Alaska: Day 6 (06-29-10) Scagway

It was another early morning as we got up at six to be off the boat in Scagway at 7:15. The six of us chartered a small boat to spend a half day Salmon fishing. The owner, Captain Joe Warchuck, was terrific. Not only did he look the part, but he also kept us entertained with his stories of his travels around the world.

Once we left the small boat harbor, we set out four lines and started trolling the fjord, which sits in a valley carved by the glaciers. At its center, the lake reaches a depth of over 2,400 feet. After a while, there was a bite on the line and Joey reeled in a beautiful wild Alaskan King Salmon. It weighed 24 lbs and was 37 inches long. Unfortunately, the rest of us didn’t fare as well. That ended up being the only catch of the day…unless you count the 5 inch baby salmon that mom caught.

After a couple of hours, you could see the water rippling in the distance and the sheen of the water seemed to turn a bright green. The green rippling wall got closer and once it hit, the wind picked up and the air turned cold. We tried for another couple of hours but it seems that luck was only with Joey today.

Joey about to reel in a big one...

Anne Marie's catch of the day...oh, wait...that's the bait!

Can you see the green water? That was the wind coming in with the tide. As soon as we hit the green water, it got cold and windy….

My turn...

·Mom caught the only other fish of the day…

When we got to the docks, Captain Joe cut off the head and tail of the fish and discovered that Joey had caught an ivory salmon – one out of four King Salmon in Scadway (and only 1% of all King Salmon) are this rare type which is supposed to be more flavorful. He had his catch sent off to be filleted and shipped home so that they could enjoy it later.

Our family with Captain Joe from Fat Salmon Charters...

Once our fishing expedition was over, we headed back to the ship for lunch and a quick rest before heading back into downtown Scagway. The small town has only 896 residents and was formed during the gold rush of 1898.

In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the United States. Many of the shops had Russian-made Matryoshka Dolls...

Adam and I decided to venture back out into Scagway while we were at port. We walked around downtown and then stopped into the Red Onion Saloon.

The waitress...

We roamed the streets for a while and then did a little shopping before returning to the Golden Princess for dinner. We finished our day with a trip to the casino, where we donated money to the roulette wheel and slot machines…how generous of us! Next it was off to bed so we could enjoy the views of Glacier Bay tomorrow.