We started our day by kayaking to a small stream located in the end of Cedar Bay where we landed the kayaks. The area consisted of a large tidal flat with a small stream full if salmon working their way up the stream to spawn. It was raining cats and dogs and we couldn’t get more soaked if we wanted so why not do with some river wading. It wasn’t any risky business as the water was not more than a foot deep, but the rocks where slippery and a couple of us almost got a little swim. The river was packed with salmon and that made it fun!
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/125531557 w=600&h=400]
Check out the 30 sec video above to get a laugh of my failed attempt to catch salmon with my hands.
In Europe there is only the atlantic salmon, so I had no idea there was so many different species of salmon in the Pacific. There are actually 5 different species. I struggled learning their names as all the species had at least two names typically used by the locals. The Silver for example was often called Coho. I found this overview from Visit Soldotna to be a good one.
Source: http://visitsoldotna.com/visitors/fishing/fish-species/
After giving up the salmon hunt we headed back to the kayaks to continue exploring Cedar Bay. A part of the group had had it with rain for one day and headed back the to enjoying some relaxation in the boat. We, however, were ready to join in on the second wet adventure for the day and kayaked on to our next destination – a hike up to the lake that fed the stream we had just waded in. This is not an area that is frequently visited by other than bears and eagles, so we were in for another bushwhacking hike.
The rain really accentuate the green in the lush forest.
The ‘view’ from the lake. At this time our camera started to struggle.
Returning to the boat. Yes – it is raining!
The luxuriant foliage in Prince William Sound kept impressing me and this hike was no exception. We didn’t see any wildlife in the hike, but we knew it around there as we followed a bear trail parts of the hike. Confirmation was found at the lake where there was a huge bear dung on the trail.
Map showing our movements in Cedar Bay
When we got back to the boat we were happy to see that, despite my failure to catch salmon earlier in the day, there would be salmon for dinner as our chef was about to prepare another delicious meal. Time to pop an Alaskan Summer.
Chef Matt is preparing dinner onboard
Brrr…. too cold for my blood, but looks like beautiful country and a very fun outing 🙂
To be honest it was not that cold, just very very wet! And humid! The area was beautiful, but you didn’t really get much of a view with the heavy rain. But Prince William Sound is known for having a lot of rain so can’t complain:) I had several attempts at catching salmon (none that succeeded) so it was quite an amusing morning. At least for those watching me:) Thanks for reading Ingrid.
It’s not easy to catch a salmon with hands,
but it’s worth trying.
They are beautiful your photos.
Have a nice week.
It was definitely not easy at all! I had several attempts, they all failed… But at least we had fun! Thanks for reading!
You need claws like a bear to catch the salmon. Entertaining video. Looks like you had fun anyway. You can have rain in Alaska at any time so you have to go prepared, at least you don’t seem to have any bugs. Great blog, I enjoy seeing the photos and reading the blog. Have a great time. Jim
I will definitely agree with that statement Jim. Claws and a lot more training! We definitely had fun despite the rain. And as you said, not a single bug. They were all hiding I guess. Thanks for reading!
Such a cool video of salmon battling the current, used to only be able to see those footage on TV, how time progresses!
It is fun with all the stuff you can catch with the GoPro. It has definitely changed how we look at things! 20 years ago it was be unimaginable all technology we have now. And cost is coming down so it is available to most people. Fun times! Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!
Or use talons, like a Bald Eagle! I was lucky enough to watch an eagle snag a sockeye that was too heavy to fly with. Eagle struggled to the shore with the catch, only to be chased away by a bear. True Alaskan story. I was on the opposite shore of the Chilkoot River, fishing, and not catching a thing. Great post and video!
Yes talons would be great! But I think unfortunately my reaction was also way too slow. Those salmons are fast! I love your story about the eagle and the bear fighting over the salmon. Having been there and seen how many eagles and bears are they I fully believe you! Thanks for reading.
Warm, dry clothes and a salmon dinner….I’ll bet that was a great evening!
Jim
It was a great evening for sure, our chef was the best and always made fantastic meals! And I love salmon:) Thanks for reading Jim!
Not sure I’d be any good at catching them, but I’d certainly enjoy eating fresh salmon! Great pics and and interesting post about a topic I knew nothing about. 🙂
Hi Jane! I wasn’t any good catching them either:) I think you need bear claws and a better reaction time than I had. Those salmons are fast! Fortunately we didn’t have to catch the salmons ourselves to get fresh salmon for dinner, one of my favourites. Thanks for reading!
When you spend any time on the coast you just have to embrace the rain or you will miss out on days of adventure. Looks like a great day and lots of fun memories.
Yes that is my opinion as well, you can’t travel to a place like Prince William Sound and expect sunny days every day:) We had a great day, lots of new experiences and memories:) Thanks for reading.
This looks like a fun day, even if the weather looks very ugly. 😉
It was great fun! You can’t do anything about the weather, but you can do something with your attitude towards rainy days:) Thanks for reading!
Hah, that sounds like so much fun!! I love salmon so I think I would really enjoy it 🙂
It was so much fun! I was horrible at catching salmon. I didn’t even have time to react before they were gone. Even when they swam between my legs I didn’t have a chance catching them:) Everyone in the group were laughing:) Thanks for reading Lucy.
Once again I get to enjoy one of your marvelous adventures from the warm dry comfort of my home.
Thank you for this fascinating report, it’s a treat for me to see this part of the world you explore so well!
Thanks Phil! This was a wet one so getting the tour from you home might not be a bad option..hehe:) Despite the rain it was not cold and we had lots of fun. When do you have salmon swimming all around you and almost crashing into you other than in Alaska! Thanks for reading.
This is SO COOL ! I would love to try to catch salmons with my bare hands, even if I’m not sure I would be able to catch one 😀 Looks like a wonderful day, despite the rain.
It was so much fun, I didn’t have a chance catching any of the salmon. Those slippery bastards are fast!! I think you need claws and a lot of training. Thanks for reading!
That’s a lot of work to catch salmon by hands! They can swim very fast!
I would definitely agree with that statement Indah! It kept me warm for sure – and I didn’t stand a chance. Not even when they swan straight by my. They are superfast…but at least we had fun! Thanks for reading.
Looks wet and cold and miserable out there but sometimes such days are the ones remembered most dearly. Bet you enjoyed the dinner. It looks delicious.
It was not that cold, but wet for sure. I was soaked when we got back to the boat. But a quick shower and a salmon dinner accompanied by local draft made me forget about the rain in an instant. We have great memories from this day:) Thanks for reading.
Looks like hard work~ but lots of fun. The weather looks really awful, but I guess that is part of the adventure. That salmon the chef is preparing looks delicious! Loved your video clip 😀
Hehe..glad you enjoyed my attempt at catching the salmon. I was obviously way too slow. Those salmons are fast I have to say. And even if I had been able to grab one I would probably not be able to hold on to those slippery swimmers:) The salmon in the evening was absolutely amazing, the chef new his stuff:) Thanks for reading.
Looks like a wonderful adventure. Can’t wait to see the Canadian Rockies. 🙂
This was definitely an adventure! Prince William Sound is one of the most amazing places I have been to, rain or not:) Thanks for reading.
Wild! Looks great here. Thanks GirL xoxoxE <3 c;
Yes! Prince William Sound is wild! I loved it there:) So beautiful and far from the nearest city. My kind of place! Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend:)
They are so fast how could you possibly catch one?! Looks very chilly.
Hi Sue! I didn’t catch a single salmon. They are way to fast, I wasn’t even close (which the video so evidently proves…). But it was fun trying! And it kept me warm:) Thanks for reading.
Beautiful! And an Alaskan Summer to end the day! That was my favorite when we traveled through Alaska two years ago.
Any day that ends with an Alaskan Summer is a good one:) Thanks for reading!
What a cool adventure! Chef Matt looks happy. 🙂 Fresh salmon, wow!
Thanks Amy, it was quite an adventure. We had sunny days as well in Prince William Sound (refer to earlier posts) but sometimes rain is what you get:) It was still great fun having salmon swimming around your legs! Thanks for reading.
You really get out there and enjoy life to the fullest! Great photos and the ones with raindrops on the lens made me feel I was with you…only dryer😉
At least we try to get out there as often as possible:) I thought the pictures with rain drops on the lens would show how wet this day really was. But despite the rain we had lots of fun. It is not every day you have salmon swimming around your legs. Thanks for reading.
Fantastic once again…and spawning salmon are truly a sight to see. While I love all salmon (one of my best memories was landing a 38lbs Chinook as a young kid, and marveling at what a great fish it is. Culturally (to the Native Americans) and to the rivers and lakes of the PNW. When it comes to eating salmon, there is nothing quite like a sockeye, great flavor. 🙂 Looks like you both enjoyed this adventure quite a bit!
Thanks Randall! It was quite special standing in water having salmon swim around your legs. But they are way to fast to be able to catch with you hands only I can tell you:) 38lbs is definitely a good size Chinook! I can imagine that is something you won’t forget. We did some salmon fishing for Silvers (post with bragging pictures to come…) and it was great fun. We still have some of the catch in the freezer. I grew up next to a salmon river back home that is famous for big salmons, but I was still amazed by the number of salmons in Alaska. Back home you could fish for 2 days and get nothing. In Alaska you were almost guaranteed a catch after minutes.
I see you have a new post out as well. Looking forward to read it.
Have a great weekend and thanks for reading!
Look forward to the silvers photos 🙂 Nothing like eating salmon that you caught ~ cheers!
This was fantastic Inger! I enjoyed your description of the abundant salmon in the river, imagining how luscious that must be, and then the video came along. Loved the accompanying music and seeing ALL those salmon in that rushing stream. Thanks for sharing this excellent adventure. 😀
Thanks Jet! I was amazed by the number of salmon in these small streams. Having 20 salmon swim around you legs is probably something I won’t experience again anytime soon. It was great fun! And now that GoPro’s available to everyone you can even catch the underwater activity. It was quite interesting looking at the videos when we got back to the boat. You get a much better impression of their behaviour underwater from the video than from what you can see from above the surface. Appreciate you comment and thanks for reading.
I normally just see pictures of clumsy Grizzly Bears catching salmon – this is something entirely different!
I would say the grizzly look like a pro compared to my attempts:) I didn’t even have time to react before they where some. The salmons are fast!
I really liked that video! 😀
Thanks! It is fun with all the moments you can capture with the GoPro nowadays.
I should get one!
We have a common fish love! 🙂
It seems like we do Jean:)
A fun way to spend a day, makes me jealous, love the salmon btw 🙂
Thanks Aleksei! It was very exciting to see the huge amount of salmon go up the shallow river. And also very fun to try and catch them, but they were way too fast for me:) Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Ah, I found you after these great & wonderful last three posts & your Trailing Husband!! You are both very impressive people for your activity & website! Thanks to you &/or husband for the “Follow” on my website, excuseusforliving.com!!!!!! Phil
Thank you for your generous comment Phil, much appreciated. We love getting outdoors and love to share it so I am happy you enjoyed the blog:)