You have made it all the way to Alaska for your dream fishing vacation. You are finally on the boat out on the water. You have not seen land, or anything for that matter for the last hour. The water is rough and you are bent over the rail of the boat deck feeling your stomach churn knowing what is coming next! Is this the Alaska fishing vacation that you have dreamed of for years? No!

The questions asked to Port Lions Lodge are frequently:

• Will I get seasick?
• A person in our group has a little motion sickness. Are the waves very big?
• Last time I went to Alaska on a weeklong fishing trip 2 days were cancelled due to weather conditions. Is this common?

These are all very good questions and the answer to them all is….maybe. However, Port Lions Lodge offers the best opportunity to fish and enjoy your vacation fully without experiencing the above problems.

What makes Port Lions Lodge any different?

Port Lions Lodge is located in likely the most protected fishery in Alaska. The community of Port Lions is located in Settlers Cove off Kizhuyak Bay on the north shore of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. To the north of Port Lions are Whale, Raspberry, and Afognak Islands.

Port Lions Lodge in Port Lions on Kodiak Island

Does the location matter?

Yes. The location of Port Lions and Port Lions Lodge matters a great deal. The island of Kodiak offers protection from the wind from the south, west, and east, while the islands of Whale, Raspberry, and Afognak offer protection and passages to the north. These island passages offer protection from the weather that is used to your advantage on marginal weather days. If the wind is out of the southwest fishing will likely be done to the northeast. If the wind is out of the northeast (worst condition for Port Lions Lodge) fishing will be done on the southwest side of Whale Island, east side of Kizhuyak Bay, or possibly in the Shellikof Straights. In any event the islands surrounding Port Lions will be used to your advantage to offer a much higher possibility of a successful day of fishing.

Keep in mind that Port Lions Lodge is located on Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. The Gulf of Alaska is actually the North Pacific Ocean and is very exposed. A few times each summer low pressure systems will park themselves out in the gulf for days or even, occasionally, weeks. These lows bring poor weather including winds that may be sustained for several days in a row building the seas into a nasty mess. When this happens it is almost guaranteed that the fishing crews of Seward, Homer, Deep Creek, Ninilchik, Kodiak City (if weather out of the east), Cordova, Yakutat, and many others are going to be extremely limited and more than likely cancelling the day of fishing. (This is one of the reasons the current owners of Port Lions Lodge sold their fishing charter business in Seward and purchased Port Lions Lodge) So, the low-pressure system is over the western Gulf of Alaska. The winds are blowing 25 knots, not too bad, but the seas have built to 8-10 footers. All of the other crews from the above locations have informed their clients there will be no fishing today; and maybe tomorrow. What happens at Port Lions Lodge? The vast majority of these days the crews of Port Lions Lodge will have multiple options to fish and do it in very calm waters. The simple fact at Port Lions Lodge is the islands of Kodiak, Whale, Raspberry, and Afognak offer very nice waters on poor open gulf days and flat calm waters on good days.

Above it was mentioned that the current owners of Port Lions Lodge sold their charter business in Seward and purchased the Port Lions Lodge partially due to weather issues. When in Seward approximately 75 days per summer were booked for fishing and about ten trips per year were multi-day trips, 3-5 days, across the Gulf of Alaska into Prince William Sound for fishing and lodging there. Of those 75 days booked each summer approximately 10 were cancelled due to weather in the gulf and maybe 10 or more were fished or travelled across the gulf in marginal conditions. At Port Lions Lodge in the summer of 2011 70 days were booked and 69.5 of them were fished. The .5 was a snotty rainy day that was fished early and the clients decided to return to the lodge early once they had caught a limit of halibut.

Lara Beth- Port Lions Lodge Catamaran

Port Lions Lodge offers another reason that our trips on the water are more enjoyable for our clients, even on the foul days. Port Lions Lodge has two vessels. They are both 30’ Armstrong Catamarans designed and built specifically for the elements of Alaska. Not only can they be taken to shore for beach combing or a shore lunch; they are the most stable platform for their size of vessel in the Alaska fishing fleet. These catamarans cut the water increasing speed and stability. While on anchor fishing for Alaska Halibut they are very stable and prevent a great deal of the roll of a single hulled vessel. These cats are full walk around for added fishing space, have a heated cabin, state of the art electronics and some of the best gear and tackle available in the fishing industry. These Armstrong aluminum catamarans can cruise easily through shallow water, maybe 18”, to get you to where the fresh water streams are flowing into the salt water at the head of the narrow bay in order to put you right on top of the Silver Salmon (Coho’s) as they are preparing to head into fresh water. If the Silvers have run into the fresh water these cats will take you right to the shore where you can offload from the vessel and fish the Silvers right in the fresh water.

Another benefit that these islands offer clients has nothing to do with fishing. Due to the fact that the islands offer channels and passages to fish means clients are not 20 miles from shore in open water where the only thing they see all day is water and waves. Fishing days are performed in areas near enough to shore to view Sitka Black Tailed Deer or Kodiak Brown Bears on the beaches. You may see a fox scurrying around and feeding on sand lances (bait fish) at a low tide. You will see Bald Eagles from the boat daily. Sea Otters will come up to check you out. Great numbers of Orcas, Fin, and Humpback Whales cruise the channels of the Kodiak Archipelago Islands throughout the summer offering spectacular opportunities for photos and video. Fishing is performed in shore enough that Giant Pacific Octopus with tentacle spans of 8 feet or more are occasionally caught. A day of fishing from the Port Lions Lodge offers the added benefit of sightseeing tours more spectacular than any other in Alaska!

Humpback Whale Kicking Tail for a Deep Dive

Fox on the Beach at Port Lions Lodge

Understand that weather is weather and fishing is fishing. This article is not intended to make you believe that Port Lions and the Port Lions Lodge do not or cannot get poor weather. They certainly can. However, it is intended to make you ask yourself if you want to take the chance with your hard-earned vacation dollars of increasing your risk of cancellation or fishing in marginal conditions. The odds of having successful quality fishing days on calmer waters for your Alaska fishing vacation are greatly increased at Port Lions Lodge.

Port Lions Lodge offers you the best Alaska fishing vacation you can get. The waters are protected, the scenery and marine mammals and species indigenous to Kodiak are spectacular and easily viewed, and the twin Armstrong Catamarans of Port Lions Lodge cannot be beat. Come to Port Lions Lodge and see for yourself. We will guarantee you an enjoyable trip!

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