Sick of watching...

[traveler]

a thread from Sept. on top of this forum! Thats just not right:)

Hoping to make a short AK trip in 2011...keep costs low and replenish the canned salmon supply.

My experience is with the Kenai Pen., any thoughts on planning a (mostly) reds specific trip? I assume we'd at least stick one butt charter in as well, but reds would be the top priority.

With no input, I'm leaning towards late June at the Russian. We've been there/done that, so no issues with the fishery...just fishing for other ideas to score a couple coolers of red fillets for moderate fuss/cost, while still getting an Alaskan fix till I can plan/afford a "proper" AK trip:)

[fishkid]

check my post

[Down Deep]

It is pretty hard to beat the July Sockeye run for cheap, easy fishing. The last couple years we bypassed the cost of the Ferry and walked in from the Park just upstream. There's Boardwalk all the way to where the Russian hits the Kenia. We usually fish the Russian and walk toward the Kenia, Up on the Russian you need to keep your eyes open for bears. Although most of them are blacks.

[traveler]

DD; yup, thats what we've always done. I've never taken the ferry actually. We usually try to camp a couple nights at the campground;

Probably what we'll end up doing again...darn:)

The bad thing is the price of flying a few boxes of fish home! It's still way cheaper (and better) than (gasp!) buying fish, but it sure was nice when it was 40 bucks for a 70 lb. box!

(that would be pre-1996 for all you young-uns:)

[Down Deep]

We have been flying Sun Country for the last 5 years. It is a lot cheaper than flying out of Duluth on Delta even if we pay for some gas and 12 to 14 days of parking at the park&flys. Prepaid luggage fees are only $25 per bag/box. Last year we up graded to first-class for $150 and applied our pre-paid luggage to the cost. Flew round trip in FC with plenty of leg room, comfortable seats, great movie, good food and no additional luggage fees either way. They even act like they want you to enjoy the trip.

Awhile back Sherpa posted some Alaskan photos of his fishing trip. I think they were fishing north of Anchorage. It looked like he had a great trip.

[Sherpa]

I have never used sun country but I like the sound of it. It would be nice to spend the extra money on first class instead of baggage fees. Hard to beat the July sockeye run guys. Down Deep is right, I did have a great trip. I'll post some pics again. They may be repeats from before.

Here I am at Hidden Creek with a nice red. One of my favorite spots in AK.

Here are some waterfalls just outside of Whittier. All of the white dots are birds.

A little closer up to the cliffs.

My dad and I landed right next to the Kustatan to do some fishing.

[Sherpa]

A sea otter in Seldovia.

Homer, AK

Landing at Jim Creek.

Kenai reds fillin up the boat.

This guy was happily sleeping until we showed up.

Hood lake in Anchorage with the moon tucking itself behind the mountains.

[jwmiller33]

I will also note that the King run in June is some absolutely amazing fishing! if you time your trip right, you can hit both the reds and the kings run

[traveler]

Sherpa...access to your own plane...ya can't get any better than that!

JW; our firast trip to AK in 96 was in June, since then we've gone in July. Where were you doing the bulk of your June king fishing?

[fishkid]

here are a couple sexy sea duck pics

hen harliquin tried to kill the drake and miss got in the way.

first sea duck ever. drake black scoter. while buddy was fixing the engin.

the days kill. all 3 types of scoters. drake barrows goldeneye. and hen harliquins and golden eyes

lookin over a few decoys

[jwmiller33]

Sherpa...access to your own plane...ya can't get any better than that!

JW; our firast trip to AK in 96 was in June, since then we've gone in July. Where were you doing the bulk of your June king fishing?

we have primarily been on the Little Susitna, the Deshka and the Talkeetna

[SalmonJedi]

Hey there Traveler - long time no talk... Glad to hear you are heading back up to AK this year! I love June in AK because of the mixed opportunities of Reds and Kings on the KP. My last two trips to AK have been in June (06 and 08). Both were great trips and ran into days of phenomenal king and red fishing on each. Although the King runs in general though have me a bit spooked right now and I'd be a bit reluctant to book a trip targeting the Kings alone. The Anchor River is one of my favorite self-guided king fisheries up there and it was heavily restricted or closed the last two years. I can't speak for the non-KP areas of AK but if you do want to attempt to double dip KP kings and Russian reds you want to target probably the 2nd week in June. Catch the tail end of the king peak on many of the KP streams and Front half of the Red run. Also keep in mind that many of the smaller king drainages are Weekend only. Shoot me an email sometime (let me know if you need my address) and I can give you more specifics on what I've done in case its of interest.

As for me my AK trip this year - trying something totally different. Hitting Ketchikan AK in late july. Self-guided Saltwater fishing out of nicely rigged 20ft boats. Silvers and Halibut will be the primary targets. Can't wait! The bar has been set pretty high by all the great KP fishing over the years - hope I don't regret it!

[traveler]

Hey SJ...shoot me an email@ [email protected] ready to talk AK:) I've thought about a trip to SE but always come back to being "stuck" in one spot as a drawback! I'd be interested to see how you decided on the when and where of your upcoming trip?

It's been 6 long years for me now...got into saltwater fishing in Mexico and thats been my thing for awhile...crazy fun of a different sort, but I'm ithching to get back to AK!

[Tripleplay]

I've been up and fished kings and butts I think 4 times now although it has been a few years. We have always fished the Willow in June for the kings and we have managed to hit the Little Su for a day maybe a couple of times with the nephews boat and "guiding". Big advantage of the Willow is fishing from shore at a state sponsored campground, etc.. Cuts down on the cost especially if you are renting a camper already. Disadvantage is it definitely gets crowded which is why we tend to fish from midnight to 4-5AM then call it quits for a nap and breakfast and then back at it from mid-afternoon until the next day starts!

[jwmiller33]

gotta love the midnight summer sun of Alaska. there is nothing else in the world like Alaska in the summer. I'm counting the days 'til I go back

[jwmiller33]

Rodbldr,

There is very similar data available on the Alaska Department of Fish & Game HSOforum, including weir counts for a lot of rivers for several different species. Some of the rivers data even goes back to the early 90s. It is a great tool to use for planning a trip, but for trips like these, you usually have to plan a few months out, and you can never predict 100% accuracy the peak of the runs. It will always be somewhat of a guessing game

[Rodbldr4fun]

Jake, you're right. It is a [PoorWordUsage] shoot to a certain degree, but the charts give us an idea of their timing. Its the same to go to Canada too and have it rain for 5 days straight. Still, its worth it each time. Love those Reds!