Stories of Alaska
Alaska wilderness dining
- AJ Slagle
- 2020-04-14 07:12:36
- Wilderness Dining
- Ketchikan, Alaska
The "Alaska wilderness dining" tours are dear to my heart for a number of reasons, the first being, it is how Baranof fishing was born... and that tour allows some latitude at times to vary the sequence of experiences before going to the camp to partake of a wonderful meal in a beautiful setting by a warm fire...
For instance, one charter I had June 11th 2017, was with two nice families on their first trip to the Ketchikan area; we were able to find some beautiful quillback rockfish in a fairly quick amount of time that was sufficient to feed everyone on board, so I presented them with some options: we could use the remaining time before the meal to do some wildlife viewing and try to do some trolling for king salmon if they were so inclined...the first opportunity was the seal haul out in the middle of blank inlet, and we cruised the shoreline to possibly spot a black bear or deer on the beach, which took us in the amount of time needed for the current and state of the tide to be at its changing point... prime time of tide, perfect part of the season, and we were next to the camp channel where I have caught many king salmon with and without clients...
I rigged the baits and dropped them on the downriggers to the depths I felt best, one of them being 15 feet from the bottom, a whole herring on a slow roll; we trolled about 50 feet when the bait pulled out of the clip on that side, and as the client pulled back on the rod, it bent towards a line coming to the surface at a fair distance from the boat!
A King salmon! Confirmed by the tail and dorsal breaking the surface as it strained at the line, with the client holding steady pressure and keeping the line taut, the beautiful fish was netted within a few minutes and brought on board to the wonder and joy of those who had never caught one, a privilege to behold and participate in... then we did it again, within a few minutes of boating the first one, I had the lines back in and we hooked another King salmon within 100 feet of the first!
Another good fight and netted, some pictures and then it was time for the camp meal; they don't always include fresh filet of King salmon, but it can happen, and this time it did... An amazing day with wonderful people in a beautiful setting..
.Corona Virus Update 2.3.2023
Even in the remote islands of Southeast Alaska, COVID-19 poses risks. The health and safety of our guests, employees, and community are our top priorities. We have put special measures in place to keep people safe on excursions:
The safety of our customers is paramount, so we’re also not going to walk away from common sense guidelines such as:
- Vaccination – We believe vaccines provide safe and effective protection against COVID-19. We strongly encourage vaccination and boosters for all employees, and the vast majority are currently vaccinated against COVID 19
- Social distance – We strive to keep groups separated as much as possible during the licensing and outfitting process, but our real strength in social distancing is based on the size of our boats. With only six passengers per vessel and one captain they spend time with, the risks of exposure are limited.
- Masking – We abide by the federal mandate for passenger vessels, masks are required for the duration of the tour while in enclosed cabins. That being said, there is quite a lot of airflow even on our hardtops which are typically open to the back deck. Masking may be required at times for vulnerable guests on a case-by-case basis.
- Stringent Cleaning – We’ve increased the frequency of disinfecting surfaces and high traffic areas such as the Alaska Fish House restaurant, bathrooms, the outfitting room, the dock, and our boats. Hand sanitizer will be available to all guests on every boat.
- Wellness Checks:
- Employees receive daily wellness checks to ensure they are healthy and symptom-free.
- Employees are empowered to call in sick if they show symptoms.
- If you or anyone in your group is experiencing symptoms, we will work directly with you to cancel or reschedule your tour free of charge.
These protocols have enabled Baranof Fishing Excursions to operate safely and successfully throughout 2020, 2021 and 2022. With your help, we intend to continue fishing safely in 2023!
