Wrangell AK - Info

We are spending three months in SW Alaska this summer, with the bulk of the time on Prince of Wales Island. Have some decent knowledge of POW from our stay there last summer, but will also spend two weeks in Wrangell, and would appreciate any information for that area. Any contacts or fishing locations would be appreciated, particularly for halibut and ling.
We will spend most of our time based out of Coffman Cove, POW, mid July thru August, and welcome company. We will be in our RV and judging by last summer, looking forward to some great fishing.

Sweet, July and August are great times for coho chromers!  I lived in Wrangell 2 years before moving to the interior and did quite a bit of halibut and salmon fishing via kayak.  Not sure how much ling action your gonna get.  It seems the ling are more towards the outerwaters (don't ask me why).

For halibut check out the southwest side of Woronofski, there's a pinnacle there (check the nautical maps) and I've landed a 100+ 'but there before.  I've also had some good luck near Kadin and Lesnoi islands (don't do this with a kayak, dangerous tides) with halibut.  You may hook into a ray overthere as well.  And of course there Gray's Pass & Mud Bay seem to be a local favorites.

For silvers, pretty much anywhere:  the elephant's nose, Gray's Pass, Craig Point, right in front of town/harbor, the bluffs near shoemaker bay, you name it...I've had luck with them in the past.  If you wanted to go a little farther, try King George Bay,  and Steamer Point.

If you want to catch some nice 'bows, definitely take a drive to salamander creek, earl west, and Thom's creek.  There's also healthy populations of dollies as well.

Your in for a good time!

As for contacts, not sure what you mean.  I know of some great guides that will put you on the fish and have great personalities.

Thanks CRV83 - great info. Really looking forward to my visit to Wrangell.

Are you bringing a kayak with you or are you going to hiring an outfitter or renting a boat?

Yes, we take our kayaks and gear with us. We have  travel trailer and carry the kayaks on top of our tow vehicle. Gives us the ability to explore a lot of likely places as we travel.

I've  spent a few weeks kayak and fly fishing in and around prince of Wales island with home base being coffman cove bunkhouse. Please look up jerry hedges and his son travis. They own Coffman cove bunkhouse. They also have 4 Hobie outbacks they rent for $30 per day. If you need more details send me a pm.

I've  spent a few weeks kayak and fly fishing in and around prince of Wales island with home base being coffman cove bunkhouse. Please look up jerry hedges and his son travis. They own Coffman cove bunkhouse. They also have 4 Hobie outbacks they rent for $30 per day. If you need more details send me a pm.

They rent SOT's??? Hobies no less???  I may have to check this out.  I have tons of air miles...oh oh...another thing to do.  Even after living in Alaska pretty much since 1971, Southeast Alaska is a bucket list trip for me from everything I read!  Thanks Jammer for the info and SeaWolf for starting the thread!

We will be  on POW July 8th to 16th. We found a cabin in Hollis "onwhiskeycreek.com" $85. a night and they will let us use their SOT's. Coffman Cove will only rent their Hobies if you stay with them. Thanks Sea Wolf for the inspiration to go to POW. Hopefully we can fish together while we are there. Loreglas

Will be in Wrangell June 29 - July 8, POW Coffman Cove July 9 - Sept 1, and Ketchikan Sept 1 - Sept 9. Send me a PM for contact info if you would like to hook up in any of those places.

I've  spent a few weeks kayak and fly fishing in and around prince of Wales island with home base being coffman cove bunkhouse. Please look up Jerry hedges and his son Travis. They own Coffman cove bunkhouse. They also have 4 Hobie outbacks they rent for $30 per day. If you need more details send me a pm.

They rent SOT's??? Hobies no less???  I may have to check this out.  I have tons of air miles...oh oh...another thing to do.  Even after living in Alaska pretty much since 1971, Southeast Alaska is a bucket list trip for me from everything I read!  Thanks Jammer for the info and SeaWolf for starting the thread!

I just checked and the price to rent Hobie Outbacks out of Coffman Cove is actually $45 a day now instead of $30. I would highly recommend staying at the Coffman Cove Bunkhouse as its GOOD and CHEAP. $120 per day will get you a bed, hot shower, hot cooked meal for breakfast and dinner and full spread of breads, meats, cheeses and fruit to make your own lunch. Fishing on POW island is incredible year round. I've been 3 times for a week each time and always in august. August on POW will produce tons of fish. Pray for rain in August though. Silvers will be hard to find in the rivers if its been a dry summer and hasn't rained for a while. We can always still find them via Kayak in the estuaries and ocean, but flyfishing the rivers with no rail will mainly produce an endless supply of chum and pinks. Kayak fishing is incredible in the following locations; Coffman Cove, Whale Pass, Thorne Bay, Hollis, Craig, Hydaburg, Klawock and Naukati. If Halibut is on your target list, "The 300 foot Hole" is about a 1.5 mile pedal by Hobie kayak(or skiff rental) from Coffman Cove.
Getting to Coffman cove is pretty easy. The cheapest is Rainforest Island Ferry who now leases a terminal in Coffman Cove from Alaska Dept of transportation and runs trips from Wrangell, Ketchikan and Petersburg 4 days a week. Cost is $45 per person each way and is a great deal. Other options are Water taxi service from Wrangell or float plane service from Ketchikan. Once you get to Coffman Cove have Jerry from "the Bunkhouse" rent you one of his old forest service vehicles(suburban's and 4 door trucks) for really cheap. You can use the trucks for transporting the Hobie kayaks to different parts of the island(especially whale pass). POW Island has 900+ different rivers that have healthy runs of salmon and steelhead. Flyfishing is my other major source of filling the freezer while on POW. There's soooo many great options within 10 miles of Coffman Cove to help fill your daily limit of Silvers. Jerry from the bunkhouse will also send you in the right direction and even print you a map. The Bunkhouse provides a free walkin freezer to store your catch until your leave. They will also vacuum pack it at a rate of $20 per hour. If you fillet all your own salmon this vacuum packing fee should only cost around $5-10 per day. They also sell the large insulated boxes for the trip home at around $10 per box. As far as I am concerned, there's NO cheaper way to do such a high end trip in SE Alaska. For more information contact Jerry(or Travis) directly at 907-329-2219 or 907-329-2228. Also, if you remember tell him I referred you from our forum at Northwest Kayak Anglers. There's a chance I may be taking a large group over in 2015. If you're interested please let me know. The average cost of this trip including airfare from PDX is under $2000. The average amount of fish we bring home from POW Island is 125# of Halibut, Coho and a few of the brightest Pinks. You do the math...
-Michael

Thanks again Jammer.
I was there for the summer last year and totally agree with your recommendation. The only warning I should point out is about the Rain Forest Ferry info. They did not run last year and this year is still uncertain. They have advised me to check with them April 1. (907-329-2031)
However getting there by ferry is still easy from Ketchican via Hollis on the Inter Island Ferry
http://www.interislandferry.com/route.html.