Material snipped for brevity

To and from Alaska fly fishing while driving through British Columbia and
Yukon Territory is great also and the Kassiar Highway is a great way to
get up there and return. The Skeena and Babine are truly hallowed waters
to cross but there are many others in Caribou and the Lakes regions.
Driving up we saw 9 bears one day.


That may my next road adventure. Fly into Seattle and wander on up. I
think the ferry system would be cool too, maybe an RV or rental one way,
and the ferry on the way back.

Check the ferry prices and schedule availability a year in advance. Long
RVs are pricey.

How did you know the Skeena and Babine were on
the list??

Coming up from B.C. the Cassiar is a short cut to the Alcan and I think it
was in the Milepost plus Provincial maps.

Although Alaska is not nearly highway-accessible everywhere, there are
enough black-topped roads to allow an RV to get plenty of fishing access
with minimal gravel road access. Except for gravel roads between
villages, a four wheel drive is highly recommended for non paved road
travel. It's a sinking, anxious feeling to be 28 miles from pavement, by
your self and be stuck.

I could see that, we were nervous on the Denali Highway with a Mini-van
rental. Plenty of people around in July, but if major problems hit..and
in the off season, a four wheel drive with a quad in the back I'm sure.

Sorry I was not clear. Four wheel drives, especially rental beaters, are
not necessarily "safer" in Alaska. They just give you capability that 2
wheel drives do not have. In reality 4 wheel drives may be far riskier
because it is easy to drive beyond where people are and in event of a
breakdown you might not get out alive. What I was implying is that due
diligence means to be very self reliant fly fishing off-road in Alaska. On
the Cassiar a fellow from Maine and I helped a guy from South Carolina
driving alone in a snowstorm who had a flat and was stranded for 4 hours.
His spare was bald, flat and he did not have a tire jack. He was driving
straight through to Fairbanks to drive out to a son's fish camp without
adequate preparation IMHO. Hope he made it OK.

Fly outs under 30 minutes are not necessary and vary in quality but can be
obtained without reservations in many places and cost locals $65-75 while
lower 48 folks pay $125-175.


That's what I was thinking, plan a few fly-outs along the way. So how do
you know the best places to catch a flight. I saw the obvious spots
around the big tourist areas, but off the beaten track, how do you know?
Milepost?

Just drive through a town and ask locals for them or ask people where the
bush pilots are but not at the fly shops as they get a cut. Maybe they have
an empty seat and can drop you off and pick you up.

One Sunday afternoon I spent 2-3 hours at Rust Aviation at the Anchorage
Float plane airport. Things were normal except for four guys heading back
to Chicago after 7days/ 6 nights. One said, "Wasn't that a great trip?"
"Yeah, fantastic", said another. "How many fish did you catch?" "Seven
rainbows", the first guy said. And I betcha the biggest was 14 inches"!!!.
Duh. Somebody got screwed IMHO.

Was at the Fairbanks Dodge dealer getting my oil changed and was talking to
the parts manager about halibut fishing at Homer where everyone limited out
on 100+ pound flatties. He said not everybody is that lucky. The accounts
payable lady had driven down to Valdez the previous weekend and the entire
boat got skunked although every other boat that day limited out. He took in
to show her a magazine cover with big halibut just to show her what they
looked like. Boy did he get cussed out! grin

Good luck!
John