[2spey]

Guide books are pretty confusing. I trying to plan a Sept AK steelhead trip. Looking to find some bright fish and swing spey flies. Rainbows, Dollies would be great too. Motels, cabins or a lodge (nothing fancy) would fit my lodging needs. A guided day or two trip I think is all I want. This is a low budget trip.

Anyone with some first hand knowledge, please respond.
:whoa:

 

[MCorder]

I've never spey fished for AK stheelheads. During my time there with a regular setup the most popular fly's was a large egg sucking leach or a large multi collored glow bug. By large glow bug I mean just smaller than a golf ball, very ragged, tied on a salt watter hook, with flash matterial protruding out. A friend of mine brought a few back from a trip to the west end of Kodiak. The guide swore by them.
Where are you flying into, I might be able to point you towards some "experts". Also try AKFlyfishers.com.

 

[2spey]

MCorder

I'm thinking about Kodiak Island, do you know of any rivers and guides on the island.

 

[MCorder]

I've not been there for a couple of years. One of the best sources on Island is Cy's Sporting Goods and Macks Sporting Goods. Both keep up-to-date fly's of whats working and have a pretty good grasp on wich guids are hot. You can call and talk to either of them, just look them up on the web.

 

[interiorak]

Check Alaska Dept Fish and Game web site for more detailed info. Few steelhead on road system on Kodiak Is. Several outstanding flying-in rivers but very weather dependent and costly ... not the best for a quick budget trip. Kenai Peninsula road accessable steelhead rivers can be very crowding at times and too small for classic swinging fly ( except maybe the river mouths.) South coast rivers out of Yakutat have big steelhead in an intimate setting at best ... at worst several recent magazine articles have turned it into a real guide/ float boat circus. Probably best April or October ... and nothing inbetween. Lotsa outstanding steelheading in SE AK on short coastal streams and estuaries for the hard core steelheader with genuine outdoor mileage and an abiding sense of exploration. However, there is no quick fix for any AK steelheading ... unless you are guided and/or independently wealthy. That's my story and i'm sticking to it.

However if you make room to explore and immerse yourself into rythyms of wildplaces AK at her pace ... she will return tenfold in spirit what you invest in time. You won't be sorry. Lady Caroline seems to work year round ... and carry a purple egg sucking leech for when no one else is looking.

PS Salmon, rainbows and dollies are another story ... seems to be at least one behind every boulder in the stream ... don't race the bears to the next honey whole ... remember you're NOT the top of the food chain here.

 

[Barry]

Check your e-mail.........

Barry

 

[juro]

Interiorak -

Great insights, thanks. I hope to get up that way myself one of these days. Sounds like a man could find some really wild places and even wilder steelhead.

 

[surfer1]

Hi
If memory serves, the mag Northwest Flyfishing has run some exposes (sp?) on steelheading in Alaska and always list guides at the end of those articles. Good luck.

 

[pescaphile]

Be careful relying on magazine articles for information! I've seen some of those NW flyfishing articles and exageration would be a mild word for some of what was printed therein! 25 and 30lb steelhead from small island streams? Give me a break! If it sounds too good to be .... (you know the rest).

InteriorAK's advice is accurate and sound. I've spent time astream in all the locales he mentions and can't disagree with or add much to any of it -well,except perhaps that part about the egg-sucking leech.