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Photo of the Week

Dave Schroeder caught these huge white sea bass 50 and 48 pounds in La Jolla from his kayak  in mid August.  Nice job Dave!
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News Flash! 

Tuna are Biting, and we are sponsoring a 1 1/2 day trip on the LEGEND from Seaforth Sportfishing departing Wednesday  September 8 at 10PM and returning Friday September 10 at 6AM.  cost is $295 and includes food and ultra limited load.  The trip is going, so take advantage of this special price and super light load.  Call Legend Sportfishing at 619-722-647  or check www.legend-sportfishing.com

A True Alaskan Adventure

By Pete Gray

You may have seen the impressive display of big steelhead and salmon, bottles of fine wine, and beautiful photos of a spectacular lodge at the Fred Hall Shows.  You may have even stopped by to talk to Dove Island's owner Duane Lambeth and discovered his warmth and charm.  But if you have not visited Dove Island Lodge in Sitka, Alaska yet, you should make a plan to do so.

Our first- annual Let’s Talk Hook-up/Dove Island Derby took place August 5^th to the 9^th, and Duane and his staff did not disappoint.  My wife Lolly and I were accompanied by 16 Let’s Talk Hook-up listeners (the lodge holds 18) on our trip that was sold out almost as quickly as we started talking about it last summer.  Our package included two days of famous Sitka saltwater fishing and 1 day of fly out freshwater fishing.  Combine that with 5 course 5 star meals that lasts almost 2 hours each evening, suite accommodations with private hot tubs, and panoramic views of the Sitka Sound when we arrived at the island, we were in for a special treat.  The Dove Island staff picked us up at the dock in Sitka and we took a short 10 minute boat ride to the island's own private dock.  One of the most appealing parts of our trip was  that, other than our fishing days, you never had to, or wanted to leave the island.  Everything you need is right there, and going fishing is as easy as walking down a 50 yard path through the forest and boarding the boat or a float plane. 

If you have visited southeast Alaska before, you know that it is a rainforest with weather issues when it comes to flying in a float plane.  Our first day fly out group had to go to plan B when Duane was delayed by weather in Wrangell.  That certainly didn’t interrupt a great day of fishing as this group took a 45 minute boat ride to a remote river packed full of pink and Chum salmon.  This was a perfect venue for first time fly fishing anglers or spin fisherman, as well as experienced anglers.  Everyone was able to catch fish; many caught and released 40 salmon a day. 

My first day, I choose saltwater fishing with Dove Island Lodges’ head saltwater guide, Eric.  August traditionally in Sitka is the start of the Coho salmon season, with some King salmon still around.  This year the Coho were a bit late and the King fishing was still good.  We took advantage of this and got our limits of Kings and a few Cohos too. With a trip back to Dove Island Lodge up for grabs, Willie Grove caught what turned out to be the largest King salmon of the group- a bright 30 pound salmon that took Willie around the boat 3 times.  Now it was time to  head for the halibut grounds.  The weather was a pretty calm by Sitka standards with just a bit of light chop as Captain Eric dropped the anchor in 300 feet of water.  It turned out not to be our day for good halibut fishing, but we did land some tasty rockfish and released 3 giant ling cod (ling cod season was closed).  One of the other boats in our group had limits of kings and several Coho and good rock fishing too. 

My next day was a fly- out, but with Duane still stuck in Wrangell because of weather, we took the boat to the river where the previous day's group had such spectacular fishing and experienced  the same.  A couple in our group had only fly fished one time before, and we all caught several pink salmon and a few mighty chum salmon.  With the help of expert freshwater guide Brian giving a few tips, we were swinging flies in front of aggressive salmon like a pros.   About mid-day we heard a plane and cheers went up as we saw Dove Island’s own float plane landing in the mouth of the river to drop off head freshwater guide Vic to assist Brian.  After a fantastic day of freshwater fishing Duane came back, picked us up on the plane and took us on a short sightseeing tour around the area before we headed back to the lodge.  Once back, we jumped in our own private hot tub to warm up after a long day on the river.  Wow, what an incredible feeling, sipping on a cocktail on your own deck in the hot tub watching eagles fly and salmon jump around the island.  After all the boats returned and we had time in the lodge to tell stories of our day, we sat down to an amazing dinner.  This night the meal started with white stag with blackberry sauce as an appetizer, followed by asparagus soup, then a beautiful Caesar salad, then Kobe beef rib eye steak then a berry crisp with homemade ice cream. The dinner was followed by a great slide show of everyone photos from their day of fishing put together by Traci Lambeth, Duane’s wife.  Every evening was an incredible dining experience, and the comfort of the lodge and small group made it even more special. 

Dan Brown, fishing with his friends, landed a 98 pound halibut and was leading the halibut division of the derby. Willie was still leading the salmon division, though Rick Fowler came close with a 29 pound king. On our last night Dan and Willie  had to flip a coin, Dan called it heads and it was tails, so Willie won the return trip to Dove Island Lodge and Dan won a Shimano Trinidad reel and a Shimano rod.  The fun of the derby added just a little more excitement to what was already a great trip. 

There are so many great adventures you can enjoy before or after a trip to Dove Island Lodge, and part of the group choose to start the trip in Wrangell, about a 100 miles southeast of Sitka.  Duane introduced us to a fantastic operator, Jim Leslie, from Alaska Waters  (www.alaskawaters.com).  Two of the goals of the group were to see glaciers and bears and we accomplished both thanks to Jim.  Our first day, Jim and his assistant Ivan took us up the Stikine River on his 35- foot jet boat to the Anan Bear Observatory to get up close and personal with brown and black bears.  We watched the bears feeding on salmon, fighting for territory, mothers and cubs running about and bald eagles flying.  It was a great Alaskan experience.  The next day it was time to accomplish the glacier part of our quest, and Jim choose to take us to the southernmost tidewater glacier in Alaska- the Leconte Glacier.  I have visited Glacier Bay, which is fantastic, but I can tell you this glacier and Jim’s method of getting up close to this massive glacier beat that tenfold.  I would venture to say this day was one of my most enjoyable ever.  Of course the 75 degree bright sunshine did help! Jim navigated the boat through 7 miles of giant icebergs and through tons of ice on our journey up the fjord to the face of the glacier, which towers 200 feet high and 800 feet below the water.  The glacier moves several feet a day and we watched the “calving” of the front of the glacier from a safe distance of a couple hundred yards.  These chunks of ice breaking off the front of the glacier made huge cracking sounds as they fell into the sea, then a huge chunk would rise up from the depths and both together would make a 3-foot wave that rocked our boat.  All this surrounded by incredible views -and we were the only ones there. This is an experience that should not be missed!

Dove Island Lodge is, like the brochure says, a true Alaskan adventure.  The combination of saltwater fishing and the freshwater option is great.  Everyone always thinks of Sitka as a saltwater destination, but hats off to Duane for exposing people to the fantastic freshwater fishing.   Most freshwater options require much more remote travel and “roughing it”.  There is no “roughing it” at Dove Island, you get all the great fishing and live like royalty, yet in comparison to other Alaskan adventures, it is a bargain.  Join us for our 2^nd Annual Dove Island Derby August 4 to 8, 2011.  Our trip includes 4 nights lodging (double occupancy), all meals, two days saltwater fishing and one day fly out freshwater fishing, guides, vacuum packing, freezing and boxing of your catch.  This all inclusive trip is $2995 plus airfare to Sitka.  This represents a $500 discount off the regular price; it's like getting the freshwater fly out for free! This package is only good for our group on our dates, and this year the trip was full by early fall, so don’t wait.  Call Dove Island Lodge at 888-318-FISH or check www.doveislandlodge.com  To book the Wrangell adventure call Jim Leslie at www.alaskawaters.com 

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The Let's Talk Hook-up Newsletter is a very special newspaper (3 annually) delivered free to club card members, tackle stores, and marine stores from San Diego to Santa Barbara. The newsletter features unique fish stories and items of interest to anglers, provided by expert guests as well as many faithful show fans.