Dove Island Lodge-Alaska

I wanted to give our listeners a report from my recent trip to Dove Island Lodge in Sitka, Alaska. Perhaps you have visited Dove Islands impressive display at the Fred Hall show; the one with the spectacular salmon and steelhead mounts and the photo of the island. Perhaps you have been impressed by their great web site at www.doveislandlodge.com. Well I can tell you from the first hand experience I just finished, this dream lodge is real! Owners Duane and Traci Lambeth have put together the ultimate Alaskan experience at Dove Island Lodge. This is a true luxury lodge with fantastic amenities at a price that would pleasantly surprise you. For example, my room had a private bath, a sitting room, bedroom with a wood burning fireplace and a private deck with a two person private hot tub. Dove Island has 5 of these suites in the main lodge. They also have two private cabins just a few steps away from the main lodge, with living room, bedroom and loft, and of course, private hot tub on the deck overlooking Sitka Sound

My fishing choice the first day was to go on a halibut and salmon trip aboard one of the very comfortable 38 foot full walk around boats with heated cabins and plenty of fishing room. My late May trip coincided with the start of the king salmon season, and unfortunately the kings were late and just starting to come in. We managed a few kings and some halibut and rock fish, but by no means was this the ultimate king salmon fishing that Sitka has to offer. The next morning we headed down to the dock to board Dove Island's very own DeHavlin Beaver float plane to head for a river in search of steelhead. It has always been one of my fishing dreams to catch a steelhead on a fly rod, and we took a scenic 30 minute float plane trip to Crabby Creek. The plane dropped us off to return to pick us up in about 6 hours. My fishing partner was Zach Taylor and our guide was lodge owner Duane Lambeth. We hiked up the creek for a couple of miles. I can tell you first hand, hunting steelhead is not for the non adventurous person, or the person that wants to catch a bunch of fish. Steelhead fishermen have been know to go on dozens of trips in pursuit of these illusive fish only to strike out every time. We were fortunate to see the fish had arrived at the creek for the spring spawn. Steelhead are anadromous rainbow trout- rainbow trout that live in the ocean and return to the river they came from to spawn, then return to the ocean to live. This is the big difference from steelhead and salmon, as salmon return to the river to spawn then die. I have been on several unsuccessful steelhead hunts, and with the 75 or 100 fish we saw in the river, a huge number for a steelhead river, I was hoping this was my day. Steelhead are notorious for being very difficult to hook, and even harder to land on a fly rod. Most of these fish we were seeing were over 15 pounds, and many over 20. With all the timber and other obstructions in the river, Duane said you land about 1 in every 5 you hook. The combination of very hard to hook and land brings true steelhead angler back for the challenge again and again. I was fortunate to hook up and the battle lasted about 15 minutes. My steelhead measured 32" long and estimated about 14 pounds. After a few quick photos, I released the fish and one of my long time angling goals had been accomplished- steelhead on a fly!

The next day we wanted another shot at steelhead, so we head for Sandy Bay, where a few days before he saw several steelhead in the system. After a relatively intense and technical 1 mile hike we arrived at the pools to find the stream loaded with fish. Duane said this is probably the largest concentration of fish he has seen this year, with about 30 fish in one pool. We walked to the top of this short stretch of stream to encounter an incredible waterfall. The water was extremely high from the snow melt of a heavy Alaskan winter. After going 0 for 3 on hookups, Zach's yelled "fish on" and his battle was on. The fish took him down the river and he did a masterful job of keeping the fish out of trouble and landed his first steelhead on a fly. This made our goal for the day complete, but we didn't stop there, we continued to fish down with no luck until our time was up. Time to get back to the lodge for another incredible dinner and share our stories with the others at the lodge.

Our final morning we had time to jump aboard one of Dove Islands skiffs and fish for rockfish for a few hours before returning home, yet another bonus at no extra cost. If you want to experience a trip to Alaska that offers the combination of super Sitka saltwater fishing and fantastic opportunities to fly out to remote Alaskan river fishing, Dove Island Lodge is a fantastic choice. Combine this with the luxurious suites, gourmet meals and comfortable boats, this is an ideal destination to bring your spouse or family. The Lambeth family have truly figured out how to run the ultimate Alaskan destination. We are looking forward to hosting a Let's Talk Hook-up Dove Island fishing derby in August of 2010. We choose this time period for the weather and the fishing. This is a peak time to catch Coho salmon and still have a chance to land a trophy king salmon, in addition to giant Alaskan halibut. You will also have the opportunity to fly out to the rivers and streams and catch salmon and trout in the rivers. The variety this time of the year is great, and the volume of fish available in both the rivers and ocean are at the pinnacle of the Alaskan summer season. The winner of the derby will receive a free trip to come back to Dove Island Lodge. With only 18 spots available, this trip will fill fast, so call Dove Island Lodge at 888-318-FISH (3474) Or check www.doveislandlodge.com - it is truly an experience of a lifetime and I can't wait to go back for more.