to ourselves. I was tired and achy from reeling in my fish and was ready to call it a day).

 

I highly recommend Ken. He truly is there for the clients and just wants to make us/you happy."

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time!

 

Sue

[chipmaster]

It 's fishing so anything is possible, if the catching is there Ken will work hard to make sure you get it.

 

Bring camera and video camera as regardless of the weather there should be things to video and shoot.

 

It is a bit early for Salmon but I'm sure Ken will find some catching.

 

FWIW its early, so dress warmly and layers. Prepare for rain, hope for usn.

 

Hello!

As I am preparing us for our first Alaska Cruise next week, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of what to expect when you go salmon fishing. I have booked Ken with Northern Lights Charters in Ketchikan, and he has told me some things, but I was just curious,

I have both a camera and a videocamera and would like to get some nice shots, but I am unsure if it is worth bringing them with us on the fishing excursion. Will we have time to take pictures? Will we run a chance of them getting wet? what are your experiences?

 

Also, what should we wear the day of the salmon fishing? something that dries fast? (I already know to wear layers-haha)

 

Any comments/advice is appreciated!