Anan with Island Wings

[inkmahm]

Margaret Creek Fish Ladder - Located 26 mile north of Ketchikan in Margaret Bay/ Traitors Cove. From July through October, numerous steelhead, coho, sockeye and pink salmon move upstream through this fish ladder. During this time, black bear viewing is outstanding from the observation platform at the top of the ladder (Photo, 184 KB) . What a great place to watch a bear fish! In August, during the peak of the pink run, as many as 10 bears may be feeding on the adult salmon above and below the fish ladder. The trail head that leads to the viewing platform is located on an existing road, approximately one mile from saltwater at Margaret Bay. When walking the trail please use extreme caution and make your presence known with noise! Like humans, black bears also use this trail for access to the creek where the fish ladder is located. (Photo of trail, 148 KB; photo of lake, 107 KB)

 

http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/recreation/rec_facilities/ktnrec.shtml

[bottom-dragger]

I read on this forum that Traitor is usually better for seeing Bears than Anan in August because of where the Salmon tend to be. Anan is better in July. I have not heard about Fish Creek.

 

i say alot of things but i would not say this. anan and margarite (traitors cove) have similar runs of salmon. timing of runs is also similar. both sites, and fish creek, have permit limitations on commercial use; to increase the quality of experience and decrease the sites from being over run.

 

bears are where you find them, and your guide/pilot will enhance your experience.

[Amy G]

thanks so much for the responses. amy g, i will be interested to hear about 7/19 trip, have fun.

 

Well, we never made it to see the bears. Dave from Family Air met us at the Liguid Sunshine gauge in Ketchikan but told us that all the pilots were canceling flights that day (7/19) because of the high winds and he would not be able to land. :(

[cleocasper]

Amy G, sorry to hear you never bad,what a disappointment. Hopefully you had a good day anyway, what did you do instead? Do you know if they cancel the tours often? I wasn't even thinking about that.

thanks, cleocasper

[Amy G]

He did not say how often he has to cancel... However, when we were in Ketchikan 7 years ago our kayaking excursion was canceled due to high winds too!

 

We ran aboard and booked the Rainforest Sanctuary tour which was cool because we ended up seeing a young bear eating near the waters edge, and then it ran towards our path, so our guide was searching for him, but he must have gone under our walkway! Pretty cool.

[gg3]

Last year we were fortunate enough to fly to Anan Creek with Family Air and had an incredible flight with Dave, and an amazing experience in the awesome Anan Creek. I have posted details of that last year, so I won't repeat, but it was one of those life experiences that you just do not forget. Realize that few of the tour operators actually guide. Island Wings does, Family Air does not. It is not for the faint of heart to walk through foreign brown and black bear country unguided.....but DH and I did it.....alone....and it was unforgettable. This year we will go to Traitor's since we are going in Sept. and all the operators in Ketchikan that we have talked with and experts on this board have rec. Traitors for Sept. We will fly with S.E. Aviation, and it will be a guided tour. We have heard many fine things about all three of these tour operators, as well as many others. gg