Fishing
To say our fishing is fantastic would be an understatement. Come and visit us and you will discover why so many give up fishing anywhere else in Alaska after discovering Prince of Wales Island and Whale Pass. You will be challenged to find better multi-species angling opportunities anywhere else.
Fishing Gear and Options
Spin casting, trolling, and fly fishing all work well for salmon in our area. We provide halibut and trolling rods and reels for our guests who select our saltwater fishing packages. As many of our guests like to use their own favorite gear, we do provide spin casting or fly-fishing items with our packages. Lures and flies in chartreuse, pink and orange colors in combination with silver seem to work best for salmon. For Dolly Varden, spinners with red and/or red beads usually work well. May through June is good trolling for Kings in the Clarence Strait with less usually taken in July. We provide trolling rods and reels with our 21 and 24 ft boats for salmon fishing.
Spin Cast
#4-6 spinners for Silvers-Top choices include Mepps Flying C, Blue Fox Classic Vibrax, and Mepps Plain Aglia
#2 spinners for Dolly Varden-Good choices include Mepps, Blue Fox Tails, and Panther Martin
12 lb. test mono or 15 lb. braid for Silvers, 4-6 lb. test for Dolly Varden.
Fly
Fly Rod: 8-weight for Silvers and Steelhead, 4-weight for Dolly Varden and Trout
Fly line with some weight or weighted flies is normally best.
Fly patterns with some weight added using silver, chartreuse, pink, purple, or orange colors. Proven flies include egg-sucking leech in black & purple, Clouser minnows, egg and egg clusters.
Halibut
50 to 100 lb. test outfits and preferably braided line
6 to 10 ounces of weight at slack tide, 12 to 24 ounces when the tide is running strong
Fishing with salmon bellies and herring is most common. Jigs from 8 to 16 ounces also do well for halibut.
Salmon
June is when it all starts to happen. Kings, Pinks and Silvers can be caught in the Saltwater throughout June. By the first of July Chums and Pinks start to enter many of the island streams. Sockeyes can also be found in a handful of nearby streams during this time.
By the end of July most of the local streams are loaded with Pinks and Chums.
Silvers start showing up in the streams by the first of August and continue to build in numbers throughout the month. If you want to target silvers in fresh water the end of August first part of September is the peak. August is a great time to target Silvers in the Saltwater.
Nothing compares to catching a salmon on light tackle or a Fly Rod! When the salmon finally hit the streams, it is spectacular at times you cannot see the bottom of the stream. The object becomes not to catch a salmon with every cast!
Halibut
There is excellent halibut fishing in nearby Kashevarof Passage and other areas close to Whale Pass. A short run in one of our boats will take you to any number of quality halibut holes. Being in the inside passage of Southeast Alaska means protected waters and fewer limitations due to rough water. No rolling around in ocean swells trying to keep your last meal from resurfacing like many other areas of Alaska. Even on the occasions that the weather gets rough there are options to fish in protected water.
Steelhead, Dolly Varden, and Cutthroats
There are numerous options for quality fishing for Dolly Varden, cutthroat trout and Steelhead in the many streams and lakes within easy driving distance of the lodge. Prince of Wales has both spring and fall runs of steelhead.
