Ketchikan Salmon Fishing Vacations Are For Everyone

By Krystal Branch


Ketchikan salmon fishing and other natural resources have attracted people to this spot in Alaska for centuries. Today, it's not only the fish that bring visitors to this historic and picturesque town. History, arts and crafts, wildlife, hiking, vibrant community life, and first-class resorts combine to make this a vacation destination for the whole family.

Charter guides will direct the anglers to the best spots. The others can choose between museums of history, culture, or wildlife. They can go hiking in state or national forests, take guided excursions through the rainforest or along the waterfronts, or enjoy the amenities of first-class resorts and lodges. There are shopping, galleries of paintings, carvings, and photography from local artists, and great restaurants in the historic town center.

It's an adventure just getting around in this wilderness. There are places guests can access by vehicle, but many places require a boat or plane ride or a long hike along a forest trail. Black and brown bears, mountain goats, deer, and moose are often seen on land, while sea lions, seals, porpoises, and whales frolic in the water. Bird watchers will find many sea birds and land birds from hummingbirds to Bald Eagles.

Chartered trips for a half a day up to as many as you have to spend offer the best spots to catch salmon. There are five species of this great, delicious fish which come from the open ocean to spawn in great numbers, dramatically fighting their way upstream. All have both common and local names: King (Chinook), Silver (Coho), Red (Sockeye), Pink (Humpy), and Churn (Dog).

There are also five species of trout in the lakes and streams, including Rainbow, Cutthroat, and Steelhead. Those who want even more can go after halibut, cod, and Red Snapper. The town, once known as 'the salmon capital of the world', was an ancient fishing camp for the Tingit natives, who spent their summers there collecting food for the long winters. The town was founded in 1900 by commercial fishermen and canneries once were the main industry.

This description should occupy anglers for at least some of the time. However, there is so much to do that it may be hard to decide where to start for the rest of the family. Kids might like a vintage cannery tour, a hike through the Tongrass National Forest, an excursion to the Deer Mountain Tribal Hatchery and Eagle Center to see fish enclosures and rescued raptors, or a video presentations at the visitor's center.

Even very young children will love the vintage totem poles collected from abandoned native villages and preserved at the Totem Heritage Center. They will like the restaurants, gift shops, art and photography galleries, and museums of Creek Street, the wooden boardwalk at the heart of the town. There are workshops in local crafts and live music and theater, as well.

Fish may have made the Ketchikan salmon fishing grounds famous, but today this town is one of the top ten places to visit for vacationers. Go for the fish and enjoy all the rest: wildlife sightings, the native culture, the wilderness areas all around, and the first-class resorts and lodges waiting to welcome visitors to Alaska.




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