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Hello everyone,
I am looking to possibly plan a trip for the end of June into the beginning of July. My dad and I have wanted to make it up there for a while, and it just so happens that I have some open time this summer.
I've been doing some research on the possibilities, but i wanted to post and see if anyone could guide me in a general direction.
First of all, we are not looking for a five star guided trip, where we have to spend 4-5 grand for a few nights stay and a couple days of guided trips. We would like to have a somewhat "do it yourself" sort of trip, but obviously we don't want to go up and have it be a bust, and turn into a waste of time. We also don't want to go into an area where it's "combat" fishing, as we have rivers here that we can enjoy that scenario! I have looked into different options online, including the possibility of staying in forest service cabins for cheap, to spending a little bit more for other amenities available.
As I have read, certain rivers will have chinook available during this time, which we are interested in, does anyone have a suggestion for rivers that will have a king run during that time period I have mentioned that fits into the "do it yourself" criteria? I may be off base, as I don't have a ton of knowledge about the state of Alaska, but any possible information that you could provide, including suggestions that goes against my preferences, I would love to hear!
This is a starting point for possibly planning a trip, and I thank anyone who is willing to help!
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I think you would like warners out of excursion inlet. They give you equipment and advice then you go out on your own everyday. I worked in the inlet. Good fishing but mostly in a calmn inlet of the ocean. There is a river right there but it can be hit or miss.
Windriver
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Nearly all the river fishing on the cheap in Alaska is by definition combat fishing. Places like Lake Creek which can be accessed with plane fare licences and fly inn are accessible for around 1500 bucks. For great Salmon fishing for the same amount of money fish Oregon pay a guide who is ten times better than 90 percent of Alaska guides and fish for four days. Good fishing is available on Kodiak Island on the Karlic for about 3000 for four or five days camping out. There are no secret spots in Alaska and nearly all require fly outs. Alaska salmon fishing for quality fish is usually over by the first of July on the rivers.
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Yeah, a lot of expensive options. The guide we have been in contact with offered a fly in trip for $2500 a person for four days on the nushagak, but then said the bulk of the run does not come in until mid July. We would be liking at 26th of June to around the 4th of July. Again, this is kind of testing the waters so to speak, so thanks for the helpful info.
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Thanks for your reply. Do you rent a boat from them as well? I assume you are trolling in the inlet? I will look into this. Not against fishing the ocean, and open to all options right now.
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I have fished the Nushigak and the quality of the fish were pretty poor and it is almost exclusively boat fishing. The runs have been very poor on many of the rivers. The Alagnak as well is a premier fishery very similar with tons of camps. Most of the mid July fish were unedible.
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My uncle live in wasilla, we took his wife's mini van up to sheep creek and fished from shore and did quite well not too crowded. We caught some nice kings. We just casted large spoons and dragged the bottom, the kings swim up those rivers with their mouth wide open to clean the gills out.
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Almost all of the trips that I have gone on have been to the Kenai Peninsula at the end of July. Usually to try to get in on the last of the Kings (Kenai/Kasilof), the beginning of the silvers (Seward/Kustatan/Big River Lakes) and the reds (Kenai/Kasilof).
From what I can recall, your timeframe of the end of June should be pretty hot in the Ketchikan area for all kinds of salmon, as well as halibut and rock fish. Most of that is going to be in the salt though...
One website that I frequent prior to heading up there is [url "http://www.alaskaoutdoorjournal.com"]www.alaskaoutdoorjournal.com[/url] .
Have fun and good luck!
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If anybody in you party is military or a veteran, you can go out of the mwr in Seward on an all day ocean fishing trip for around $190.00 each and they teach you how to clean your own fish and they have packing equipment for the fish. One 50lb halibut almost pays for the trip.
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contact John Smart, nickname Notso. he owns this company, it's a great experience. I just moved down to Utah a few years back and fished with him a lot, he's a good friend of mine, only problem is that he's a packers fan!!!!!!!! you can't go wrong with Notso, you're going to be in-between runs the end of June but he should be able to find you some salmon, halibut is easy. if you really want the Alaska fishing experience, go to valdez the 3rd week of august, hire an overnight charter, and catch all you want.
[url "http://www.smartcharters.com/"]http://www.smartcharters.com/[/url]
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I did the classic backcountry float trip down the Kanektok River 11 years ago. We used an outfitter but it is possible to do that sort of trip on your own. Honestly, though, I think the costs are still going to be high once you've added up all your air fares and gear rental costs. Dillingham is the major jump-off point for SW Alaska. All manner of gear can be rented and food provisioned for you too. Google Dansrentals.com to give you an idea of cost. Sure hope you know what you're getting yourself into. Guides do a lot more than just row and cook.
I was there July 6-14 and the river was teeming with sockeye, chum and kings. Most of the kings and chums had colored by then but were still excellent sport. We did catch fresh kings in the lower river. Anyhow, we weren't out there to fill up ice chests. Fly out float trips aren't practical for meat harvest. There were so many chrome sockeyes streaming up river that it was child's play to kick one into the shallows and grab it or to dip net it off a shallow riffle. That year the water was low and the runs were huge, I'll never see so many fish crammed into so little water again. We ate our fill. The rainbow and dolly fishing was excellent too. 28" was the best rainbow of the trip.
Roads aren't in abundance in AK so if you want to get away from combat fishing, getting away from road accessed fishing spots is what you need to do. FYI, Vancouver Island, with its close proximity to Seattle and comparatively good road network, is a much easier and cheaper place to self-start a salmon or steelhead fishing trip. You'll save so much on airfare you can splurge on charter boats and guides. That fishery happens much later than your July 4 vacation.
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Thank you everyone for your replys. It sounds like this trip may be better off in a few years when I may have a more flexible schedule. Read a lot about the restrictions on kings in many areas, and read some other forums about the downturn in many drainages as well. Probably would be worth the time and money to wait until I could get a trip in later July into August and really take advantage of some of the other runs. Again, thanks for the information and help, it probably helped me make a wise decision!!
Thanks again
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