Dream Trip Ideas

[mpester]

My father and his brother want to take me on a dream fishing trip. I think we are going to consider Costa Rica, Panama or Alaska. Anyone have any suggestions for a resort in any of those areas and what time of year would be good for that area.

[jwmiller33]

My suggestion would be Alaska, but I am biased because that has been my annual trip the last two years. World class salmon fishing (king, silver, red, dog, and pink salmon), dolly varden, arctic char, rainbow trout, steelhead, grayling, halibut, cutthroat trout, just to name a few. Every species of fish you catch up there is world class, meaning you have a chance of catching the biggest one of your life. White water rafting, prestine rivers and streams next to the snow topped mountains, national parks, and the wildlife also make it one heck of a trip.

Here is the link to the thread I made thats very descriptive summary of my 2010 Alaska trip. Enjoy!

My 2010 Alaska Trip

As for a resort, we stayed at several different ones over our 2 years there. We fly into Anchorage and then like to split out time between Wasilla and Soldotna/Seward. When we went to Soldotna, we stayed at the All Alaska Outdoors lodge and it was an awesome place. Right outside of Soldotna and it was on a trout lake and they had canoes for guests to use and go trout fish after a long day of salmon fishing. Talk about an awesome way to unwind for the day. We also ran into Larry Czonka when we were staying at All Alaska Outdoors lodge. Him and his whole crew were staying there for a few days when they were filming a shoot for their show. Pretty cool stuff. I put a few pics of this lodge in the above thread I linked to about my 2010 Alaska trip. Log cabin stucture, all new appliances, several game animals and trophy fish mounted on the walls.

When we go to Wasilla, we spend out time fishing the Little Susitna River and the Deshka depending on what river has the better run going on at the time of our trip as well as the Talkeetna River. We rented a small cabin in the woods fully furnished with all the amenities including a hot tub and grill. We also have rented a RV and camped in the days inbetween Soldotna and Wasilla. It is nice to spread out and not spend all of your time in one place. There is so much to see, it's hard to limit yourself to just one city/area.

[traveler]

I'd go Panama for sure, if it's strictly big fish you're after. TropicStar Lodge has been the cream of the crop there for years, but it's pricey. Check out thier HSOforum (and a couple saltwater fishing boards, BD is always good) for timing. Seems to me fall there is very good.

From what I hear/read, CR has dropped off some in recent years, but still a very cool place, with lots of non-fishing related things to do and see.

Alaska...always my first love:) So many options for trips there.

They would all be great choices...have fun deciding!

[dobiel]

I second Panama. Look into Panama Sportfishing Lodge. It's a little bit cheaper than Tropicstar and has had great reviews. We're planning a trip there in the near future.

[mpester]

Tropic Star is first on the list followed by Panama Sport fishing Lodge and Crocodile Bay Resort in Costa Rica. I love catching sailfish, tuna and dorado but I hate the heat so I may not be able to go to Central America.

As a side note, did you see the Tred Barta story this month in Sport Fishing where his friend landed a huge dorado. They had it weighed at the dock and they said it was 60. Later that night, when they were eating the dorado, they realized that Panama uses the metric system and that was 60 kilos or 132 pounds. The record for a dorado is about 87 pounds so they ate what could have been a new world record!

[5crows]

Geez, lucky you are! I was thinking similar thoughts about a month ago when the snow was flyin horizontal. Started out exotic, then looked around the US.

Gets you to thinking about all the water there is on this planet that you'll never be able to put a line in...

[traveler]

Dang, now that Treds in a wheelchair I can't really call him "turd" anymore...or can I ?

I didn't see that episode, but it's hard to believe he, or anyone who's landed a few big dodos, could possibly mistake a 60 pounder for a 130 pounder!

[theharvester]

may i ask what happened to tred ? hes in a wheelchair?

[mpester]

He had a spinal stroke a year or two ago and I think he has some kind of cancer. I like him and I hate him. I think these two guys were drunk or on something to think that dolphin was only 60 pounds!

The 60 Kilo Dolphin

[JimBuck]

60 kilos is approximately 132 pounds.

[theharvester]

wow treds down! thanks for the info