Independence Day Whale Pass Fishing Report
Three trips to the LaConte Glacier this week led to an adventure and less fishing than usual; however, we did get some fish for the Independence Day Whale Pass Fishing Report. So happy Independence Day to all you Americans out there!
The week started with a trip for two guests to the LaConte Glacier. Local captain Jared Cook was along to show me the ropes. He brought his lovely lady Hannah along too. The sky was overcast and not great for glacier photography, but it was real nice for people pics. I photographed the young couple.
Hannah and Jared, a beautiful couple.
The colors were muted, but the light was nice for black and white.
All but one of my fishing trips this week were fly fishing trips for silver salmon in the vicinity of the Lodge. My angler for these trips was Andy Wilson, an angler who can cast a fly! We killed it, using a chartreuse Clouser Minnow, with a limit of salmon every day. We would look for schools of fish cruising, head them off with the skiff, and cast. Andy, on his game, made the most of the majority of his shots. That was Hot!
Andy found it easier to catch the fish than hold them, making for a more interesting photo…
That was hot!
The odd fishing trip was a mooching trip around the Triplets with Christie and John Michael, mother and son. We got a variety of fish including silver salmon, halibut, and rockfish, but the highlight of the trip was a 22 pound king salmon. That was Hot!
John Michael and Christie with a nice fat king salmon.
Trolling around the Triplets has been yielding king, silver, and pink salmon. The catch of the week was a 42 pound king salmon landed by the Ryter brothers, Ethan and Lucas. Sadly I do not have an image of this impressive catch. But it was Hot!
The Wilson family also took a glacier trip. Captain Cook came along again, in a supervisory capacity. The ice in the fiord was very thick. I didn’t realize the Blashke was an ice-breaker, but I quickly learned what an amazing vessel it is.
Nearing the glacier in the Blashke, maneuvering through the ice.
Jared tells stories about hunting mountain goats around the glacier.
Of course, we had to get out of the fiord again.
On the glacier trips we spend some time in Petersburg to stretch legs and see an Alaska fishing town. I love to walk the docks and photograph the boats.
I’m getting a good idea what to use when trolling for salmon.
On July 3 Nathaniel Cook and I took the Greenberg family, from New York, to the glacier. We photographed Leroy on the way. The weather was awesome.
Leroy with his harem.
The weather was awesome.
We watched the glacier calve.
After watching the glacier calve for a while we took them out to the mouth of the fiord to meet their float plane. Nathaniel and I decided to take the short-cut back in spite of the fact neither of us had ever run it before. We got to the shallow spot too late and grounded the Blashke on a large sand flat.
Oops!
Why is there a channel marker where there is no water???
The sunset was worth the price of admission.
The short cut cost us about ten hours while we waited for the tide to bring enough water back to float the boat, which happened about midnight. The rest of the ride back happened under an almost full moon and deep twilight (it never did get dark) and was absolutely gorgeous. We did not damage the boat or ourselves, and if you’re going to get stuck we could not have picked a nicer place to do it.
And that is the Independence Day Whale Pass Fishing Report from Spotted Tail and the Lodge at Whale Pass.
Life is great and I love my work!
Life is short- Go Fishing!
John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
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All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.
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