Valdez Alaska Week 2

ahschneid
1 day ago
5 min read

Halibut and Pacific Cod caught on our fishing trip - Valdez AK 12 June 2025

On Thursday 12 June we went out on the Sentinel for a day of offshore fishing in the Gulf of Alaska. The boat boarded at 5:45am and we were expected back between 5:30 and 6pm. We motored out for about two hours to our fishing spot. We sat with a nice couple from Michigan, Sue and Scott. They are our age and we had a nice time chatting with them all day. We made plans to have lunch before they leave on Monday.

Within the first 15 minutes the guy to my left (Curt) caught a nice Halibut. Unfortunately, that was the most activity we had for at least a couple of hours. Other fish were hooked, but one Halibut came off the hook before reaching the boat and another Ling Cod Steve caught had to be thrown back because it's not July yet. Sue caught an Alaskan Yellow-eyed Rockfish that is not in season. The captain was talking to other boats who seemed to be having the same experience, so we moved. The first couple of spots we moved to weren't much better, but around 3pm we moved to a honey hole! Anita caught two Halibut right after the anchor was set! Then everyone on the boat was catching Halibut and Steve caught about 8 Pacific Cod and one Black Rockfish. Since we had found the right spot, we stayed till everyone limited out on Halibut (2 each), and basically everyone had caught all the fish they wanted. The deckhand told us jokingly to stop catching fish! It fishing ended on an exciting note. We got back to the dock at 8pm.

We then had to wait for our fish to be cleaned and then take them to be flash-frozen for us to put in our freezer. We had to pick up our fish a couple of days after we dropped them off. We asked to keep some Halibut and a rock fish to cook the next day.

Sunrise at Eagles Rest Campground day of fishing trip...

Sunrise at Eagles Rest Campground day of fishing trip...

Valdez Saltwater Adventures fishing trip 12 June 2025

The boat we went out on...

Valdez Saltwater Adventures fishing trip 12 June 2025

The boat we went out on...

Valdez Saltwater Adventures fishing trip 12 June 2025

Ling Cod Steve couldn't keep...

Valdez Saltwater Adventures fishing trip 12 June 2025

Small Halibut was too heavy to hold much longer...

Valdez Saltwater Adventures fishing trip 12 June 2025

Our catch for the day...

On Friday we were a little sore from our workout on the fishing boat the day before, so we opted to drive out on the road we came into Valdez on to see Keystone Canyon and waterfalls on a sunny day. We also stopped at the Valdez Glacier on Airport Road. We walked a little at Worthington Falls, but mostly took it easy on the exercising that day. Steve cooked the Halibut without breading and it was delicious. He blackened the rockfish and it too was awesome!

Valdez Glacier - Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Valdez Glacier - Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Valdez Glacier - Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Horsetail Falls - Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Bridal Veil Falls - Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Crooked Creek Falls - Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Railroad Tunnel - outside Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Railroad Tunnel - outside Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Railroad Tunnel - outside Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Keystone Canyon - outside Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

From Keystone Canyon - outside Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Outside Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Worthington Glacier - 13 June 2025

Worthington Glacier - 13 June 2025

Worthington Glacier - 13 June 2025

Worthington Glacier - 13 June 2025

Worthington Glacier - 13 June 2025

Worthington Glacier - 13 June 2025

Thompson Pass - 13 June 2025

Keystone Canyon - Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Keystone Canyon - Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Keystone Canyon - Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Crooked Creek Falls - Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Holland America Line

Valdez Alaska - 13 June 2025

Low tide

We picked up our 34 lbs of fish (17 lbs of Halibut and 17 lbs of Cod) on Saturday after we went on a short hike (.83 mile RT) and visited the Maxine and Jesse Whitney Museum. We walked the Dock Point trail which has a couple of overlooks of the Valdez Duck Flats and Valdez Harbor. It was a cloudy day so we didn't want to get too far away in case it rained. The museum is a free museum with a collection of various artifacts gathered by Maxine Whitney in her life in Alaska. That evening we attended mass at 7pm again.

Dock Point Trail - Valdez Alaska - 14 June 2025

Dock Point Trail - Valdez Alaska - 14 June 2025

Dock Point Trail - Valdez Alaska - 14 June 2025

Dock Point Trail - Valdez Alaska - 14 June 2025

Low tide

Dock Point Trail - Valdez Alaska - 14 June 2025

Dock Point Trail - Valdez Alaska - 14 June 2025

Dock Point Trail - Valdez Alaska - 14 June 2025

Bald Eagle