Water Taxi- July 2013

I know its a long ways away, but when its -27 F you tend to dream of warmer days. I was looking at the calendar and noticed that the 4th of July is on a Thursday.  For me that means I'd only have to take one day off for a 4 day weekend. Yay!!!  Just wondering if anyone would be up for a trip out of Seward that weekend.  Lings will be open, and of course the rockfish and halibut should be there.

Let go catch a fish.

Count me in, Andy!  Probably Dave too.  Lots of time to plan a trip -- and even time to reserve a forest service cabin if we jump on it, which would make accommodations easy for a bigger group. I'd like to head out toward Montague, or Aialik Bay to see what's on offer.  Any destinations in mind?

Stay warm.  It's a balmy -11 here at the moment. I'm going fishing next week anyway... Heading to the Big Island, and have arranged with some of the Aquahunters to try kayak fishing in warm waters. Hope conditions permit it. The idea of fishing without wearing a dry suit is intriguing.

Have fun in the warm water!! Post some pics too.

I don't really care where I/we go, I just want to catch some rockfish and lings.  We might even accidentally see a black bear with a suicide note.

Forest service cabins would be great.  I'm beginning to love them more each time I stay in one. 

I would totally be down for this trip, unfortunately I will be in Mississippi at that time.  But on the plus side I will get a earlier fishing season this year I leave Alaska in the beginning of April and will probably take the Alaska Marine Highway out and fish when I can between stops with the PA. Fishing across the L-48 sounds like a exciting time.

Great news... I checked our holiday calendar, & I get July 5th off as well.  One more vacation day I'll have to use elsewhere

Count me in, Andy!  Probably Dave too.  Lots of time to plan a trip -- and even time to reserve a forest service cabin if we jump on it, which would make accommodations easy for a bigger group. I'd like to head out toward Montague, or Aialik Bay to see what's on offer.  Any destinations in mind?

Stay warm.  It's a balmy -11 here at the moment. I'm going fishing next week anyway... Heading to the Big Island, and have arranged with some of the Aquahunters to try kayak fishing in warm waters. Hope conditions permit it. The idea of fishing without wearing a dry suit is intriguing.

Any ideas on a cabin?  If we catch it right, we could get one as soon as they're available...180 days in advance I think

Sorry this took me so long to check on, Andy.  I think any PWS cabin would work beautifully as a base. What's available? That's always the limiting factor. Where did you go with your dad, and was it good fishing grounds access?  What about Green Island?

Have we figured out anything? Cabins and all that. I might be able to go with my wife. Shes in nursing school. 18 months for a 4 year degree at UAA. We still might be able to go. Would like to make the trip.

Sorry this took me so long to check on, Andy.  I think any PWS cabin would work beautifully as a base. What's available? That's always the limiting factor. Where did you go with your dad, and was it good fishing grounds access?  What about Green Island?

I had my eyes on Green Island one year.  Ended up staying at Port Chalmers.  I don't know if I'd do Port Chalmers again.  It's mostly shallow (100' or less) within paddle distance.  Found a few halibut, but no salmon.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=1522.0

I've stayed at Shelter Bay on Hinchenbrook.  I love that spot.  You have to go through a tidal river to get back to the cabin, so you have to time the tides.  It's a ton of fun shooting the tidal rapids.  There's a creek in view from the deck of the cabin where you can watch bears chasing pinks in the shallows.  Right out front were all the chicken butts we wanted and a bunch of large lings.  And there were enough silver salmon to keep things interesting.  We didn't fish for the salmon much, but would catch them while dropping lures for butts.  And if you were crazy and wanted to target some salmon shark, I know this spot about 4-5 miles down the coast.   

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=471.0

-Allen

I've stayed at Shelter Bay on Hinchenbrook.  I love that spot.  You have to go through a tidal river to get back to the cabin, so you have to time the tides.  It's a ton of fun shooting the tidal rapids.  There's a creek in view from the deck of the cabin where you can watch bears chasing pinks in the shallows.  Right out front were all the chicken butts we wanted and a bunch of large lings.  And there were enough silver salmon to keep things interesting.  We didn't fish for the salmon much, but would catch them while dropping lures for butts.  And if you were crazy and wanted to target some salmon shark, I know this spot about 4-5 miles down the coast.   

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=471.0

Now that sounds fun... I'll check and see if it's available.

I'm going to attempt to reserve one of four cabins during the last week of July / first week of August when the reservation window opens. I've got a few trips in mind.  When I've got a reservation confirmed, I'll post details.  At that point, anybody who can swing it is more than welcome to join us. The cabins are tight with six, but manageable -- and there's room for tents. I figured it's easier to organize a trip around a specific destination closer to the season than to try to form an online consensus over where to focus efforts this far in advance. The 180-day window on cabin reservations is what's driving such early consideration -- already anything prior to July 20 is pretty much booked.

I agree that Hinchenbrook sounds incredibly fun -- but probably better to organize out of Cordova than Whittier or Seward. For Montague -- Dave's interested in Patton Bay for a fall hunt; I'm inclined to tag along to fish (and cook). We've been having trouble getting an air taxi to fly into Patton Bay though -- don't know if it's the beach or the tsunami debris that's the problem.  As they say, first-world problems...

I agree that Hinchenbrook sounds incredibly fun -- but probably better to organize out of Cordova than Whittier or Seward. For Montague -- Dave's interested in Patton Bay for a fall hunt; I'm inclined to tag along to fish (and cook). We've been having trouble getting an air taxi to fly into Patton Bay though -- don't know if it's the beach or the tsunami debris that's the problem.  As they say, first-world problems...

I don't think Shelter Bay on Hinchenbrook is that much farther than Green Island.  While they are ~20 miles apart, from the north tip of Knight Island coming from Whittier, Shelter Bay is only ~10 miles farther distance than Green Island.

-Allen

Anyone interested in something around the 4th of July?  I've got a 4 day weekend