Fishing In The Great Outdoors Of Alaska

I can mark this one off my list!
Left Montana on the 5th of August for a long anticipated trip to Alaska for a week full of fishing. We checked into the "Gone Fishing Lodge" on the 6th after a 3 hour drive from the Anchorage airport. (The speed limit is 55 mph for most of the way) Although a little slow, the scenery was spectacular.
After getting settled in our room, we got a good nights sleep and were ready for our first trip,  at 6 a.m., so it was up at 4 a.m. for the drive to Anchor Point where we met our guide Charlie. The trip to the fishing spot took about 2 hours over some pretty rough water, this was somewhat unkind to a few of the guests. Once we starting fishing, the bites came fast and furious.
No matter what you hooked, or it's weight, whether it was halibut, dog fish or rays, hauling up a 30 pound fish from 260 feet is quite an experience.
With our limit caught, we headed to shore where Charlie filleted all the halibut in short order. With filets in the box, it was back to the lodge to get ready for the next days trip.

The next day we found ourselves on a '1956 float plane, heading across Kenai Bay for a morning of Silver Salmon fishing. We had a bad feeling as we landed noticing a boat that was mostly under water. We all pitched in, and together got it bailed out and set out to the mouth of a slew into the Kenai River. The bait we used were salmon eggs tied to the hook with an "egg loop hook", an interesting knot to say the least. We used a variety of set-ups, some used bobbers others used bottom rigs with sinkers. While it took a little while to get used to the way Silver Salmon strike, very light for a large fish, once hooked, the excitement was ON. Silver salmon are very strong fish that make very fast runs. At about 11:30 it was time to get back to the plane for our return to the lodge with our legal limit of outstanding "Silvers".

On day 3, we were taken on a float trip, fishing for Silvers again. This trip was, if you will, a lazy trip. Sit in the boat in our spot and wait for the fish. This trip yielded a catch just one short of the limit for the group.








The next morning we departed to Seward Bay for a combination of different fish to be caught, Silver Salmon, Rock Fish, Halibut and Cod. The boat ride lasted about two hours,with the view of the bay, mountains. We saw different types of Whales and other land and water animals, it didn't seem like a long trip with so much to see.

Once at the fishing ground, it was not long before we had our limit of Salmon, Cod and Halibut, we started the trek back to Seward. The return trip was filled with sunshine, which made the scenery even more beautiful.

The last day took us to the Kenai River Canyon for a fly fishing float trip, although this trip was strictly "catch and release" it did not diminish the thrill of hooking a Pink or King Salmon or Dollyvardin, their strength and shear explosiveness was amazing.Our trip ended with us being worn out and well satisfied - all the while a thought tickling in the back of our mind --- I'll be back