Prince of Wales: Steelhead Fishing
The scene in front of me matched the mental picture I had for a southeast Alaskan steelhead stream.
Emerging from ungodly deadfall and bramble, the creek met the ocean half a mile downstream. The water braided into several channels, and tide depending, had the possibility of holding fish that rode in on the rising water.
Oh yeah, and two bald eagles circled overhead. Might as well make it a postcard or something.
As I worked the first good holding water upstream of the salt, a chrome-bright hen of ten pounds or so came up and smashed my strike indicator...
My heart instantly hit my throat. Holy cow!!
Our trip to Prince of Wales Island in southeast Alaska for spring steelhead had been on the books for six months and to say it was highly anticipated was an understatement. From the information we could gather, we knew we were in for a different experience from the steelhead fishing we know well here in the Northwest.
P.O.W Island is Massive
It’s the kind of big that you can’t really imagine till you fly over it or work up the coastline in a ferry. Water was everywhere: from bogs to lakes to dozens upon dozens of creeks that all have steelhead; albeit some run very small, others much bigger. Combine that with limited intel and a truck at our disposal-and we had a week of crazy island exploration ahead of us.
Every day we tried to hit a new drainage to keep working through the Rubik’s cube of P.O.W steelhead. Some of the rivers, like the Thorne, had amazing access and others, like Hatchery Creek, were unbelievable slogs through muskeg and deadfall that lead us to unfishable water.
EVERY TIME WE LEFT THE TRUCK, WE HAD NO CLUE WHAT WE WOULD FIND AS WE EMERGED FROM THE TRAIL TO THE RIVER.
More than once, we got a call on the radio from one of our partners saying he could see steelhead in the creek, but had no way to cast them. The thing was that we’d find a pool in the middle of the rainforest jungle, and the first thought we had as we started into the tannic water was, "If I hook one, then what?"
Every once in a while, things would line up. And they were interactions that are impossible to forget. Downstream, we’d see our partner in a cage match with a 15 lb. steelhead. The low water and intimate stream size had made these fish very, very mad. So when we would tussle, within those seconds, they would be stamped onto our brains with a hammer.
Just because we went through all the trouble of going to Alaska didn’t mean we caught a lot of fish. In truth, I hooked only a couple all week and the same went for our entire crew.
Success is Not Always in Line
No matter where you go to steelhead fish, success is not always in line with how much effort you give or how far you traveled. Your one-week might not line up with run timing, water conditions, moon phases, or any of the fickle reasons why steelhead are such a mind-bender of a fish. Did you count up the bananas you ate in the last 6 months and divide by 3.14? Neither did I.
As the week neared its close, it was clear to me that this place and its fish were in my head. Situated in the Tongass National Forest, it is a natural beauty that is hard to understand unless you’ve been there. It’s going to take us years to really understand the water up there, but it’s a challenge we readily accept. There’s so much to see and so much to explore. When they are old enough, I am very excited to share it with my boys (and not to get stuck in a muskeg on a hike to the river). In due time, they’ll get the chance to see this place, and see why it has left its imprint on me.
Oh, back to the estuary and the fish that stole my bobber- After letting it rest for a half an hour, we returned to the pool to see if the fish was still there. We wondered if the fish would eat the bug instead of the strike indicator.
MY FIRST GOOD CAST THROUGH THE RUN AND IT ALL WENT CRAZY.
The bobber fired down and I slammed it back with a big hook set. A fish, so bright it was shining like a newly minted quarter, rocketed up into the air. The pool we were in could not contain her as she jumped five times in no less than ten seconds. Around the corner, she went on her back to the ocean and on her last jump, threw her head from side to side and sent my fly back towards my face.
We all sat there in stunned silence, jaws agape at what we had just seen. A fish like that is why we went so far and planned so long to be there. As the celebratory drink was passed around, I knew it in my soul. I will be coming back to southeast Alaska because these fish and this place are in my head for good.
A couple of post-story items for consideration.
We stayed with Naukati Bay Adventures. Rick Hedding and his crew are developing a fantastic family-oriented lodge that delivers on comfort, great food and hospitality. They also have a great salmon, halibut and rockfish guide service that have the area waters dialed. Visit them online at www.nbaak.com
Salmon and Steelhead Numbers Stay Strong
As mentioned before, Prince of Wales is also part of the Tongass National Forest. Due to its intact habitat, this massive area of land across SE Alaska is one of the main reasons that salmon and steelhead numbers stay strong.
BUT, and it’s a big but, it needs further protection from logging that threatens the area’s productivity. Learn more about the Tongass and 77 identified watersheds that need further protection at www.americansalmonforest.org
