Summer 2025 featured another family fishing trip.
This time the destination was Cordova, Alaska. Why Cordova? Why not? New water, new adventures, new things to see.
We had never been to Cordova, bouncing through the airport on the milk run from Juneau and Yakutat does not count. The area feaures some interesting history, very scenic country, more than a few glaciers, and access to Prince William Sound for fishing.
It was a beautiful day as we flew in, large sections of the coast were completly free of clouds offering spectacular view of the St. Elias Mountians and the many glaciers that are found between Juneau and Cordova, including the enourmous Malaspina Glacier and Bearing Glacier. I had a window seat on the starboard side of the aircraft overlooking the mountains and took far too many photos. I also set up the GoPro to timelapse the view using a suction cup mount in the window.
After checking in at the lodge we took further advantage on the beautiful day to drive to Sheridan Glacier as well as the end of the road.
The fishing was a mixed experience… All of us had orders from spouses to bring back halibut, halibut, and more halibut.
We failed.
According to all sources halibut fishing had been slow. Despite solid attempts to prove otherwise we confirmed that halibut fishing was slow in the Cordova area. We caught a few, all quite small. In the process of bottom fishing for halibut we did catch a number of black bass, a couple yellow-eye, and a few other rockfish, rather nice fish, but not halibut.
Salmon fishing on the other hand was going quite well. Silver or coho salmon were in the sound in large numbers. So we caught salmon. I was happily hauling up very nice silvers to fill our fish boxes for the flight home.
After the sunny start to our fishing trip the weather became progressively cloudier, with solid rain moving in on the third day. No matter, we fished in the rain. The wind and chop that came with the rain did hamper things a bit, restricting where we could fish without getting beaten by the waves.
Orca Adventure Lodge was an adventure in itself. Built in a renovated cannery our room was part of the old cannery domitory, though I suspect the modern accommodations are a bit more comfortable than the cannery workers once had.
The original cannery dining hall also serves the same purpose for which it was built. A welcome haven of hot coffee, eggs, and thick bacon in the morning.
At the center of the kitchen sits a century old stove, a beautiful iron monster five times the size of a modern houshold range. It still serves the kitchen staff, though now converted to being oil fired rather than wood. A few other bits of original cannery equipment decorated the dining hall, or could be found elsewhere in the complex.
The dinners were superb, by far the best dining I have ever experienced in a fishing lodge, better than most of the ritzy resort resturants back home. We dined on blackened sockeye salmon, venison, and prime rib come Friday night. Each dish well presented with fresh veggies and excellent sauces.
Each evening after dinner I would take a walk, even in the rain. I explored the old cannery, part still active as a lodge, other sections in ruins. Anything left unused will quickly succumb to the rain and heavy snows of the Alaskan coast. I explored a bit of the surrounding forest, rich with life and small waterfalls. I walked with a camera, or at least the waterproof GoPro in the steady rain. I looked for, and found images and sounds so typically Alsakan.
In conversations with Steve and Wendy, the lodge owners, I learned a bit more about the history of the place and the trials of keeping the old buildings in condition to serve as a comfortable fishing lodge. They have owned and operated the lodge for over 25 years, with plenty of stories to tell about those years, and not bad storytellers.
I was hoping for some aurora action while in Alaska, taking advantage of the current solar maximum and the excellent mountain scenery offered by Cordova. There was a moderate geomagnetic storm the last night we were there, but solid cloud cover put an end to any hope of aurora photography.
Cordova and the Orca lodge are definitely on the list for a return trip someday. A good choice for fishing with great food and a proper Alaskan experience.
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