Salmon Fishing in Valdez

After a good nights sleep we are off to explore the town of Valdez. Again it is a port town with a large marina, State Ferry and Cruise Ship dock. (P- purely coincidentally that we seem to have quite the nautical theme at the beginning of this trip!) It was established as a port of entry in 1897-98 for gold seekers bound for the Klondike goldfields. Thousands of stampeders arrived in Valdez to follow the route to the Eagle mining district in Alaska’s interior and from there up the Yukon River to Dawson City and the Klondike. After the gold rush, copper discoveries north of Valdez brought conflict and development to the area. A railway from Valdez to the rich Kennecott copper mines near McCarthy, 150 miles away began a bitter rivalry between Valdez and Cordova. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway eventually went to Cordova, but not before Valdez had started its own railroad north. The Valdez railroad did not get far and the only trace of its existence is an old hand drilled tunnel 15 miles from Valdez.

Nowadays Valdez is a Salmon fishing area and tourists hotspot. It is also the terminus for the Alaskan Oil Pipeline as Valdez is the northernmost ice free deep water port. (P- I am sure some of us can remember the disastrous oil spill from the Exon Valdez in March 1989).

We once again wander around the marina with Philip inspecting all styles and sizes of boats. We take the boardwalk out to the south Marina and seafood processing factories. Peter Pan Seafoods has a big complex out here with processing factories, accommodation dormitories and mess hall facilities. Most workers are international from South America or the Philippines.

The supermarket is our next stop to stock up for the next couple of days. Only have a small fridge so always seem to be at the supermarket. Later in the day we find a great outdoor store, The Prospector. They had some great clothing, camping gear, hiking gear and of course fishing gear.

Sunday 30th.

We are up early this morning ready for a 6.30 start on K Dock, berth 20, where we meet Josh our Captain for the day. We are heading out Salmon fishing. Another couple is also on the boat, the Kai Moana, (NZ for Seafood). (Josh is a New Zealander by birth but has lived here for over 40 years). Philip can give the fishing report…..

(P- it’s a well known fact that Judith is about as keen on fishing as I am quilting! I wasn’t coming to Alaska without at least one fishing trip. After research I decided on Valdez – sheltered waters, a salmon run that coincided with our visit and beautiful scenery. Over the last few months after some serious searching for a boat operator that didn’t have half the tourists from Valdez onboard, I found Josh, he ended up being a great guy and excellent guide and fisherman. A 06.30am start ( with another wonderful couple from Arizona) and we are cruising down the bay to one of Josh’s favourite spots, well out of the way of other commercial and charter vessels ( we were the only ones there!) Josh had taken us to a wild fishery (no hatchery fish here), gave us instructions and left us to fish ( not just hold the rod as most charters do) . The fish came aboard in a steady stream all day. Coho Salmon ( rich red flesh) was the main variety. We all caught our limit and returned to port around 14.30. Being in a camper we didn’t want a lot of fish – just 2 or 4 for a feed so we gave most of ours away. Part of the charter was filleting and freezing, next morning we picked up our frozen harvest before we departed Valdez. Judith really enjoyed the day but I doubt she will be any more eager to come boating with me when we return home!

It truely was an excellent day both fishing and scenery.)

We are back to the dock and then it’s busy in the Laundry to get our fishy clothes washed and dried. I guess we will just have to have fresh Silver Salmon for dinner tonight. Can’t get it much fresher. After dinner we wander along the waterfront again before enjoying an icecream.