Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

07/20/07 - 07/22/07

Darn! I had to go find my watch and set an alarm to get up at 6:45 AM to catch the ferry to Prince of Wales Island. I can't believe you working folks have to actually get up early every morning. How horrible!

We spent three days on the island. It's a little off the beaten path and doesn't get that much tourism yet. Much of the road system is gravel, so traveling is somewat slow going. We spent the first two nights at Eagle's Nest Campground in the middle of the island and the last night at an RV park in Coffman Cove.

On the first day, we checked out a fish ladder (with no fish) and took a tour of a fish hatchery. In the evening, we went to the Thorne River and did a bit of fishing. Again, we caught a few cutthroat trout.

On the second day, we tried fishing a few more spots on the Thorne River. I caught a couple of rainbow trout (at least we think they were, we're not too good yet on identifying the various trout varieties). We then did some hiking and biking in the area around the campground.

On the third day, we headed towards the northern part of the island. We tried fishing the Sarkar Rapids with no success. We then went to the outlet of Neck Lake. There was a run of salmon in the creek coming from the lake. There were eagles flying all around looking to grab a quick meal. We did a little casting a I caught one coho that was 25 1/2 inches long. I was using an ultralight rod with 4 lb test line, so it was a fun battle.

Balls Lake
Steve Winker