Conference wahoo::fishing-v2

    RE: .0
    
    Steve,
    	I spent 10 days (Not enough!) in Alaska last August.  We covered
    the area from Denali down to the tip of the Kenai Penninsula.  I'll be
    glad to make some recommendations to you, but I don't have the time
    right now.  The 1st thing you should do is to get a copy of 
    The Milepost.  This is a telephone book sized magazine that contains
    just about everything you need to know about the state.  We drove 1400
    miles while we were there and were -never- in doubt about where we were
    or how far we were from our destinations.  It describes all the lodging,
    campgrounds, rest areas, trails, etc. and gives it all to you by mile
    post, by the 1/10 of a mile!  We didn't find a single mistake in the
    book.  They call themselves the bible of the north country traveler and
    they mean it!  You can order it through most bookstores.
    	The Dept. of Tourism was also very helpful and they'll send you a
    state vacation planner.
    	I'll put more in later.
    					B.C.
    

    Steve,
    
         I spent 4 months during the summer of 78 on Kodiak Island. I was
    earning some money for college while experiencing the awesome country.
    It was the best summer of my life and some of the best people I have
    ever met. 
    
         If I had only one lure to use it would be the Pixie. It is a
    chiseled spoon with a piece of plastic in the middle. It comes in
    various colors. I found pink and green to be the best producers.
    
         As far as ultra light goes.... I would say leave it home unless
    you have some stocks in Trilene. A salmon fresh from the Pacific is an
    awesome battler. 10lb test seemed to be the minimum. Even if you are
    fishing for Rainbows or Dolly Vardens and there are Salmon around you
    still have a good chance of hooking one and getting spooled (as I did)
    many times. The local tackle shops are not a hop-skip-and-a-jump away!
    
        You could go to a noodle rod which would cover you all the way around.
    That with a good ball bearing drag system and 6lb test and you'll be
    a happy camper.
    
        I'm jealous, I want to go back in the worse way. I can't believe it
    has been 16 years (ouch). If you have any specific questions regarding
    fishing let me know (at least as far as Kodiak Island goes....)
    
    Bob M�
                                                       

    I spent 10 days in Petersburg, Alaska 2 summers ago. And just as
    someone said in an earlier reply, leave the ultra-light at home. I'd
    suggest you use the space for extra film because the scenery is beyond
    description. It's properly described as "What God created before Man
    screwed it up."
    
    You can get that Pixie Spoon just about anywhere. Cabela's has a whole
    kit for about $10 bucks. That is the most popular spoon. However, we
    found that 6 inch whole herring worked best while trolling. There is a
    special way to rig these so that when they move through the water they
    have a certain roll to them that looks to the salmon like a swimming
    fish.
    
    I'm jealous. At some point I'm going back with my kids so they can see
    the beauty of the place. It is unbelievable.
    
    Best of luck to you!                                              
    
    Jack

	I'm going this May myself.  Booked a week with a lodge just south
	of Ninilchik.  We will be fishing saltwater twice a day for kings
	and at low tide for halibut.  In my spare time ;^) , I'll want to
	try for some dollies.  Have a couple of days planned for sight 
	seeing the Kenai.

	Gordon

    	re:-1
    
    	Just out of curiousity and if you wouldn't mind, what does a week like
    this cost (ballpark).
    
    	RAYJ

>    	re:-1
    
>    	Just out of curiousity and if you wouldn't mind, what does a week like
>    this cost (ballpark).
    
	This trip costs $1400 plus air fare to get there.  It varies only
	a little +/- from one outfitter to another.  They do pretty much
	everything but wipe your butt.  I saw packages that included airfare
	for trips to catch silvers for $1200.  A single day trip to fish
	fresh or salt costs between $100 and $150.  A plane ride across the
	Cook Inlet to fish big rainbows for the day is about $50.  There
	are outfits in Prince William Sound that will drop you off for a 
	week at a floating cabin in some bay for about $1200 a person.  All
	food, a boat, etc is included.  Late June and early July is when the 
	big, 50-90#, kings run.  

    
    What does your weeks' fishing comprise of? 
    
    i.e. can you pick and choose what you want to fish for, or if you are
    going for the Big King Salmon do you fish for them all week? 
    
    Is there any good Flyfishing to be had..........for Silvers, King etc.
    or would spinning/trolling be more successful for these fish?
    
    Where would one find out more on such a trip? I live in Scotland, U.K.
    and would dearly love to visit Alaska in the near future, therefore
    the more I know the better I can plan.
    
    
    John.
         

re: -1                      <<< Note 349.7 by IRNBRU::JVEITCH >>>
                             -< Scotland calling >-

    
>    What does your weeks' fishing comprise of? 

        My week will be on saltwater fishing the coastline along the
        Kenai between Homer and Ninilchik.  Since they have about 18
        hours a daylight, we will fish both high tides for kings.  At
        low tide we will go to deep water in the Cook Inlet and fish
        for barndoor size halibut.  In the spring kings are the main
	sport.  They can be had in the rivers too.  The way I understand
	it, the banks are lined with people and the water is full of 
	boats at this time.

>    i.e. can you pick and choose what you want to fish for, or if you are
>    going for the Big King Salmon do you fish for them all week? 

	The above package is the one I selected.  There are LOTS of
	guides that can offer you just about anything you want from a
	1/2 day deal to a week package on salt or fresh water or both.
	You can get a 1 day flyin package too.  Just have to determine
	what you want and shop for your best deal on it.

>    Is there any good Flyfishing to be had..........for Silvers, King etc.
>    or would spinning/trolling be more successful for these fish?

	The guides I talked to used all the above methods to fish them.
	    
>    Where would one find out more on such a trip? I live in Scotland, U.K.
>    and would dearly love to visit Alaska in the near future, therefore
>    the more I know the better I can plan.

	Write to Alaska Tourism Marketing Council, Dept. 201, PO box 110801,
	Juneau, AK 99811-0801 or call (907)465-2010 and request an Alaskan
	Vacation Planner.  Once your on their list, they will mail you
	stuff every year.  The Vacation Planner has info on lodging, fishing,
	hunting, etc.  It will list motels, guides, attractions, etc.  I
	have been collecting info at sportsmen shows for the last couple of 
	years and talking to the guides there.  Another source of info is
	the Milepost, a published book about Alaska sold in book stores.

	Hope this helps.

	Gordon

    	Sorry it took me so long to get back in.  I'm going to try to hit
    most replys here and I'll probably babble a little bit too.  Please bear
    with me, I promise there's information here that someone can use. 
    There's already some good stuff in here!  Gordon, if you haven't been
    there yet then you've certainly done your homework well!
    
    .0
    	As mentioned by myself and Gordon, get The Milepost!  You can order
    it from:	Vernon Publications Inc.
    		3000 Northup Way, Suite 200
    		Bellevue, WA 98009
    		1-800-726-4707
    		I think it's $16.95 plus postage.
    	If you're driving up to Alaska it will cover routes all the way
    from either Great Falls, MT or Seattle, WA.
    
    	There is also an Alaska Wilderness Milepost that covers nothing but
    jump off points all the stuff in the wilderness that can't be reached
    by road.
    	Another book I'd recommend to you is the Alaska Roadside Salmon
    Anglers Guide.  Gives -great- detail on all Salmon opportunities along
    the roads.  Order from:	Seagrass Publishing
    				3605 Arctic #541
    				Anchorage, AK 99503
    				907-561-7984
    				$9.95 + 2.75 postage
    	This book also lists hazards, describes the different types of
    Salmon, lists regulation for every place in the book, and shows
    recommended tackle requirements for each type.
    	The Alaska State Parks also offer an annual camping pass for their
    parks.  Instead of the usual $6 a night you pay $60 for the year. 
    Write to:	Annual Camping Pass
    		P.O. Box 107001
    		Anchorage, AK 99501-7001
    	Yes!  Bring the ultra-light too!  There are literally thousands of
    lakes and rivers of all sizes that have both Dolly Varden and Grayling
    in them.  Both will take small spinners, Grayling like small dark
    colors.
    	You can get a fishing license and the regulations book (you
    -really- need it!) from:	Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game
    				Box 22526
    				Juneau, AK 99802-5526
    				907-465-4112
    	Prices for non-resident are:  Annual $50, 14 day $30, 3 day $15,
    1 day $10. 
    
    .4
    	Great area you picked Gordon!  If you haven't seen it yet pick up a
    copy of the March Salt Water Sportsman magazine.  They have an article
    on Halibut and Salmon fishing at Deep Creek which is right where you're
    going!  The biggest one they have a picture of in the article is a
    little 140 lber!!!  They give a little tease of scenery also.
    	Your weather should be similar to Anchorage which lists May as avg.
    high of 55 f and avg. low of 38 f.  you may also see a little snow
    fall.
    	As I was going through my info on that area I did find one charter
    captain in Homer who said he doesn't book the 5 "Bad Tide Days" each
    month.  You may want to ask about this.
    	Are you driving from Anchorage or flying?  Send me mail if you want
    more detail of our time on the Kenai.
    	Other info on the Kenai area:
    				Kenai Penninsula Tourism Marketing Council
    				907-283-3335
    
    				Kenai River Sportfisherman's Assoc.
    				907-262-3938
    
    				Kenai Chamber of Commerce 907-283-7989
    
    				Soldotna	"	  907-262-9814
    
    				Homer		"	  907-235-7740
    
    .5
    	Let's all remember that there is a huge variety as far as lodging,
    guides, and personal needs.  For our family of 4 (kids 8-11) our 10 day
    trip cost $5800...  Sound really steep until you realize that the
    included $3000 in airfare.  We rented an RV (we had to wipe our own
    butts ;^}) but we were also on our own schedule.
    	So the airfare is the big hit, the rest of it cost like most other
    vacations.
    
    .7
    	John, you can get info that you'll need right in the UK.
    			US Travel and Tourism Administration
    			Box 1EN
    			London W1A1EN
    			Tel. 071/495-4466
    	Fodor's 1993 Alaska also has a page of info for travelers from the
    UK.
    	Yes!  There is flyfishing!  Every Salmon I caught was on a fly rod
    and they were tough!  I caught Sockeyes (Reds) up to 15-20 lbs. and
    they are a -real- handful!  I also hooked many Cohos (Silvers) but
    never managed to keep one on the line.
    	Be aware of the flyfishing regulations.  They are -very- strict
    about hook gap size and where any lead may be placed on the line.  If
    I remember correctly max gap is 3/8 in. and no weight is allowed within
    18 inches of the fly.  This of course would be fishing Coho flys which
    are streamers on the bottom.
    	As mentioned earlier, there are smaller Trout and Grayling all over
    the place.
    
    Babble:
    	Most of the above pertains to the Kenai area.  If someone wanted to
    go to Alaska for the easiest fishing trip I would highly recommend this
    area.  It is -so- beautiful it just takes your breath away!
    	As much as I like to fish (-need- to fish!) I'd still suggest
    leaving lots of time to look around.  You can easily kill a day just
    getting to the Kenai!  
    
    	So, I'll stop for now...  If -anyone- has any questions that I
    might be able to answer let me know.  If you're bashful use mail.  As
    you can tell, I don't mind talking about it!
    
    						B.C. 

A group of us have been going up every couple of years and outfitting our own 
trips.  We have our own rafts and can usually get to Dillingham/Bethel/King Salmon
/etc. on frequent flyer miles.  We then get a bush pilot to fly us into the back
country where we'll spend 10-15 days floating a river and fishing.  We pick river
systems that have a lake at there headwaters and have a salmon run.

If we time the trip right, we'll get a few reds and maybe a king at the end of 
their spawning season the first couple of days.  Then for the next week we pick
up Dollys/Grayling/Rainbows and Char.  With the last few days spent on fresh 
from the ocean silvers, and more fresh water species.  I should also mention that 
we get Pinks and Chums as well, but those are not what we are after.  

Now to top this off,  its all done with a flyrod.......  The last time we went
it ended up costing about $750 for everything (bush pilot, motel before and after
flying in, food, shipping for rafts, and license).  That's pretty cheap for 2 
weeks, but the responsibilty for everything was on us and we had all the 
equipment that was needed.  It can also be a little unnerving to have Brown Bears
in your camp, having to pack up and move every day, the weather that can 
strike, and knowing that you are 100 miles from the closest "civilization"
(which is a eskimo village with a couple of hundred residence and a phone).

The next trip, I'm planning on taking my son who is 13.  What an eye opener it'll
be for him.  We've done alot of backcountry travel, but this will be to the 
extreme.

Tab

    RE: .10
    
    	I think that's a -great- example of how it can be done on a budget!
    But, as you mentioned, this is real frontier!  You take -no-
    unnecessary risks as it could cost you your life!  Even on some of the
    busier roads ( a -whole lot- closer to civilization than in .10!) you
    can be hours from real medical help!
    
    	The getting there is the hard part.  If you've got a way to afford
    the flight, or the time to do the drive then you can decide how much
    you want to do yourself and how much you want to pay for.
    	Just as an FYI...  From Seattle to Anchorage by road is somewhere
    around 2400 miles...
    					B.C.
    
    ps:  It's nice to see some of the fly fishermen inputting in this file!
         Don't worry, I won't tell them over there! 

    I will be taking my first trip to Alaska on May 2. I will be in 
    Ketchikan, and am interested in fishing while I am there. What am
    I likely to fish for at this time of year and what kind of weather
    can I expect.
    

RE:                     <<< Note 349.12 by IVOSS1::STAHL_LA >>>
                              -< First timer... >-

	I've not been there myself, the info I'm providing is out of
	the Alaska Vacation Planner.  Average temps are 48 degrees with    
	16.5 hours of day light.  I'm not sure about the timing for
	king salmon, you should be able to get a halibut charter about
	anytime.  If you call the Southeast Alaska Tourism Council at
	800-423-0568, they will send you a detailed vacation planner
	for the area.  There will be guides listed with 800 numbers that
	you could contact.  You should see alot of whales that time of year.
	Another number is 800-770-2200 or 3300 to request a 1994 Alaska
	Sportfishing Guide.  Hope this helps.

	Gordon 

    Gordon,
    
    Thank you very much. That really helps me out.
    
    Larry

I think you will be to early for the salmon runs (the first king run is in 
early june).  The trout and grayling will be real hungry.  May and October are 
supposed to be the best months for trophy trout.  Good luck.

Regards,
Dan

two more days.

RE:                      <<< Note 349.17 by SUBPAC::CRONIN >>>
                       -< Getting a little itchey, huh? >-

not me ;^)

    It looks like I will be going to Alaska over fourth of July week (7/2 -
    7/9). I will be flying into Anchorage. I am looking for a one day 
    fresh water fishing trip (I would like to go after large Northern
    pike).  I have ~400 dollars allocated for this and would like to do a
    fly out. Does anyone have any suggestions?
    
    
    
    Greg

	Following is my trip report, hit next/unseen if not interested:



	Arrived in Anchorage via MarkAir at 2:30 PM May 14.  6.5 hours of
	flight time, was glad to get off the plane.  Went to get rental car,
	they were out of compacts.  Got a free upgrade to a mid-size van.
	Things are looking good with this and it turned out that I would need
	a bigger ride for the catch.

	Took the highway south out of town and stopped along Turnagain Arm.
	Locals were lined up along the shore netting "hooligans", smelt.  I
	went down to check it out.  They had 5 gallon buckets full of them.
	Might have insulted someone when I called it bait, but they said
	they were going to eat them.  Drove to Portage Glacier.  That was 
	neat to see up close.  Continued on down the Seward highway to the
	Kenai.  Saw several moose along the road.  Road sign said 247 had
	been hit this year already.  Sure want to give them the right-a-way.
	Stopped along Kenai Lake and the Kenai River at several places.  
	Very pretty water, has a turquoise glow to it from the glacier tilt.
	Got to Kenai and spent the night at a B&B.  Next morning a trip through
	Capt. Cook State Park to see the caribou, moose, eagles, etc there.
			
	Continued south along the Sterling highway.  Saw lots more moose.
	Stopped at the lodge where we were going to be staying and meet everyone
	and stowed our bags in our room.  This lodge was just built this year
	and we were the first guests.  Very nice facilities and they were
	happy to see us.   We then drove down to Homer to let my wife shop.
	Went out on the Homer Spit, the futherest point west you can drive on
	US highways.  That was very interesting.  After some shopping we drove
	back to the lodge, Casa De Kings, had dinner and meet the other 4 
	guests.  We were told we would be fishing 8-12 hours a day.  No one
	complained.

	Monday morning had us launching boats at 5 AM.  The boat we were in
	lost its steering.  Our guide, Skip, tried to steer it via the motors.
	He fought this for a hour or so and had to give up.  In the mean while
	the land crew was getting a new cable for the boat.  We went in and
	they had it replaced in about 2 hours and we were on the water again.
	We went after halibut and caught a few 20 pounders then switched back
	to king salmon.  Soon as my bait was in the water, FISH ON.  This 
	turned out to be about a 25 pounder.  But several long runs, large
	jumps, and tail walks let me know what was in store.  I topped out
	that day with a 37 pounder and my wife, Vickee, a 38 pounder.  

	The rest of the week was hot for the kings.  Vickee and I kept fish 
	in the 35 to 40 pound range and caught and released LOTS of smaller
	ones.  The 25 to 30 pound fish had lots of spunk.  Major air time
	and lots of runs.  We were trolling or mooching with 30 to 40 feet
	of line and when they would hit that short line, hang on.  The bigger
	ones would easily peel off 100 foot of line and go deep on the hit.
	We would fight them back to the boat only to have them peel it off 
	again a couple of more times.  Once they got out to the end of their
	run they would just lay there solid and shake their head.  Some of the
	bigger fish would break the water and what a sight.  We had several
	double hook ups and one triple.  Kept the guides busy.  This is what
	I came here for and was not disappointed.  The largest king caught 
	was 52 pounds, it was an early one of the Kenai River kings.

	We had some rather rough afternoons on the water for the halibut
	fishing.  A couple of afternoons we had to stay off the deep water.
	We still managed to pull up a dozen 45 to 55 pound halibut.  These
	were fun too and would run a couple of times before we could get
	them to the gaff.  The largest one was a 60 pounder.  There were
	lots in the 20 to 30 pound range.

	This is where the mini-van came in handy.  The 270 pounds of salmon
	and halibut steaks and fillets would have sank the Escort.

	Want to tell a little about the guides and lodge too.  The lodge is
	just south of Ninilchick and Deep Creek river.  The lodge is
	brand new.  It is built in the timber about a half mile from the
	beach.  There is a main lodge with dining and lounge areas.  There
	are two guests rooms in the lodge that share a bath.  The inside is
	finished in pine with large open beams.  There are large moose, sheep,
	musk ox, deer, and salmon mounts on the walls.  The kitchen is large
	and well equiped.  We had full breakfasts and dinners every day, some
	days lunch too, other days we had sack lunches on the boats.  There
	was always fresh coffee and snacks.  I'm haven't look at the scales,
	afraid to.  The cook did an excellent job.  There is a guest house that
	has four rooms.  Each room sleeps four and has its own bath.  They 
	have a fish processing building that has several freezers.  They
	have a hand that does odd jobs, drives the boats to the beach, and 
	cleans the fish.  Lester can tell by looking at your fish how much
	it weighs within a pound.  He will cut your fish to how ever you want
	it done.  I had steaks, fillets, and slabs made of mine.  They vaccumn
	pack and freeze.  When you leave they put it in boxes for the trip
	home.

	The quides, Skip, Phil, James, and Steve are tops.  Skip would
	have us catching fish while everyone else around would have their
	fingers up their noses and mouths open.  We would usually stay away
	from the crowds and kicked ass.  A couple of times we motored though
	the other boats that were not catching anything and get doubles on.
	When we were catching fish and others weren't and started to crowd in
	we would move to were these boats came from and catch fish.  These
	guys were excellent guides.  The one triple we had was a major tangle,
	James strightened that mess out and landed three 40 pounders for us.
	The boats are 20 to 24 foot high bows that have a center console and 
	seat 4 fishermen.  Each has 2 35 or 40 hp outboards.  The guides would
	position the boats so you could fight your fish without fuss.  We were
	still fishing when the other outfitters were done for the day.  I plan
	to go back with my son in a couple of years and will be staying here
	again.  I recommend Casa De Kings to anyone who wants a quality fishing
	adventure.  Contact them at 800-764-3376 if interested for yourself.

Salmon & Halibut steaks for all FISHING-V2 noters!!!

Congratulations.  You've got me jealous!

    Wow!!!
    
    It sounds like your are ruined for local fishing.  I can taste that
    salmon grilled out with lemon juice and butter right now!!!
    
    
    
    
    Wess

This note has been dead too long!  I am a new reader of this conference and
thought I'd try to awaken this thread.

I took my family to Anchorage last year (and am planning one for next year too).
 We went for 3 1/2 weeks (5 for next year).  My sister and her family, as well
as my mother and step-father live in Anchorage.  My brother in law is a
commercial fisherman out of Whitter in Prince Willam Sound and they also own an
acre of land right on the Kenai, in Soldotna.

My first trip up, we spent a full week on the Kenai at the end of July.  The
king fishing was off a bit (according to my sister), but I sure got lucky!  The
limit for kings in the kenai is 2 fish per season.  Durring the week we were
there we drifted for kings about 5 times a day with 4 people each trip (I went
on all the drifts!).  For our efforts our total hit was 4 fish.  The great part
is that 3 of them were mine!

My first hit dragged us along 2 miles of the kenai over 45 minutes and netted me
a 53 lbs male.  My second was a 25 lbs female that we released (this was only
the second day and when you reach your limit you can no longer fish from a boat.
 Fishing from a boat after your limit is prima-facia evidence of illegal taking
of king salmon.  I still wanted to fish so I released her).  After that my
brother-in-law nailed a 35 pounder and things slowed way down (these 3 fish were
over a 3 day period.)  Durring the last drift of our last day at the camp I
nailed another one!  This one only took about 10 minutes to land but it was for
a 45 lbs female.  

I had frozen the 53 pounder whole, after field dressing it, but decided to clean
and butcher the 45 pounder.  I was able to recover about 4 pounds of eggs which
my brother-in-law helped me preserve to bring home.  What a unique gift *that*
made for my local fishing friends!

Along with the kings we brought in our limit of red salmon (fly fishing) every
day (8-12 lbs range per fish) and spent our off time canning and smoking most of
that.  This allowed me to bring home about 50 lbs of canned and smoked salmon in
addition to the 2 kings.

In a later note I'll detail our trip adventure that began with 4 round trip
tickets from NYC to Anchorage at $250 per ticket...

more later,
jim