Playing Catch with an Eagle 2025 Ketchikan, Alaska

Playing catch with an Eagle: A Winter King Salmon Memory from Ketchikan

March 2025 greeted us with biting cold as we stepped onto the boat in Ketchikan, Alaska. The deck was slick with a fresh layer of ice, and the kind of chill that cuts through your gloves hung heavy in the air. But that’s part of the deal when you’re chasing winter king salmon—cold hands, cold feet, and the hope of silver in the net.

We headed out slow, the boat crunching through thin skin ice near the harbor before opening up to deeper water. The kings weren’t thick, but we were picking at them. The fishing was steady enough to keep us focused, but something overhead caught my eye and pulled my attention from the rods.

A bald eagle—gliding low, steady, and clearly hungry.

Now, feeding eagles in mid-air is fairly common around Ketchikan. If you’ve lived in Alaska long enough, you’ve seen it more than a few times. But no matter how many times it happens, it never gets old.

I grabbed a herring from the bait box and tossed it skyward. In an instant, she tucked her wings, flared her talons, and snatched it from the air like it was nothing. She circled wide, sharp eyes never leaving the boat, then came back in for another pass.

Throw after throw, she kept coming—catching each herring mid-air, eating on the wing, and looping around again with that smooth, powerful grace that only an eagle has. It was cold enough to see your breath, but for those few minutes, I barely noticed the chill.

I kept tossing bait until the box ran dry, and the eagle finally gave one last wide circle before heading off toward the tree line—full, strong, and disappearing into the gray sky.

Living in Alaska gives you a front-row seat to things most people never get to see. And even when it’s familiar—even when the deck is frozen and your fingers ache—there are moments, like feeding an eagle in flight, that still stop you in your tracks.