Fishing in Alaska

In Early July I took a group of sales reps and managers to Alaska for a work fishing trip. It was something that we had ran as a quarterly promotion. A lot of planning went into the trip and we were all very excited to go. It stunk when Cassidy broke her back 2 days before, the timing was awful but the trip was planned and paid for and I was not going to let the group down. Selfishly, I also really really wanted to go.

We flew into Ketchikan and stayed at the Clover Pass Resort. We had charted 6 boat captains for 3 days of glorious fishing. Each day was amazing. The salmon run was in full bloom. Each day each fisher could caught up to 6 pinks, 6 silvers, 1 king, and 1 halibut, and 6 chums. We all did our best to hit our limits and then agreed to split everything up at the end. I had Shaun Koos, Brent Kenney, Kyle Connors, and Allen Whipple with me on my boat and our captain was a gentleman named Jerry Ingles. 

 After getting back from fishing one day we went into Ketchikan to check out the famous Creek Street and see the town. It did not disappoint. Another day we went on a few mile hike down the coast to check out a beach. The other day we just hung out at the fishing lodge. Meals were amazing at the lodge which was right on the water. Out the window we could see the fish jumping, seals playing in the water begging for people to toss fish to them and dozens of Eagles flying around everywhere.  The sunsets were amazing every night, and it was really fun to hang out by the dock and watch the workers gut and fillet our catch. There was so much fish each day that the Clover Pass crew was working until 2 a.m. to get through all that we had brought in.

 

 At the end of the trip we split 54 boxes of fish, each 50 lbs. It was a ton of fish. We took our 2 boxes and gave some away and have been trying to figure out some different ways to prepare the rest.  On the way home we had a 4 hour layover in Seattle. Derek was kind enough to pick up up at the airport and let me hang out with him for a few hours. We checked out his apartment and then went and got some lunch. It was great to see him.

It was an amazing trip that I will never forget. The folks from the office are begging me to take them back next year. It was so peaceful there and I'd really love to take Cassidy back with me. I can't thank Cassidy enough for putting up with me and allowing me to come home from this trip. It was a rough few days for her. My hope is that the sweet sweet taste of salmon will numb the pain...