[643769]

Dear mambers of Noreast.com

I am a retired military soldier working in Iraq and I will be going to Alaska this coming Summer. I am inquiring on any information you may provide about locations to visit, places to fish (mainly saltwater), what to bring along, and or places to stay. I am bringing my daughter (18yrs old) along to capture all their is to see and I would like to make this trip a memorable one for the both of us. I am already booked to fly on the 29th of June and will stay till the 4th of July. Any and all information will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Frank Viruet
Carthage, New York

 

[soundflyguy]

Hi Frank,
First off, my deepest and sincerest thanks for all that you and the other members of our military have done for this great country of ours, and especially for all of the current sacrifices being made in Iraq. We are proud of all that you have accomplished. Thank you. Now on to Alaska, my favorite fishing destination in the entire world. AK is a huge place, 1/5th the land mass of the entire US so it might just take more than a week to see all the sights I've been going up there regulary, almost annually, since 1989 and have fished all around the state but have only really just dented the surface of possibililties. The thing about Alaska is that the fishing is really just a part of it...the place offers amazing experiences, the grandeur of it all, the wildlife, the wilderness and fishing beyond comparision. But as good as the fishing is it can get a bit tricky based on timing. As with most fishing destinations most species run in seasons. That is especially true of the freshwater scene with species like salmon and dollies and char and even rainbows...there are times of plenty and times of nothing! All of my fishing there has been for the five species of salmon, rainbows, dollies,char and gralying with a flyrod and most all of it has been either inland or on coastal rivers and creeks. Saltwater fishing there is a slightly different scenario. You may want to concentrate your efforts on halibut, king salmon and any number of offshore reef and rock species that will also be in season at that time. Depending on where you go there may also be some opportunmities for early season sockeye salmon and cohos(silvers)...both great eating fish! The other issue with all this is where to go? I am not sure if you have booked a destination yet but I would not advise going it alone the first time up there. Either stay at a lodge-type facility or hire the services of a boat and captain/guide. There are a lot of places and regions of Alaska to visit. The fishing zones are divided into the Southwest(Bristol Bay), AK Peninsula and Kodiak, South Central, South East( Panhandle), Interior and Far North. For your purposes I'd choose either the Southeast, the AK Peninsula area(Dutch Harbor is a great saltwater fishing destination), Kodiak, South Central (Gulf of Alaska). If I were planning my first saltwater trip I think I would concentrate my focus on the Gulf of Alaska/Pacific Ocean side and not the Bering Sea side. The former would offer some of the more interesting tourist opportunities as well. There really is a lot to see and this note could go on for weeks! Places like the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes or Katami or Denali area magnificent to see. If I can help in any other way please feel free to send me a PM and I'll offer any other advice that I can. Stay well...SFG

 

[KILSONG]

Do you fly to Anchorage ?
If you want to catch king salmon and halibut together, I highly recommend to go to Yakutat. It is pretty easy fishing as fishing ground is very short distance and you fish less than 100 ft.