Seward has always been a first-choice destination for Alaska anglers, who flock to the seaside city of 3,000 each summer for its easy access to the bay and its world-class marine fisheries.

Seward is the northernmost ice-free seaport in the U.S. There is a very deep, very beautiful harbor where you will always find sea otters, seal lions, and seals popping up right along side the pier.

To participate, anglers need a 2015 sport fishing license, 20-pound-test monofilament line, quality snap swivels and 6/0 or 8/0 lead weighted snagging hooks (sometimes dubbed "Seward Dry Flies").

If all the billboards along Alaska's Seward Highway were laid end to ... fishing, picnicking, and camping. At Summit Lake Lodge (mile 45.5; tel. 1 907 ... for more on Seward, see www.sewardak.org.