Ultimate Alaska Experience At One Of The World’s Best Fishing Lodges

For avid anglers, fishing for wild salmon in Alaska is a Bucket List trip. But for everyone else, just going to Alaska is a dream vacation. There is no better combination of these two experiences than Salmon Falls Lodge in Ketchikan – the self-proclaimed Salmon Fishing Capitol of the World.

I’ve been salmon fishing in Alaska before, and I’ve fished at some renowned luxury lodges and resorts around the world, but by any of these standards, Salmon Falls blew me away.

ADVERTISEMENT

Let’s start with the fish. One of the unique things about a trip to Alaska is that it’s normal for the lodges to process your catch on site, cleaning and cutting it into filets or steaks, which are then flash frozen, vacuum packed and boxed for you to take home as checked baggage on your flight. Most resort-based fishing in the rest of the world is for fun, and at some places if you catch a fish the hotel might cook your catch for dinner, but you don’t typically come home from Hawaii or Cabo with a freezer full of tuna.

Wild caught Alaskan seafood is also among the most desirable and highest quality fish in the world (aquaculture is illegal in Alaska, so there’s nothing but wild caught). The fish don’t get drugs or artificial feed and the waters are pristine. It’s one of the best managed fisheries on earth, there are tons of rules to make sure you catch in sustainable fashion, and the resulting salmon, halibut and cod, the three most desirable fish, routinely sell at retail for in excess of $20 to $30 a pound. So, bringing home a year’s supply of this exquisite seafood is nothing to sneeze at.

ADVERTISEMENT

Last summer I visited another acclaimed Alaskan salmon lodge and fished for three days. I took home just under 40 pounds of processed fish, a good haul. But at Salmon Falls I fished for two days and took home over 90 pounds. That’s more than two grand at retail. Of course, these lodges are pricey, and you don’t go to make a profit – you won’t – but it’s a nice bonus. I can’t remember the last vacation of any kind where I came home with $2000 worth of anything that I didn’t buy.

The fishing here is just awesome. They have experienced captains and a state-of-the-art fleet, including several brand new custom-made North River boats, the Ferraris of Pacific Northwest fishing craft. The hot spots are close by, so you don’t have the long, sometimes rough commutes you find at some lodges. We caught everything you could want, hitting the legal limits for King salmon and halibut daily plus coho, silver and pink salmon, along with tons of Pacific cod. If the rods went cold for 15 minutes, it seemed like an eternity. It’s the most productive fishing I’ve ever done, and great fun at the same time.

ADVERTISEMENT

But there’s a lot more that sets Salmon Falls apart. It’s been here for decades, but changed hands about seven years ago, and the new owners have put a lot of money into improvements. Most recently these include new docks, the new very high-end boats, and the addition of lots of non-fishing activities. The dining has also been upgraded, and the food is far superior to what I expected. The Lodge is about a 15-minute drive outside Ketchikan, and the Timbers restaurant is open to the public and attracts outside business. That’s a big plus, because it has to operate as a place good enough to draw regulars, versus some remote fishing lodges where the guests are the only diners, and a so-so buffet is the norm. Here, if you go on the all-inclusive plan, which most fishing guests do, you order off the menu and get exactly what you want, with delicious food using lots of local produce and products – the Hog island oysters are amazing – at no extra cost. Resort General Manager Matt Herod told me, “It’s a big selling point for us, being able to order off the menu every night. People love that.” You fly into Ketchikan, (Alaska and Delta), a very popular cruise ship port, and the Lodge is 14 miles away, at the southernmost entrance to Alaska’s iconic Inside Passage, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Tongass National Forest.

ADVERTISEMENT

They also offer fish cooking demos (with wine pairings) which is a brilliant idea, considering many guests are going home with more fish than they have ever had in their lives and need to know how to make the most of them. And yes, they will also cook your catch nightly if you want.

This is another category where Salmon Falls excels – non-fishing activities. Last year I had a great time fishing, but off the boat there was almost nothing else to do. Here there is a vast enough slate of activities that the resort attracts people who never fish at all. There are inflatable Zodiac boat nature tours, plus guided eco-kayaking, e-biking and hiking trips. There is nearby self-guided hiking, and they drive you to and from the trailheads. You can go shrimping. There’s the town, also with shuttles. The most popular excursion, float plane flightseeing trips into otherwise inaccessible and stunningly gorgeous Misty Fjords National Monument is the stuff Alaskan travel fantasies are made of. Whether it’s while fishing, from the resort’s gorgeous deck (with full bar service) or Zodiacs, you are likely to see killer whales, humpback whales, seals, dolphins, sea lions, bears and bald eagles. There’s even a fitness center, something many lodges lack, and for next season they are adding two spa treatment rooms and a sauna.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Luxury” is a word that’s thrown around a lot the media when it comes to travel, and it’s a relative term. Compared to an urban Four Seasons or 5-Star Hawaiian resort, there is no such thing as a truly luxurious fishing lodge in Alaska. These are remote places with very short seasons and a lot of limitations on staffing and supplies. Nonetheless, the lodging here, while basic hotel rooms, was nicer than I expected based on experience, clean and modern and well maintained. The staff was extra friendly and quickly familiar. The bar had shockingly good craft cocktails and there was live music every night I was there. It’s a social place that continues to entertain guests well after the fishing boats come back in mid-afternoon. The luxury is the combination of all these things with world-class fishing and the chance to really relax while constantly surrounded by epic nature.

The Alaskan fishing season is sadly short, from late May to early September (you are not allowed to keep King salmon before June 15), with high season mid-June into August. Those seeking expressly the biggest Kings are best served in mid to late June, while those interested in catching a more mixed bag of salmon species including King, but generally smaller ones (the legal minimum is 28 inches, still a pretty big fish), should target July. All-inclusive rates are around $1,500 per person per night, and this includes lodging, all meals, processing of fish, round trip transfers from Ketchikan airport and either one full-day or two half-day activities daily. Rates also include fishing licenses, a King Salmon license stamp (usually extra), and all the gear for fishing including waterproof boots, pants and jackets. Full-day options include charter fishing, the main event, but also shrimping or flightseeing (small surcharge), while half day activities include things like kayaking, hiking, Zodiac tours etc. More experienced anglers can take one of the resort’s motorized skiffs out for self-guided fishing. Bear in mind that in other coastal vacation destinations full-day fishing charters routinely start at $800-$1000 daily with nothing else included.

ADVERTISEMENT

But Salmon Falls (51 rooms) also owns a smaller sister hotel in Ketchikan, The Ketch, which has a lower price point but still offers all-inclusive fishing packages. The fishing is just as good, as it is exactly the same captains, boats and fishing spots, they just leave the marina at Salmon Falls and pick guests up on the dock at the Ketch. The Ketch also has a restaurant open to outsiders with a full menu to choose from, overseen by the same chef, and just renovated its 30 rooms. The big differences are that there is a fee for fish processing (approximately $3.50 per pound) and there are no other included activities, though it is more accessible to town. If you want the high-quality Alaskan fishing experience at a more affordable price point, the Ketch is a great option, from $1,000.

I’ve been to a lot of great places, and the ultimate compliment I can pay is when I start thinking about returning before I have even left. That was the case as I wound down my last day at Salmon Falls, with a gorgeous morning hike and final fresh seafood lunch before heading to the airport. I would go back and definitely recommend it.

ADVERTISEMENT