Alaskan Sea-Duction: Hoonah to Wrangell

We stayed in Hoonah for an extra day due to weather. The plan was to venture up Port Frederick to a small cove that was reported to be a crabber’s heaven. The next day we decided to make our way out to the “Sisters” for more halibut fishing then wonder back to Swanson’s Bay. We actually fished an island just to the south in about 45ft of water. I decided to drop the anchor. It skipped about for a bit then stuck. It was a very rocky bottom, so I was hoping I didn’t fowl the anchor. Around slack, I go a big hit and it ended up being a 80lb halibut. What was funny was as soon as the sea lions figured out there was blood in the water, they came right up to the back of the boat. Boy did I have to scramble to get that butt up in the boat before the sea lions had a free lunch.

We spent the night at the government docks in Swanson Bay. Kay saw a moose across the bay. The first this trip. But then again, Swanson is part of the main land and not an island.

Our next stop was a little bay called Ell Bay which is about half way down Chatham Straits. More of a pond than a bay. Any more than 3 boats and it would be crowded. It was very well protected. Kay and I spent the next day trolling for salmon. I caught a small pink and she caught some rock bass. I also set a shrimp pot just inside hidden falls bay in about 350 ft. It didn’t produce very well. Around the corner was a huge water fall you could drive right up to.

The next stop was a place called Red Bluff Bay. This bay became one of my top 5! You had to follow your charts to get into it as you had to go between these two islands with just 30 feet of water, but once you got to the end, WOW! It opened up into this big valley with towering mountains and water falls everywhere. You over looked grassy flats with a river running into the bay. Looks like a good salmon spot…mmmm We did set a shrimp pot on the way in and a few crab pots. We all decided we would be coming back to here and spend a few days. But we wanted to get back to Wrangell for the 4^th of July celebrations so we only spent a day here. BTW we had shrimp in our pot and boy were we going to eat good tonight!

First thing the next morning we headed to Portage Bay to anchor for the night. I had wanted to check this place out as it looked like a great anchorage with 40 ft depths. The entrance is a little tricky due to current and it was narrow. But once inside it opened into a flat huge bay. From low to high tide the current would flow down one side hit the end of the bay then come back up the other side. The one thing we didn’t count on was all the trash in the water. Now when I say trash, I mean lots of kelp, sea weed etc. Not human trash. John’s generator raw water intake became plugged with this trash. He had steam coming out of the exhaust. Not good. Have to charge batteries. The next morning was going to be a 9-hour run down Wrangell narrows to Wrangell itself. We left early. The amount of kelp on our anchors was amazing. No wonder not many cruisers come in here. Unfortunately, there are few anchorages in Fredrick Sound. I don’t like going into Petersburg because of the heavy current. Sucks getting in and out of there.

The next day we made our way to Wrangell via the narrows and this time John got to experience it at low tide. We picked a better time for entering, but we were still off and had to fight the currant which can run 6-9 knots. We got to Wrangell a few days early as we wanted to make sure we had dock space for the 4^th. Wrangell is renowned for its 4^th celebrations, with one of the best firework shows in all of SE Alaska, but has kept the small town atmosphere with a parade, logging competitions and for the first-time boat races. The Heritage dock is fairly new and has great power and electric, but it is 2 miles out of town. Nothing to fear as I have a friend who loaned us his car. Wrangell is a great community.