Stories of Alaska
The Southeast Expedition – Day 2
- Chris Baldwin
- 2017-07-10 04:00:45
- Private Charter
- Kake , Alaska
From Kake we hightailed it over the Baranof Warm Springs to pick up our fishermen. It was a stunning landscape as we pulled in and tied up. Once everyone was on board we went to the front of the bay and immediately started catching fish, lots of rockfish, one halibut and one massive Yellow Eye. After an hour we got the trolling gear out and immediately got three strikes. Lost one and boated a silver and a pink. One more hour of trolling produced one 26” King and one large Coho. The guests were happy, and it was lunch time so we headed back to the yacht. After AJ and I ate lunch, we shot over to Sitka. The amount of sea otters along the way was amazing, we saw one raft of otters 15 strong. Hard to imagine the biomass required to sustain such a large number of these animals.
In Sitka, we had a nice dinner and a nice bed. Now its day three, and we are waiting to hear if the guests want to fish today.
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!
