Alaska frenzy

"Jonathan Cook" wrote in message
...
Seems like a popular topic recently.

So my sister-in-law calls us up and mentions her and the
hubby are going to Alaska this summer...now my wife and I
are joining them. An (apparently rather expensive!) vacation,
NOT a fishing trip.

But of course I'll have to take a FF bag :-)

Me: I like variety, I've already caught salmon and bows, so
while they'd certainly be fun, I'm hoping to be able to come
back saying I've caught a grayling, and a dolly varden. I
also have only caught kings and silvers (Chinook and Coho),
and it seems that even-numbered years have a big pink run.
I hope I catch some: sounds like fun with smallish fish. And
lastly but not leastly: a halibut would be cool, preferably
bigger than me :-)

Bro-in-law wants to fish for halibut and kings, so we'll get
out a bit. Otherwise, I'll have to slip in a few casts here
and there.

I'll be reading the recent threads and looking for tips that
might fit our schedule. Any comments on whether fly-in day-trips
from Anchorage are worthwhile, or jetboats out of Talkeetna
(which take you to fishing grounds) are worthwhile, would be
welcome.

Jon.

If fly-outs are in the budget definitely consider some research on the
better guides and go with it. It's not only good to have a guide show you
the ropes, but also to show you some of the better spots around. If you
will be staying in one area for several days I would suggest a guide first
day in, tip him good early on, and ask him to show you some areas that you
can access on your own the rest of the week (in addition to inaccessible fly
in area he should take you, of course).

Fishing should be good anytime, but depending on when and where, you will
find different runs of fish. You should be able to get into grayling with
most flights out in the interior, especially around the Denali park area.
If you happen to be driving out the Denali Highway, just find a fishable
stream (obviously the further from the road the better, but caught many with
30 seconds walk of the car).

Giant Halibut areas are Cook Inlet, Kenai Peninsula, and Prince William
Sound. I took a charter out of Seward, but Homer and surely other ports
have access to them. One note...the deeper water can get quite rough many
days. If you're a hearty boater you should be O.K., but if not, I wouldn't
make a non-refundable deposit until you get close enough to know the
weather. I'm sure there are areas that this would be less of a factor, just
talking about my experience in the Seward area/Cook Inlet (the big charter
went through 10-15 foot waves as we went around a cape or two to get to the
water we fished).

Sea Run Dollies are pretty much in the same area (South Central Alaska) for
larger varieties, but you can find them more sparsely in other coastal area,
inland waterways and lakes.

If you are traveling with other non-fisherman in a car, which I did, I
recommend driving/renting the largest vehicle you can get away with. If you
can keep your rod ready (with leader and fly attached) there will be
opportunities to get into a few fish. I used a white/silver Clouser,
nothing fancy, but if you happen upon a spawning run, egg patterns are good
to have along. There are many other flies to use, but those two types
worked fine for me. I ran into a run of dollies that pretty much cleaned
one clouser of much of it's finery, but didn't seem to mind that it wasn't
much more than a big hook with thread and glue.

The grayling on the Denali highway weren't much more picky, and they did
like various standard streamers. It seemed as though they preferred a bit
more action to the fly, but not sure it mattered too much.

Don't rule out the Steelhead, or giant rainbows......I would concentrate on
those and catch some of the others you are looking for in between. The
salmon runs are cool, and if you are there for one, you have to hit it, but
they are really a dime a dozen up there (but that's just me).

Whatever you do, make sure to bring a camera for both fishing, and the best
camera you can afford just for the trip in general (it will be hard for a
standard camera take pictures that do the scenery any justice). I also
regret not having a camera with me a few times as I fished . One day I got
into what I think was a huge Ling Cod and would have liked to get it's
picture. Whatever it was it had to be the ugliest fish I have ever caught
in fresh water, scared the crap out of me the first time I lifted it's head
out of the water (I think the feeling was mutual).

Have a great time, it's hard not too.

Mike