Ketchikan Salmon Fishing

Ketchikan was our first port of call in our Alaska cruise tour. The Ketchikan sports fishing is a big industry for the small little town. Since I didn't do much research when I went, I didn't know what on shore excursions they had to offer. But if I had to do it again, I'd definitely go on a Kethickan salmon fishing expedition as Ketchikan is known as the "Salmon Capital of the World". I'd also try an Alaskan Salmon Bake or a get a ticket to an Alaskan Chef's table where you can have a treat of all the seafood Alaska has to offer including Dungeness crab. I guess there's always next time!

What I did do was tour Ketchikan with my family. What I found amazing was that for a such a small town, there were like a bazillion diamond stores! I think I heard that the cruise ships own them so they shuttle diamonds to and from Alaska to the Carribeans in their different tourist seasons.

So anyways, we toured Ketchikan and we went to see the Totem Heritage Center. Ketchikan has the largest collection of standing totem poles. It was nice to see Native Art but sad as the same time that this culture is being eroded.

After the Totem Center, it was just a few steps to the Deer Mountain Salmon Hatchery and Eagle Center. We saw a pair of captive female bald eagles that will never be released again because they were hurt by humans :( I think the bald eagle population is okay in Alaska but they are endangered elsewhere. In anycase, captive or not, they are still a sight to behold.

So continuing onto the hatchery part of the center, I learned about salmon. I never knew they needed to "smell" the water in order to come back to Ketchikan to spawn. It was still too early in the salmon season for any to return so I think next time going back to Ketchikan, we'll pick later into salmon season. Definitely, we'd take advantage of all the salmon fishing Ketchikan has to offer!