CREEL AND CAMOUFLAGE
“NORTH IN ALASKA”
M. Ray Duvall
My last article spoke of my wife and I traveling to Alaska. In that article I wrote about how I loved the song “North to Alaska” when I was a kid. Alaska was the singers destination because of gold. I am now sitting writing this article from Naha Bay Outdoor Adventures in Alaska and if you love the outdoors, then gold is still here.
As I write I can gaze across Naha Bay which is located about 20 miles above the town of Ketchikan. King salmon were our target as we planned our trip. But what we have found is so much more. Yes, we have hooked and landed Kings and Silvers. Everyone who fishes seems to have their favorite fighting fish and King Salmon are at the top of my list. When hooked, these beautiful fish fight with wild abandon and will not give up, even when in the net. The Coho or Silver salmon have been an added bonus. But the fishing is only part of the gold that we have found.
The other gold I am talking about is the abundance of wildlife. As we boarded the boat that brought us to our home for the week, the trees were full of bald eagles. I counted 5 eagles in one tree. Today as we were canoeing into a stream to fish for rainbow trout, we counted 9 eagles feeding on a salmon. In the stream we caught and released at least 30 brightly colored rainbows, the largest about 2 ˝ pounds. Sightings of sea lions are a daily occurrence. Dolphins cruise by regularly. Black bear are everywhere.
By far, the greatest thrill of the trip has been the breeching of two humpback whales as we were fishing. There is no way to describe the awesome power as these two magnificent creatures split the surface of the water a mere 300 feet from our 16 foot fishing craft. As they disappeared and resurfaced time and again, I couldn’t help but hope that their next surfacing would not be under our boat. As if the show the whales were giving us was not enough in itself, their next performance was something that only a small number of people are privileged to see in their lifetime--Bubble netting. This is a process whereby one or more of the whales swims in a circular manner making a high pitched sound while expelling air. The resulting bubbles create an illusionary net that the herring, which the whales are feeding on, do not swim through. As the ’bubble netting’ whale corrals the herring another whale will swim from below, coming straight to the surface with mouth wide open. Here’s what we saw from our boat. An area approximately ten yards wide began to bubble. Suddenly what seemed like a thousand herring jumped into the air. Right behind them with his mouth wide open the giant whale shot out of the water. It is a mental picture I will carry with me forever. And, if we are lucky, it might be an actual picture to treasure since my wife shot three rolls of film during the performance.
When I find a great place in the outdoors I am sometimes hesitant to share the location with others because mankind does not have a great track record for leaving nature as they find it. But this place I will share because I am totally impressed by our hosts and their view of man interacting with nature. I am not a ‘tree hugger’ but I do believe in treating nature in a way that gives others the chance to share it’s beauty and power. I believe our hosts share the same view.
I hope to return to Alaska again. When I do, Naha Bay Outdoor Adventures will be at the top of my list. If you would like to see and read more, go to Nahabayoutdooradventures.com.
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