Oh man did we ever have a great trip!! The first week Lynne and I toured Juneau, Skagway and Sitka with the kids. We added a few extras, like the highspeed ferry Fairweather from Juneau to Skagway and back, the Yukon RR in Skagway over the Chilkoot Pass, a day touring the bears and glaciers in Tracy Arm fjord, and we helicoptered into the Mendenhall snow field to go dogsledding while in Juneau. Sitka was awesome, with the Jackson museum, the aquarium, the totem park and the Raptor center.
Nevertheless, the highlight was BWL, a fine facility with a great staff!!
Planes were grounded by weather on our transfer day, but by 8:30 Mike had a boat at the dock where we met Ken H. (I'd met several of the other BWL guests at 6:30 at Highliner Coffee!) Mike and Sally quickly made us feel at home upon our arrival. It seemed a bit overwhelming, as there were two other seasoned groups of 4 with 4 and 5 years prior BWL experience and a lot of new faces and names. After a quick lunch, we donned bibs and boots and hit the water. By 5 pm, our boat had a 141(mine), 70 (my younger son's, outweighed him by a pound!), and 35 lb halibut (my daughter used it to get the skunk off the boat and the trip!). Another busted the 200 lb leader (must've been nicked, but still a BIG fish that my older son fought for 35 minutes!) As the other boats came in, it seemed that all had similar success. Just a 1/2 day, but things were just getting started!!
The next few days were marked by whale sightings, lake visits, and more great fishing as we all went separate ways on the Fun Board. Ken got my older son and father into a great light tackle rockfish bite. He worked with my daughter and Dad (Bob, aka "Rex" to the grandkids and most of the crew) got a 34 lb king on a 12 lb spinning rod fishing a rubber grub for duskies and silver greys with Miles. I spent a great day in the rain with Sally, Lynne and my mom fishing the river for dollies and pinks. We saw 8 humpback whales bubble feeding on our way in so we spent an hour with them and got some great photos. I was guiding Lynne more than fishing myself by choice, but still I had my fill. As the day wore on, I switched to dries and continued to slay them much to Sally's (and my) enjoyment!! Lynne and I fished a 5 wt all day, and after lunch, Lynne got her first on dry! We saw bears on several occasions! It was so good that I took Kyle and Rex back the next day with Doug and Jed.
Silvers improved all week, but a run to the south to fish off Kuiuk was still necessary. Lots of whales and life in Kelp Bay to the North too. The kids loved kayaking when the day was otherwise "done" and they pulled shrimp and crab pots!! They enjoyed it so much that they chose to kayak and pull pots on their last 1/2 day Saturday with Sally and Austin (a big docile lab that Kyle would've taken home if given the choice!!) while I fished solo with Ken on fly. Fish were deep and tough with a difficult low tide, but Ken put up with me and we had a ball!!
What a great group. Laurel has a serious crush on Josh. Mom has a crush on Jed! Christian wants to go back to work with Miles on the dock after spending every afternoon scrubbing boats and washing down the fish cleaning operation! Christian's big concern was that as a kid he couldn't work a full day for Mike! Kyle wants to go back for 2 weeks at the lodge next time, followed with another week at the Camp in Kelp Bay with Dutch. I can't decide if I want to be like Jed or Doug when I grow up. Everyone there seemed to go out of their way to make certain that the kids had a great time. It was hardcore angling if we wanted it, or a "family" experience if we wanted that. There wasn't a stern word all week (OK, once I had to break Laurel and Kyle up while trolling silvers when each claimed they were next in the rotation!! … and once Christian felt that his 20 lb ling cod shouldn't count because the season was closed!)
Accommodations were very comfortable! The food and kitchen crew were off the charts!! The kitchen crew was especially sensitive to Rex's shellfish allergy and held salads out for him when shrimp were added without having to be asked. Lynne (coffee snob) approved off the coffee, and we all ate like kings. Laurel had 1/2 crab every night and Kyle became known as the crab picker as he'd pick a big pile before digging in!! Kyle even helped shell/split the crabs on the dock on several afternoons. Badger, Pat and Mandy, GRACIAS!!
Transfers and travel went seamlessly. And we were very glad to have stayed the last night as you suggested!!
Mike and I enjoyed trading stories on the day we fished together (although the kids got a bit "mal de mar" when we got a bad wind/tide swell while set for lunch on a halibut hole after catching salmon all morning, they quickly shook it off and we had a ball riding the swells home sitting on the cooler in the cockpit while Mike steered us home!!) , and we all learned tons. I worked hard to be certain that all in our group enjoyed their trip, but I know that the crew worked even harder. Plaudits universally all around. Mike and Sally have surrounded themselves with great people!! And a special thank you to you and Fishabout for helping make it so painless for us!! Pictures will be following shortly (though I'm sure we can't top the CD slideshow!!) !! We got home at 12:30 am this morning after leaving Sitka on a 6 am flight, and then Lynne and I spent another hour putting the fish into the freezers and the laundry away, so I still need to get them all downloaded.
For certain, it was a trip none of us will ever forget!! Thank you all, and you will be hearing from us again !!!
P.S. Mike, please pass this among your crew. They earned it, each and every one of them!!
