Private Dock Access in Ketchikan, Alaska
No Driving, No Hassle, Just Water Access
Whether you’ve booked a Waterfront Cabin, The Alder House, or The Inn at Knudson Cove, your self-guided fishing boats or guided charter boats will always be moored at one of our private docks, located right out your front door. Fishing in Ketchikan is easy, and you can come and go as you please. Did you forget your fishing license in your bedroom? No problem—walk up the dock to your beach house or The Inn and get it. At our waterfront lodge, you can stay and fish without all the driving, complex planning, and logistics to worry about. The dock is equipped with running fresh water, a large covered fish cleaning table, crab cookers, and a huge fish rack to hang your catch for a photo. Our dock hands are always there to help you tie up the boat, unload and clean fish, get you tackle and bait, and answer any questions.Fishing Off The Dock: Kid Friendly Fun
Pogies, Flounder, and Salmon: Simple Action Right Outside Your Cabin
Dropping a line off the dock is fun for anglers of all ages. Here is a description of some of the things you might catch: Directly under the float are small perch—we call them pogies. Pogies only get about 3–4 inches long, but there are thousands of them. Bait a small hook with some herring, drop it about three feet into the water, and watch them swarm out from under the dock to attack it. This is typically the favorite fishery for children, as they can watch the fish bite. If you can get your bait to the bottom (30–40 ft), or better yet use a small jig, you will hook into rockfish, starry flounder, and in August, spiny dogfish (sand sharks) which get up to four feet long. We encourage anglers to release the small rockfish caught off the dock so future anglers can catch them as well. These non-pelagic rockfish are territorial, and it doesn’t take long to fish them out. When the Pink salmon and Silver salmon are running, you can cast a Pixie off the dock. This isn’t as productive as targeting schools of fish in the boats, but occasionally you’ll hook into one.Local Culture: Pier 25 and the Authentic Working Harbor of Knudson Cove
Real Alaskan Charm: The Story of Snapper Carson’s Buoy Wall
At the top of Pier 25 is a wall of art dubbed The Buoy Wall. This unexpected and colorful display is an intriguing representation of Knudson Cove’s unique charm and character. The Buoy Wall started in the 1970s when Lawrence “Snapper” Carson hung his used commercial fishing buoys on the wall of his boathouse. The Buoy Wall and Snapper’s boathouse can be seen depicted in many paintings by local artists. Since those days, the wall has grown piece by piece to cover an entire wall at Pier 25 Boathouse. The resulting colors and overall imagery are enough to catch the eye of any passerby. Guests of Chinook Shores Lodge can request a tour of Pier 25 Boathouse and arrive by land or by sea.