# Tax refund = fly fishing alaska!



## a (Oct 2, 2007)

Looking for suggestions on destinations for fly fishing in Alaska. Ive never caught most of those fish, and Steelhead tops the list. Im thinking july, august or september.


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## sureicanfish (Sep 30, 2007)

no idea where to go but i'll pay for some salmon shipped to me in dry ice! lol. sounds like an amazing trip wherever you go, take pictures!!


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## wtbfishin (Dec 2, 2011)

I went about 7 years back now, and was not FFing but I'm pretty sure for most of the Salmon fishing (Kings, Silver) July would be the month early August all those BIG trout follow them eating eggs. I was there in late August and the Salmon were about done that year. We caught Halibut, Ling Cod, Red Snapper different fish than here way out in the Pacific 400' water :thumbdown:, and some Pink Salmon at a river's mouth.

There was a young man on hear from Alaska, something like AlaskaDan he Fly Fished he knows just what U need to know.


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## 60hertz (Oct 1, 2007)

Any of these: http://www.orvis.com/s/alaska-fly-fishing-trips-orvis-endorsed-lodges-guides/1105


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## Boboe (Feb 4, 2013)

Hey fellas. I've guided in SW Alaska for 11 years now. I can fill your ear with information as long as you want.

Salmon runs vary by location. As you're going fly fishing, you'll be fishing primarily in rivers (not lakes or the salt), and the runs are region and river-specific. 

Steelhead, which you say is your main target, is best done in April in Yakutat, AK. Yakutat is in SE Alaska, and the prime river is the Situk. Unfortunately, fishing in April gives you little else to fish for. Otherwise you can go up in October and fish rivers like the Anchor near Homer, which is on the Kenai Peninsula. You can drive there from Anchorage, but again, when steelheading there isn't much else to fish for. Maybe you'll see a few straggler silvers. 

The first question you need to answer is what is your entire budget? Round trip airfare to Anchorage is going to run you about $700 per person. Take that right out and tell me what you've got left.

You can do a road-system trip, where the fishing can be good, but gets more pressure. You can do a guided, multi-day float trip on a remote river, which is more. You can stay at a remote tent camp, which is more expensive. You can stay at a remote non-fly-out lodge, which is more yet. Or you can stay at a fly-out lodge, which is generally the most expensive route. Tent camp and non-fly-out lodge will give you similar experiences, but generally different levels of comfort. Fly out lodges will generally offer fishing on their home water as well as their fly out program to other waters. I work at a remote fly-out lodge on the Kvichak River.

Here are some huge generalizations: SE Alaska has very short, steep rivers (mountains come right down to the water). The dominant salmon run in SE is pinks. They're the smallest salmon, eat damn near anything, and are easy to catch. SE Also has sea run cutthroat trout and steelhead, along with some rainbows, grayling, dolly varden, and the other salmon runs. SE is mainly pinks and saltwater fishing. There are some brown bears, but mostly black bears.

SW Alaska (where I work) is referred to as Bristol Bay, because that's where the rivers drain. Bristol Bay has large lakes and flatter rivers. Bristol Bay is the sockeye salmon capital of the world. Bristol Bay has more rainbow trout than elsewhere in the state, and they get very big in some drainages. Bristol Bay also has the best king salmon fishing in the state, which is generally in late June through the end of July. There are plenty of silvers, grayling, dollies, etc. There is a lot of flat, open tundra out there. It's pretty in a different way than SE. There are shitloads of brown bears. Silvers run in August and early September. Sockeyes hit the river about July 1, and are on beds by August 1. Late July sees rainbow fishing picking up a lot, and August and September are really good on rainbows. Late September and into October you generally see the largest rainbows--some in excess of 30". Bristol Bay has very few roads, and none that will take you more than a couple miles outside of a town. Essentially everything is accessed by air or water.

South Central Alaska gets the most pressure because it's accessible by road. Everybody knows the Kenai River. It's unfortunately a victim of its own fame and the road system. King salmon fishing has been closed there for the last 3 or 4 years as a result. The river still has good sockeye and silver runs, and some good trout fishing. There is some great saltwater fishing out of Homer and Seward for halibut, lingcod, silvers, etc. Seward has a huge silver run. They hit the rivers in early August I believe. This area has lots of guides, lodges, outfitters etc. It's the cheapest area to fish, mainly due to the roads. There are brown and black bears here in relatively equal numbers.

Arctic (Norton Sound and further north): Very little fishing pressure here. There are huge northern pike, sea run dolly varden that can get really big, grayling, and the incredibly overrated shefish (hyped as "the tarpon of the north). Tarpon jump. Shefish do not. Everybody I know who's caught one said it was boring. 8 weight rod catches a 30 pounder in 5 minutes. Cool picture, but pretty anticlimactic. Midnight Sun catches huge pike with its houseboat operation on the Yukon and Arolik rivers. There are a few chums, silvers, and a couple kings that get this far North, but that's about it for salmon. As you go farther north the runs peter out. There are not a lot of outfitters, lodges, or guides up this way.

Ok, that's a lot of very general info. Now give me specifics on budget (after airfare), and anything else and I'll help you figure out what's right for you.


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## pcola4 (Apr 13, 2009)

I feel like I just read national geographic. Great info! Thanks.


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## Fielro (Jun 4, 2012)

Man, that's a great report


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## a (Oct 2, 2007)

*steelhead*

Great info!....thank you.

what do you think of this place?

http://www.alpenview.com/flyfishste...IAA_04oBRjk9NBbzLoXV-hJLE5EPZ3LdpvxoCmmDw_wcB


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## Boboe (Feb 4, 2013)

Fishing the Ayakulik didn't cross my mind when you mentioned steelhead originally. I knew of it and its runs, but it didn't pop up in my mind. Steelheading there is a late Sept-Nov game. Weather should be cold, with rain and possible snow. It snowed at sea level on October 10th last year, and Sept 30th the previous two years. Back in '09 I was in a t-shirt on Sept 30th. Cold is more likely, but it can be nice if you get a high pressure that comes in and makes for clear days with highs around 50.

I don't know anything about this operation in particular. I've been told by people who've fished the Ayakulik that it's pretty good steelheading (ie you may catch two or three a day). From the photos it looks to be a very bare-bones operation. They've got two craft (one jet boat and one raft) for taking you around the river. My assumption of how they work the system--maybe the jet boat runs a guide and two clients (looks that way from the photo) upriver and drops them with the raft to float. Then the jet boat returns to camp and grabs the other 4 guests and takes them out (the camp handles 6 guests). Generally that means the guide will drop people off at various locations and then come pick them up/move them a little while later. Steelheading, you probably won't all be fishing the same water, so that's how I see the operation working. The raft group will be getting more personal instruction, since they can't drop someone and then run back and get them. Plus, two people can fish a steelhead run. Four is a probably crowded.

The website says it has a "banya" for washing up. In my experience, a banya is a steam room/sauna. There is no mention of a shower or hot water. Not that you'll be sweating on the river, but you should probably clarify that with them. 

Also, find out what the cuisine is. It's probably meatloaf, spagetti, etc (regular tent camp food), but check on that. Find out what "a variety of soft drinks and juices" is. In many cases "juice" means Tang. Been there, done that.

Kodiak is notorious for bad weather, which causes airline problems. Basically, the one end of the runway is the ocean, and the other is a 2500' mountain. Because of that, pilots must be able to see the runway and commit to land from 3.5 miles out in the ocean so if not they have adequate space to go around before hitting the mountain. Often you don't have 3.5 miles of visibility, or the ceiling is below 600' which means you're going around. Some days they get in on the first try, some days they get in after trying a few times, and some times they try a few times and head back to Anchorage. I'd plan on getting into Kodiak a day early and spending the night, just to have a margin of safety. Plan on the same thing on the way out getting back to Anchorage. Just because the float plane can fly low and get you back to Kodiak from the Ayakulik doesn't mean that the plane will get in from Anchorage to take you back. The one time I went to Kodiak pretty much everybody was talking about the times they didn't get in. Luckily the weather was good enough that we made it on the first shot. 

The website states "Eight or more hours of guided fishing each day. Un-guided fishing in the evenings." In early October it's just light enough to wear sunglasses and fly fish by about 8:30. Some rivers fish well even when it's really cold (around freezing or below) in the early morning in the fall. Some don't and it's not worth fishing until 10 or 11 when it warms up. I don't know about the Ayakulik. It'll be pitch black by 7pm. Earlier in the season you'll have that unguided fishing option, but from late September on, it's really not. Once you get done eating supper it's going to be really, really dark.

Ask them how many other anglers you can expect to see on the river in a day. I don't know how much pressure the Ayakulik gets. I don't think it's a whole lot, but I'm not sure.

The price seems in-line with other tent camp operations. Some are higher, some are lower. The higher priced ones are even more in the boonies, which means higher expenses for getting everything (including you) to the lodge.

After re-reading this, it looks like I'm being really tough on this operation. I'm not trying to be. I'm just pointing out POTENTIAL "gotchas." Everything I've heard from those who have fished the Ayakulik was good.

Call these folks up, talk to them, ask them plenty of questions, and get a feel for the people and the operation they run. If they seem like they're painting too pretty of a picture, then that could be a red flag. Ask them what all you need to bring and just as important, what NOT to bring. Do some internet searching for reviews of the camp.

I hope this helps.


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## a (Oct 2, 2007)

Im still undecided,...where would u go? I have a spey rod, and several 9 footers in most weights, .....u certainly have been helpful....thanks


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## Boboe (Feb 4, 2013)

I guide and fly for Alaska Sportsman's Lodge on the Kvichak. I've been there since '08. www.fishasl.com

I'd take an 8 or 9 weight single-handed rod with a floating and sink tip to the Ayakulik, but the best info would come from asking the guys running that outfit what to bring.


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## Boboe (Feb 4, 2013)

I misread your question as "Where DO you go?" as opposed to "Where WOULD you go?" If you've got the budget for it, then the answer doesn't change, although we don't fish steelhead. Our rainbows come out of large lakes like Iliamna and Naknek, are chrome silver with very little pink, and fight super hard. It's just like steelheading except they don't get quite as big. We catch fish over 30", but rainbows 24"-28" are much more common, and you can catch a lot more of them than you would steelhead. 

If your budget is around the $4k mark and you want to fly fish for big rainbows or steelhead, you can look into fishing the Situk River in Yakutat. There's a good bit of info here: http://www.situk.net/lodging.htm

If you've got more dough, look into hitting up the Alaskan Peninsula with Hoodoo Lodge hoodoofishing.net or Sandy River Lodge http://www.aleutianadventures.com/alaska-fishing-lodge/, or of course, come fish with us at Alaska Sportsman's Lodge www.fishasl.com and chase big, chrome rainbows. 

The following fish are rainbows, not steelhead. These are some of the jumbos we occasionally manage to land. Most of the time they get away. They're amazing fish.

30 inch









31.75 inch









29 inch









29.5 inch









28 inch









29 inch









31 inch









And of course there's other stuff to fish for too.


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