Baranof Blog & Fishing News

When Baranof first started, we were outfitting our guests out of the back of a canopied truck.  I spent a half-hour each departure rummaging through stacks of boots, raingear, gloves, etc. as we decked out our guests.  That first year I was making multiple trips each morning to Tongass to buy extra gear as we ran out of the appropriate sizes.  (Our initial offering of Wilderness Dining attracted a lot of families, which it still does, so when we needed an extra-large or extra-small set of gear, it typically meant we’d need 4-5 for the whole family.)  Fast forward 15 years, and my father’s love for beating any problem into submission is evident by the fact that we have indoor dining at our restaurant…  The seating area at the Alaska Fish House was originally built to turn our outfitting process from a necessity into an experience.  As the popularity for the Fish House grew, however, we constructed an 80-foot outfitting room at our marina, which is still in use.  Necessity being the mother of invention, however, we’re not done yet – this winter we’re building another outfitting room to be used in conjunction with our current building.

Enter William Hink, the master carpenter and night squid-fishing enthusiast.  He has been working with Chuck for the last few years on all our building projects and his pride is evident in his work.  This winter dad’s turning Will loose on a new outfitting room that will serve not only as a place for our guests to get garbed for Southeast weather, but will play a critical role in the Baranof experience.  William enjoys working with Chuck because his creative side is encouraged; dad wants Will to spend a little extra on fancy nails, for example, if they’re to be used where guests can see them.  (That may sound silly to mention, but my point is that the finest details are not overlooked when William puts together a blueprint.)  Outfitting guests for a day on the water are sort of like the opening act at a concert; the customer often views every minute spent as wasted, and keeping them from what they paid to see.  It’s William and Chuck’s mission to provide a venue that allows our opening act to be an authentic, memorable Alaskan experience.

We’ll be posting photos of our progress in the months leading up to the season.  Check back here or on any of our social media outlets for updates and discussion; first-time guests will garner a little peace of mind knowing they don’t have to dress for an arctic expedition for a day of fishing in Ketchikan.