Alaska Part 1 - Silverking Lodge in Ketchikan

I spent 10 fun-filled days this past summer in a town full of friendly and interesting locals, a cool art and music scene and an abundance of sport fishing. Sounds amazing right? The town is Ketchikan, Alaska and I loved it!  

We were hosted by Alaska Sportfishing Expeditions who own Silverking Lodge, The Cedars Lodge and Clover Pass Resort and we were fortunate enough to experience all three places.  We don’t often spend a full 10 days in one town so it was an especially rich experience.  

Part one of my trip took place at Silverking Lodge and it was…  

Freaky and rewarding!  Let me explain. I spent a day with local Ketchikan artist Ray Troll – both in his studio and on the water. Ray Troll is not only an incredible artist but also extremely knowledgeable when it comes to fun and weird creatures of the sea.  As a result, I learned a bunch of fun fish facts while viewing his art and fishing with him and his brother in law, Mike, on the Pacific.  While on our fishing trip, we caught all sorts of fun stuff, including a sea urchin and a sea cucumber…and my new nickname was given to me “Mafreaks” or “Mafreako” if you prefer the long version.   

The rewarding part was my day of self-guiding out of Silverking Lodge.  Believe it or not, I’ve never been out on the water all by myself! I’m always with my family or friends and/or my Hookin’ Up crew.  So, this was a day of learning and surprisingly, relaxation.  There’s something to be said for a little alone time.  I used cut plug herrings and slowly trolled for Chinook, Coho and Pinks.  By the end of my day, I sat in my little boat, took in the beauty that surrounded me and felt a sense of accomplishment.  

Stay tuned for more Alaskan adventures…and thank you to:  

Alaska Sportfishing Expeditions - http://www.ketchikanalaskafishing.com/
Ray Troll and Soho Coho - http://www.trollart.com/