A visit to Alaska’s Inside Passage By: Stratton Hunter

We recently embarked on a 12-day adventure through Alaska’s Inside Passage, hopping between Juneau, Skagway, Gustavus, and Sitka by bush planes. It was our first time in Alaska, and to put it simply, it exceeded our expectations greatly. It was a long awaited bucket list trip inclusive of some DIY and guided fishing.

Juneau

 As Alaska’s capital, Juneau is a cool town with excellent restaurants which served as our starting point to the Inside Passage. While it’s a great spot to get oriented, our journey really took off when we moved on to Skagway.

Skagway

Quintessential Alaska. Skagway’s old, preserved architecture and grid streets make it feel like a town frozen in time. The hiking is fantastic, with trails leading to stunning mountain lakes, perfect for easy DIY fishing for Brookies, Dolly Varden, and Salmon. Fishing aside (can’t believe I just said that - lol), what sets Skagway apart is its history. This was the launching point for the Yukon Gold Rush in the late 1800s. Imagine arriving in remote Skagway way back then, gathering all your mandatory supplies, and then hiking over 500 miles to reach the gold fields to seek fortune. Out of approximately 100,000 "stampeders" who set off, only about 40,000 made it, 1,000 struck gold, and around 200 became wealthy. They would have been better off fly fishing.

Gustavus

Gustavus is the tiniest of towns. There’s an intersection, a couple of places to sleep, and a gas station with the original red and white Mobile gas pumps from the 1930s. Thats it. I think the population is around 300 people. However, we didn’t see many people so that number may include pets and some resident wildlife. So why make the trip? Because It’s the entry point to Glacier Bay National Park! Here, we stayed a few miles outside of the metropolis of Gustavus at a lodge on the bay. This gave us easy access to scenic trails and the coveted boat tour inside the park. And I’m telling ya, the Glacier Bay boat tour was hands down the coolest part of our trip. Glaciers, brown bears, humpback whales, and much more. The wildlife rivaled the amazing surroundings of glaciers and snow covered mountains. Words (definitely my words) and pictures can’t describe the beauty of this area. And yes, the DIY fishing delivered! A 3-mile hike through a mossy forest, sprinkled with bear poo and moose tracks, led us to a stream full of fish. Casting large egg imitations and red streamers was the ticket. We caught countless saltwater cutthroats (which I had previously mistaken for steelhead) through out one of several tributaries in the area. They were eager to eat and an absolute blast to catch.

Sitka

We wrapped up our trip in Sitka, a place I could easily call home. The town is gorgeous, the people are friendly, and the fishing is top-notch. We hired *Sitka Fish* for a guided fly fishing day targeting salmon, and they didn’t disappoint. Jamie, the owner, took us out to fly fish for Humpys as they made their way from the ocean to their freshwater spawning grounds. Bright pink flies with yellow dumbbell eyes were the key to ferocious eats. Jamie explained the salmon weren’t hungry, just 100% irritated and eating out of frustration. It was awesome! Strong, sea-run salmon with attitude -YES PLEASE! And when we weren’t fishing, we visited several of the local attractions like Totem National Park, Fortress of the Bear, and on a few occasions capping off our days at the *The Pioneer Bar*, Sitka’s iconic waterfront dive. It’s a rowdy spot where local fishermen unwind after a day on the water—and if you’re lucky, someone might ring the bell to buy everyone a round! It rang 5 times the last day we were there!

We loved Alaska and look forward to going back many more times to different areas! If you have any questions about the Inside Passage please feel free to reach out and we’ll try our best to assist.