Alaska Trips by Highway

"John" wrote in message
...
Kudos Mike for a great post. Been there done that and everything you said
was right on! Just a few add-ons thoughts:


Thanks John!

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

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.


We had a 5th wheel which IMHO is not the best rig for Alaska Highway
fishing. A toad following a class A or class C or a travel trailer with
the tow vehicle set up right all would have been better. The 4 wheel
drive toad or tow vehicle should have a camper shell. Under the boat rack
fits a ATV, 25 hp motor, chain saw, gas, water, shovel, tackle, etc.
Locals often pull their boat through the tundra to lakes for fishing that
maybe sees no more than 2-3 fishermen on it per summer.

That's what I'm talking about...you'da man. Sounds similar to some
practically virgin lakes my grandfather showed me when I was young and
stupid (but learning fast). He had a "camp" up in Quebec on Lac St.Jean
(more of a vacation retreat really), and we would pass through the
Laurentides (hope I spelled that right). That place was full of lakes
without a soul on them. Would like to get back there for some fishing one
of these days.

I'd avoid the combat fishing on the Russian/Kenai. It's not worth the
hassle.

Yep, didn't even bother to stop really besides one token feel of the water.
It wasn't even prime time yet and it was as crowded as Yellowstone on
opening day.

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?

Alaska is a poor but very beautiful state. snipped

Yeah, caught some of that too. Will keep in mind to contribute to the
truly local economies.

Good luck!
John

PS: Drive alertly - avoid the frost heaves!

Thanks for your wealth of information and time it took to contribute. Can't
wait to get back.

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

.......did he get cussed out! grin

Good luck!
John



Thanks for the stories and info John!! Any chance you'll be at the Western
Clave this year?

"John" wrote in message
...

Good luck!
John

PS: Drive alertly - avoid the frost heaves!


One other note on the tourist side of things I know you can sympathize.

I do enjoy taking a few pics along the way (you know, like Buffalo in
Yellowstone), and while we in Alaska we had a few heavy hitters on the list
to catch. We were lucky enough to see most, and we were eager to get the
last big one off the list, an Alaskan Moose. Having grown up in Vermont,
you would have thought I had the chance to see one, but back then the Moose
were still up in Maine and above, and then we came down here to PA and well,
it's been a while since any Moose roamed around here, if ever.

We were just wandering around one morning, I think it was upper Kenai
Peninsula somewhere and we came across a huge Bull just off the road. We
saw it ahead, so we just pulled over and watched, hadn't even gotten the
camera out, just watching for a while. After bout 20 minutes or so it came
up to the edge of the road. We were readying the camera as it was about to
cross the road when another car came flying by. They must have just seen it
as they passed as they slammed on the brakes a few hundred feet beyond and
threw it in reverse, just missing wearing it as it bolted. I think we put
the camera away after that one (for quite some time).

Damn Tourists..

Mike

"Mike Makela" ten.tsacmoc@alekamm wrote in message
...
This started as reply to Jeff's post from yesterday, moved it to a new
post as it got lengthy

I did a family/fishing trip several years ago and didn't find it hard to
get into fishing at all. Not sure what the barometer is, but with a
little research, you can find fish VERY EASILY. Yes, the ultimate guided
trips via the big lodges around Lake Iliamna, Lake Clark Preserve, and
Katmai preserves will be the best you can buy, but the option that Willi,
Chas, RW put together, or even a road trip are very feasible.

We wondered around a good part of the road system in Alaska, combining it
with a trip into Glacier Bay (part of the "Inner Passage"). With the
research in hand I plotted out several areas to fish including Juneau,
Glacier Bay, Cook Inlet feeders, Denali Highway, Richardson Highway, and
others. We definetly did much more sightseeing than fishing as my wife
does not fish, but I caught several varieties of fish including silvers,
dolly varden, large Rainbows, and grayling on the side. Skipped on the
opportunity for King Salmon as they do attract a crowd, but all areas I
fished were not populated with other fisherman at all.

If I go back just for fishing I would spend a little extra and hit the
inner passage more, up to Valdez (major stop in Yukatat). This would
require use of the ferry system and a few flights to get into the more
inaccessible locations, but I'd be looking more for the steelhead/giant
rainbow fare, with whatever salmon, trout, etc mixed in along the way.

One thing I would also check would be the Wrangell Mountain Area. If
memory serves they were expanding the road system in the Wrangell Mountain
National Park so may be some new opportunities there. Any area where they
have put in new roads I would think would offer more accessible fishing.

The float trip would be cool too, so if that worked out, to take it along
with a bunch of fellow Roffians, I would jump on that also,

Here is a quick link you could use used to start planning a road trip:
http://www.bellsalaska.com/denalihy.html

The Alaskan Milepost had much more information (a publication on all of
the roads and stops along the way). It a great detailed reference of the
roads system and all of the accommodations, eateries, spots for fishing,
and really every thing along the way. This link gives you a good summary
of what the milepost is about, but you need to purchase the publication to
get all of the detail.

http://www.themilepost.com/

There are several other books I also used for research, one specifically
for fishing by highway in Alaska, a few travel guides to find
accommodations and eateries. I can dig out more detail on the books and
such if anyone is interested.

Another good point for the road trip would be for those of us that may
need to include the family on the trip to justify the fishing...uh I mean
would like to get some fishing in while they explore Alaska with their
families. Could offer a few suggestion on the tour side of things also,
but for me the highlights were

- Whale watching in Glacier Bay (saw the largest friggin grizzly bear I
would ever want to see, from the security of the boat) along with
Glaciers, seals, Eagles and other birds, and tons of other wildlife.
- Glacier Bay Lodge...got a good deal on accommodation, not sure what they
are now, but you can walk to incredible wildlife viewing along the water,
and caught a run of fish (think they were sea run Dollies) that was
incredible.
- the city of Juneau - historic Alaska and a very interesting town. Access
to local fishing via roads in town.
- Glacier Landing on Denali (aka Mt McKinley) - this was the THE highlight
worth the $50 per person - make sure to bring the camera.
- Stay in Talkeetna - the Alaskan town you picture in your mind.
- Denali National Park - Tour into the park was an ultimate experience.
- Denali highway - Just a great way to see Alaska by car. Plan a stop
where you can as the gravel road can wear on you after a while.
- Seward - Wildlife/Whale tour was good (better in Glacier Bay). Got to
see a few Eagles dive on a run of Silvers.

Plan as much time as you can - so many places to see and fish. We took 2
weeks and it was not enough. An alternative would be to travel in pieces,
don't try to see it all the first time in.

The Finn


Get the mile post from Amazon.com About 30% less than buying direct.
Learned that fact too late.

The two books I used that seemed pretty good:

Alaska on the Fly - by Dan Heiner
The Highway Angler - by Gunnar Pederson

Mike