Savoring Juneau’s Charm… And Some Great Fishing

The following appears in the August issue of Alaska Sporting Journal:

BY ANNE KELLY

My husband Brian and I started planning our June trip to Juneau almost a year ago. It would be my first time fishing for king salmon in Alaska.

I requested teal waders, which he made happen. We went out one afternoon onto Lake Erie, which is near our Pennsylvania home, so I could practice casting with a 10-foot rod with heavier spinners, as most of my fishing experience is catching bass on lighter equipment. It didn’t take long before my technique was deemed acceptable. I was ready to go.

WE MADE IT INTO Juneau a little later than expected due to an Alaska Airlines plane issue that was never disclosed to the passengers waiting to board for eight-plus hours. We were originally scheduled to land around 1 p.m. Juneau time, but made it in just after 9:30 that night after we rebooked our travel on a milk-run flight. We were able to see our beloved Ketchikan from the airport as we waited in the plane while it was emptied out and reloaded.

My last and first trip to Alaska was two years ago, when we spent 10 days exploring the beauty of Ketchikan and viewing her magnificent marine life (see the February 2025 issue). It made me sad to stop and not stay, but Juneau was calling with new adventures to be had!

We stayed in a lovely Airbnb in Juneau that overlooked the Mendenhall Flats. Our view was gorgeous – snowcapped mountains in the distance and beautiful green marshland below. Our apartment was fully furnished and even included a can of bear spray. After a 24-hour day of travel, we slept like babies in the perfectly comfortable bed.

We started our morning with breakfast at a local greasy-spoon joint, Valley Restaurant. Portions were large – even for the small breakfasts we ordered – and there were fun breakfast options such as fried rice and homemade Filipino sausages, both of which we ordered, along with a traditional breakfast of eggs and toast.

The food was delicious and the restaurant was soon filled with a mix of locals and visiting fishermen and tourists. The weather was hot and sunny, which allowed us to enjoy some more touristy adventures before we started the fishing aspect of our trip, which wouldn’t occur until the weather was cooler with less sun.

We took the trail through the Tongass National Forest to Nugget Falls on Mendenhall Lake near the mouth of the Mendenhall Glacier. The trail is well-maintained, and we went early enough to avoid the large crowds that would occur once the incoming cruise ships began unloading. The falls were stunning and the lake was a beautiful teal/gray murky color only found in glacial-fed water. The Mendenhall Glacier is not far from where the trail ends and presents a great opportunity for taking photos.

BRIAN CONTINUED MY WELCOME tour of Juneau, with our next stop being the Shrine of St. Therese, a beautiful Catholic sanctuary built on a small wooded tidal island that overlooks the Lynn Canal.

The onsite chapel and the land around it exude peace and blend perfectly with the landscape, as they were clearly designed to work with the land and not against it. We walked quietly around the chapel and through the surrounding gardens, pausing to watch three sea lions as they hunted in the nearby water.

After hiking around all morning, our next stop was Forbidden Peak Brewery on Auke Bay. Brian had a glass of their delicious AukNess Black Lager, while I ordered their homemade root beer. If you’re a root beer fan like I am, I strongly suggest making a point to try different root beers as you tour Alaska.

Alaskan brewers spice them more than the ones I get at home in Pennsylvania, and you will be hard-pressed to find better. Another great find (not at Forbidden Peak) was Frontier Alaska Soda Root Beer, which is served at many local restaurants and available to ship from Alaska to home, which I promptly did upon discovery of it! Our 21-year-old son Ryan is also a huge root beer connoisseur and can confirm the quality of root beer produced in Alaska!

Dinner was at Deckhand Dave’s, an outdoor tent-covered food court with various food trucks, full-service bar, oyster bar and plenty of seating. We had Deckhand Dave’s local fish tacos (halibut), with sweet crepes for dessert, which were amazing and highly recommended.

THE NEXT MORNING, BRIAN and I went out early with the tide and decided to try some fishing, even though the weather was still warm and sunny and not conducive to great success. That proved to be true; we caught some sculpin, but our coveted king salmon remained elusive.

However, the day was not a loss, as my amazing husband had planned a Temsco helicopter ride to Mendenhall Glacier for us since it was my 45th birthday. We lucked out with front-row seats (I think that’s where the heaviest people go; a perk for liking ice cream so much?), and had the best view as we flew over 6,000 feet into the air and over mountains until we finally landed on the glacier.

There are obviously things you can’t see well from the base of a glacier or from a distance that are so beautiful up close. We landed in the compression zone of the glacier, which is where the ice compacts closer together as it moves towards its outlet. Glaciers are essentially ice rivers, and the Mendenhall Glacier moves 12 inches per day.

We were next to the glacial falls where the higher sides of the glacier move down towards the compression zone. There were small rivers of meltwater moving along the surface of the glacier, and Brian and I both did “glacier pushups” to drink straight from those rivers. The water is as cold and clean as you would expect! So delicious!

We were privileged to see two DIPAC hatchery employees, who were also our helo passenger friends, get engaged on the glacier (congrats Anna and Eric!). We had planned to bring a pour of one of our favorite bourbons to the glacier for a birthday toast with some glacial ice, but as we were not allowed to bring any containers on the helicopter with us, Brian put a large chunk of ice into his jacket

THE WEATHER HAD FINALLY changed and it was time to start fishing. We woke early with the tide and headed out to one of my husband’s “top secret fishing spots” that he’s explicitly told me I cannot reveal to the masses. I don’t know why, because this TSFS wasn’t as productive as promised.

I stood casting and reeling for over three and a half hours, watching fish rolling and jumping around us but showing no interest in our fishing lures or the lures of the other people fishing around us. Brian managed to catch one king early on, which gave us enough hope to continue trying, but after all that time without so much as a nibble from a salmon (I caught several sculpin), I was ready to head back to the car to warm up my frozen toes and get a snack, since my husband/guide forgot to pack any in the backpack he hiked down with. I admit, I was getting hangry.

As a first-time salmon fisherwoman, I understand fishing without catching is a common occurrence and not out of the ordinary when vying for these migratory fish. I highly enjoyed the beautiful views, which never get old, and watching the eagles and seals as they moved around us. But as cool as it is (literally freezing) to stand in a creek surrounded by mountains, I was ready to catch some fish and Brian’s TSFS was not the spot to do it.

We had an amazing late breakfast at Donna’s, another great local breakfast joint, and enjoyed some down time at our Airbnb before going out to fish again with the next tide.

While enjoying the view from our living room window, Brian suddenly shouted out that he saw a bear. He told me to grab my camera and go get some photos of it. I asked if I could go outside and he said yes.

I’m not a professional when it comes to bear behavior, but if I were, I would have probably known better than to run outside a house after a bear, even if it was just a black bear. However, as a nonprofessional, in my bear-addle-minded excitement I did indeed run out of the house with my camera in hand to get photos of the pretty, cinnamon-colored black bear, which promptly spooked said bruin, making it stand on his hind legs.

It was at that moment that I realized I was quite close to the bear and would probably lose the race back to the safety of our rental if the bear decided to chase me (not that you should ever run from a bear). It was a puckering moment, and while I only got a bad picture of its back end as it ultimately chose to run away from me and not towards me, I was decidedly OK with that.

LATER THAT AFTERNOON, WE were able to hook up with Brian’s Alaskan-made fishing friend Euming, who took us to his favorite top secret fishing spot, which turned out to be much more productive than my husband’s (sorry, babe). We hiked out onto what I lovingly referred to as “Euming Rock,” where we rerigged our rods for bobber/egg fishing. Euming graciously supplied the eggs and suddenly we were catching salmon.

I’ve caught fish on the Great Lakes as well as on charter boats fishing in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but there is something so wonderfully unique about catching salmon while standing on a bank in Alaska. First of all, these kings fight more than any other fish I’ve ever caught.

The way the reel screams as they race away from you, shaking their head and trying to get away, is such a rush. Then, when you first see that beautiful flash of silver in the water as you draw them closer to you, it’s easy to see why people fall in love with salmon fishing.

I caught three kings, my biggest at 23 pounds, and one lovely silver chum. Brian limited out with three that afternoon, plus the one he caught that morning. I caught the biggest fish of all, and was officially crowned as the “Queen of Kings.”

The following morning, we went back to Euming Rock for more bobber/egg fishing, and the trio of us limited out within an hour and a half. As soon as Brian rebaited my rod, I had another fish on the line or Euming had one on his, and it was all Brian could do to keep up with the two of us to get our fish gilled out and put on stringers. Our gear was covered in fish blood and slime; so much fun. Brian caught his fish in short order after Euming and I limited out. It was such a great day!

OUR NEXT ADVENTURE WAS a halibut charter on our ninth wedding anniversary, which also occurred on our trip. Our charter, Adventures in Alaska, only books private outings, so it was just the two of us with the husband/wife duo of Alan and Tanja running the boat.

The water was flat, making for a perfect boating day. Their boat, Narwhal, is clean and updated with top-quality fishing gear. We were able to catch our two halibut within 30 minutes, and then we asked if we could spend the remainder of our charter whale watching.

It was a short ride to a pod of five humpback whales, including a mom and her young calf. It wasn’t long before they started diving and showing off their tails for us. Captain Alan graciously kept the back of the Narwhal facing the whales so we could have the perfect viewing and photo opportunities. I am always so grateful when I am blessed to be in their presence. Whales are such magnificent creatures.

On our last day of fishing, we spent six hours at Euming Rock, where we caught more salmon, but not our limit and not nearly as quickly as we had earlier in the week. By this point in the trip,

I’d learned my lesson and made sure to layer more socks and pants to stay warmer in my waders. Plus, Brian made sure to throw a granola bar or meat stick into his bag for me so that I had a snack when I burned off my morning yogurt cup. We enjoyed watching sea lions tossing salmon around not too far from us and listening to eagles as we fished.

We already had about 100 pounds of salmon filets coming home with us, and our fishing this day filled half of a third box, leaving room to bring home some other Alaskan seafood treats that we purchased before leaving.

ON ONE OF OUR last evenings in Juneau, we drove north on Glacier Highway to its end, stopping to take photos at Echo Cove along the way. The forest is wild and untamed with a presence that only gets stronger the further you drive into it. We saw a black bear crossing the road and a mother moose and her calf were reported to have been along one of the creeks there.

Yet again, as with my first trip to Alaska two years before, I was completely blown away by the beauty Alaska has to offer. I am grateful to have built a life to enjoy these adventures and will never stop being grateful for them or for my husband, who shares them with me. ASJ

Editor’s note: Next month, Anne Kelly’s husband Brian will focus on Juneau’s DIPAC hatchery salmon scene.