Alaskan Adventures Issue #5 Spring 2022

Alaskan Adventures Issue #04 SPRING 2021

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Spring 2022

MERIDIANFLYREELS.COM

Early Season Hot Pike Action

When you think of Alaska, I’m sure your thinking of big snow peaked mountains, coastal beaches, whales, grizzly bears and salmon. Yes, that is pretty much the iconic vision of Alaska however the further you look the more that picture begins to broaden. The entire state can be divided up into roughly six regions and all of them offer something different and unique.

The area of focus for Alaskan Adventures Lodge is known as the western region. Western Alaska can be easily described as quite simply “the Alaskan Bush”. Although western Alaska does have mountains it’s probably mostly covered in tundra and thick bush.

A lot of the rivers of Western Alaska have thick dense vegetation surrounding them. The rivers around Alaskan Adventures lodge are big, slow and hold probably the largest variety of native fish in the State.

One of the largest, most plentiful and most aggressive is the Northern Pike. Pike around Alaskan Adventures Lodge can be so aggressive that we have actually caught 30” Pike with 20” Jack King Salmon in their throats. Thought the season we have seen all five Pacific Salmon Species in the throats of Pike. If that doesn’t describe how aggressive these Pike can be, we don’t know what does.

Fishing for Pike can be nothing short of EPIC! If you like a lot of in your face top water explosive action, then June and July is the time you want to come to the lodge. It’s at this time that the waters around the lodge start to warm and when that happens Pike put on the feed bag. Spring or early summer is when there is a LOT of bait in the water for Pike. Everything from baby ducks to Lamprey over 24” and it’s also at this time that last year’s fry begins to make there way down river to the ocean.

Our absolute favorite way to fish for pike is anything top-water. It’s not uncommon for a pike to grab a lure or fly a dozen times before finally getting hooked. It’s also not uncommon to see pike actually fighting each other for the fly or lure. We have even had days where just fishing for grabs with no hooks on the offering was more fun than actually hooking and landing fish. I know that sound crazy but sometimes just getting the fish to attach is actually more fun than fishing the fish. Trust me you’ll want to try it.

With the fishing this epic we expect guests to land 30-50 Pike a day per person with a hand full of them being over 40” each day and have shots at fish in the 50” range. We expect guests to be absolutely tired at the end of the day.

We expect after dinner guests to retire to the porch for a drink while watching moose come to the river for a drink while recharging batteries to be ready for the next day full of action on the water.

Alaska is the largest state in the union and with that being said has the most to offer for someone wishing to explore. From the far north slope where tundra expands as far as the eye can see to the rain forest in the southeast. Almost everywhere you look it’s something different. I get asked often…. “I want to see Alaska so where do I start”. My answer is always the same and that is… Make a yearly trip for many years because you’ll never see it all in two weeks.

Alaskan Adventures however will be able to share with you what is referred to as Western Alaska Bush Country. We also happen to have a rare find in the world of fishing. This rare find can only be found in five drainages of the north.

The Kuskokwim river system is the southernmost system you can find these fish and Alaskan Adventures Lodge is situated on some of the best runs in the state.

The rare find I’m speaking of is known as a Sheefish. What is a Sheefish you ask? Well, they are also called the Tarpon of the North. So that should give you some indication as to what they might look like. To also better describe one, it’s almost as if when the good Lord was making fish, he had a lot of leftover parts from different fish and rolled them together and made this fish we call today a Sheefish. Sheefish have the big bucket mouth of a Tarpon, the silver scales of a striper, an adipose fin, and the ability to be anadromous. All in all, they are a unique fish well-deserving of a look at once hooked and released to fight another day.

Sheefish On the Holitna

When the word Alaska comes to mind, I’m sure you are immediately thinking about snowcapped mountains, big brown bears catching salmon in the river, bald eagles, and even wales in the ocean. Although these are iconic images of Alaska if you were to look even deeper Alaska has a lot more to offer to the adventurous spirit.

Alaskan Adventures targets these fish with both fly and conventional tackle.

Sheefish are very aggressive eaters and absolutely gorge themselves on salmon fry, baby lamprey, and almost anything ells up to four inches they can get their lips on. The runs we fish in the summer are pretty deep. From 10’-40’ of water is how deep most of the runs are that we target Sheefish on. In a lot of cases, they hover at about the 10’ depth mark and wait for bait to come down the river over them and then they shoot to the surface, engulf their prey and continue to the surface where they fly out of the water like Free Willie. It’s actually an awesome sight to see.

Our flies are tied mostly to imitate small salmon fry and baby lamprey. We also fish a floating line with a 10’ section of T-11 or T-14 to really get down in the water column. We typically float a hole and blind cast and strip until we spot a boil.

Once a boil is spotted, we cast to it, strip, and hang on. Often Sheefish will ignore the boat only to grab a fly right next to it as your pulling your fly out of the water.

If we are gear fishing our favorite offering is Berkley Power Swim Baits fished on a 3/oz head or 1/2 oz jig head. Often, we will jig right off the bottom as we drift down the run. Keeping our baits just off the bottom right in front of the faces of some of the larger Sheefish. When vertical jigging like this the strike is very light but when the hook is set often the rod doubles over with no give to a 15-20 lb Sheefish. If we aren’t vertical jigging, we are either blind casting or casting to boils with a nice steady retrieve on the swim-bait. Sheefish are usually looking up ready to ambush so hang on.

The fight of a Sheefish is really different.

Some run to the bottom and try to bulldog it out while a few jump out of the water like a bass or tarpon. Honestly, you never know what you’re going to get with the fight of a Sheefish but at the end of the day, they are big, averaging from 10-15 lbs and can reach 40-50 lbs. Last year’s big fish at the lodge were in the 25 lb range.

So yes, In Alaska there is an absolute abundance of things to see and do. If you’re a fisherman Alaskan Adventures will show you some hidden gems of the Alaskan Bush from the comforts of jet boats while staying at a nice lodge and eating some really great meals.

Drop us a line for more info!

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SEVEN DAYS ALL-INCLUSIVE

$5,500 PP INCLUDES FLIGHT, LODGING, MEALS, GUIDES

NOW TAKING RESERVATIONS

JUNE/JULY 2022 BOOK YOUR TRIP

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PACKING FOR YOUR ALASKAN ADVENTURE So, you’ve finally decided to pull the trigger on that adventure of a lifetime!

Now comes the big decisions…. what do I bring?

Before any adventure begins, be sure to completely and fully understand what the trip entails. Are you going to an all-inclusive lodge where they supply all the gear? Or are you heading out to a 100-mile float trip in the remote wilderness where you will rely on what you pack in? Each type of trip will be unique in terms of what will be required to bring, however, all trips will have the same similarities in regards to your packing list.

What I’m about to share with you is based on my personal experience as a lodge owner and a guide as well as seeing what it is my guests do and don’t pack when coming on an adventure.

The biggest recommendation I can provide to everyone on any trip is to keep it light. Most often when flying into the remote bush you’re flying on a small plane that will have a weight restriction. For example, a Cessna 206 most often has a 900 lb weight limit.

That means that everything going into that flying tin can must come to a total weight of 900 lbs (that includes people) That’s why it’s very important to understand the guidelines your lodge or outfitter sets forth for you.

When they say you have a 50-pound luggage limit, you should adhere to it to prevent having to leave any gear behind.

Now that we have laid out the groundwork for flight restrictions let’s talk a little about gear. As previously mentioned, any trip taken remotely, you’ll want to pack as light as possible.

That includes your everyday clothing.

Alaska can get cold and wet even in the summer months. The two biggest items I highly recommend investing in is a good warm outer layer (think down jacket or coat) and a solid, reliable set of rain-gear. Over the years of guiding and being in the outdoors I recommend nothing but Gortex.

It will provide the best protection against the wet weather and it allows a breathable membrane to control your body temperature. I would recommend investing in a quality set of jacket and pants that allows you to have a layering system. While it can get expensive, you absolutely get what you pay for and you don’t want to regret going the frugal route when the weather rolls in.

Another item of key importance if you’re going to be fishing or hunting in Alaska, is your waders. My go-to is my Simms wader pants. As a guide, I pretty much live in mine. Wader pants are easy on and easy off and rarely do you ever wade deeper than your waist.

If you’re hunting and you happen to get muddy or blood on your pants, it allows for an easy clean up as well as an easy way to take that mess off of you at the end of the day. The biggest advantage about wader pants is that they will be lighter and more packable than full chested waders. This will leave room for other essential items.

Now that we have discussed most of the essential outer layers, let’s discuss what goes on underneath. When thinking about the layers that go against your skin, one thing to remember is that “cotton kills”. Yes, we typically put cotton on daily and although it’s comfortable it can turn into a miserable or even dangerous situation in the remote wilderness of Alaska if you are wet, cold and far from camp.

When cotton gets wet it ceases to insulate you because all the air pockets in the fabric will fill with moisture. When you start to perspire in cotton, anything touching your skin will absorb your sweat like a sponge.

Wet cotton will not wick away moisture from your skin and will actively be working on cooling your body. This can become deadly when the air temperature is cooler than your body temperature.

So, leave the cotton at home. We highly recommend clothing layers that are comprised of wool or wool blends.

When wool gets wet it still has insulation properties and will hold heat. Wool is also quicker to dry when wet. The absolute best wool product I have used is Alpaca wool. I have put Alpaca wool to the test for years in frozen rivers and hunting ducks in negative temperatures. Hands down, this has been the warmest wool I have come across. The only downside to Alpaca is the cost as it can be quite pricey but merino wool is a great alternative. Wool pants, long underwear and shirts are an absolute must when battling the cold and elements.

So now we have all this expensive gear…what do we put it in? Over the years I have also been able to personally test out luggage in the backcountry and have been able to witness guests with different styles and types of luggage as well. So far by a landslide the absolute best has been PVC welded roll-top dry bags.

You can get these with built-in backpack straps as well.

A couple years ago I was guiding a couple moose hunters 100 miles upriver from our lodge. During the 8-hour boat ride it rained the entire time. It was one of those rains that no matter what you did to stay dry you were still getting wet to some degree.

The clients had a name brand zippered duffel made for rough weather. I had a large PVC welded roll-top duffel that had my sleeping bag and my personal clothing in it.

When we made it to camp 8 hours later my gear was dry as a bone and my clients gear was slightly damp. It seems the zipper area has a slight disadvantage. As a result, all of our gear is now protected by PVC roll-top duffel's or backpacks.

This is just a short list of what I consider to be the “must haves” when packing for any Alaskan Adventure.

Can you do it differently? Yes. What I just went over has been my experience both as a guide and as someone that has spent a LOT of time in the outdoors on adventures just like the one I hope you get to have. One thing that I should stress is to do your research to understand what type of environment you will be getting yourself into. This way you can properly prepare for it. And as always hope for the best but prepare for the worst!

ALASKAN-ADVENTURES.com

ALASKAN ADVENTURES

Life is truly an adventure

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ALASKAN ADVENTURES 110 Meadow Lane Bellvue, Colorado, USA – 80512 (303) 881-0200 (765) 398-0439 dan@alaskanadventures.net