Alaska in Late August

[Scott Stankus]

I'm going to be in Alaska for a week at the end of August, beginning of September. It's not a fishing trip, but I will get a day of fishing - August 31st. I'm looking at guiding services that are reasonably close to Anchorage. The ones I'm considering are:

D-Ray Personal Guide Service

Alaska's Angling Addiction

Great Alaska International Adventures

Does anyone have any experience with any of them? If not, can anyone reccommend other outfits to check out?

Thanks!

--Scott

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[Daniel Davala]

Great time to be up there Scott, should be plenty of Silvers around.  I highly recommend you also consider Mike Adams who operates Alaskan Angling Adventures out of Cooper Landing - about 2-hours from Anchorage.  He and I met on a long plane ride to Anchorage a year or so ago and we have kept in touch ever since. 

While I haven't personally fished with him (yet), his positive attitude, enthusiasm, and love of sharing his world with others made it clear to me he is in it for the right reasons.  I have referred several people to him that have a day or so to burn while in Anchorage.  Look him up, and tell him I said hey if you do connect.  I'll look forward to a trip report for sure!

Oh, and definitely drop in to The Moose's Tooth for awesome BEER and Pizza.  John and I make it a point to do so every time we pass through Anchorage, it's the best!

Dan Davala

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[Scott Stankus]

Thanks, Dan - I'll definitely check him out!

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"There are 10 types of people in this world, those who know binary, and those who don't"

[Yambag Nelson]

I have spent a good amount of time in Alaska, including living there for a summer.  My recommendation would be to make the ~2hr drive and go fish the Kenai.  The streams around anchorage are just ok and not worth hiring a guide to fish.  You can easily do them as a DIY.  I can give you suggestions if you want if you are looking to do that. 

 

The kenai should be fishing very well at that time. While there will be silvers around, the trout fishing will be close to its peak.  In my opinion, that is really the highlight but if you have never been you will definitely want to do some salmon fishing.  Silvers are a blast.   It is also a DIY able river, but if you only have a day, getting a guide is a good idea.  I only fished with a guide for one day there and he was a drunk so I would not recommend him, but there are plenty to chose from.  My one recommendation would be to be very clear as to what you are looking for.  Bead fishing is the standard with many of the guides and you may or may not be ok with that.  It is something I wish I would have discussed before hiring the guide I did.  Another thing to ask about would be whether they fish the upper or middle kenai.  The experience is different (upper you will get out and wade fish but the fish are generally smaller, middle is primarily out of the boat but there are huge (10+# rainbows) in that section).  Just be careful and find someone reputable, there are a lot of BAD guides up there. 

 

Really jealous, I was back there in May steelhead fishing for a couple days and really need to go back and spend a good week or two. 

[Scott Stankus]

Thanks for all the info - can you confirm that the guide you got was NOT from one of the outfits I mentioned (or the one that Dan mentioned!)?

--Scott

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[Danny Barrett]

I can second the Kenai.  I was up there in 2010 in July with an outfit from Soldotna.  Even for it being July when I was there, many 8-9lb rainbows were found on big flesh flies. It was an all day float that started at the tail end of one of the lakes on the middle Kenai river.  I forget the guides name, but I booked him through a B and B.  I wont list it here, not sure if that's allowed.  Never caught a silver, heard they are a blast tho. 

Thanks,

Dan Barrett

dannyt...@gmail.com

(540)-222-8064

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[Scott Stankus]

Awesome - that sounds like a great trip! Thanks, Danny!

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[Yambag Nelson]

It was not.  Don't know about the others you mentioned.

On Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at 12:06:49 PM UTC-4, Scott S wrote:

Thanks for all the info - can you confirm that the guide you got was NOT from one of the outfits I mentioned (or the one that Dan mentioned!)?

--Scott

On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 11:52 AM, Yambag Nelson <northstreet...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have spent a good amount of time in Alaska, including living there for a summer.  My recommendation would be to make the ~2hr drive and go fish the Kenai.  The streams around anchorage are just ok and not worth hiring a guide to fish.  You can easily do them as a DIY.  I can give you suggestions if you want if you are looking to do that. 

 

The kenai should be fishing very well at that time. While there will be silvers around, the trout fishing will be close to its peak.  In my opinion, that is really the highlight but if you have never been you will definitely want to do some salmon fishing.  Silvers are a blast.   It is also a DIY able river, but if you only have a day, getting a guide is a good idea.  I only fished with a guide for one day there and he was a drunk so I would not recommend him, but there are plenty to chose from.  My one recommendation would be to be very clear as to what you are looking for.  Bead fishing is the standard with many of the guides and you may or may not be ok with that.  It is something I wish I would have discussed before hiring the guide I did.  Another thing to ask about would be whether they fish the upper or middle kenai.  The experience is different (upper you will get out and wade fish but the fish are generally smaller, middle is primarily out of the boat but there are huge (10+# rainbows) in that section).  Just be careful and find someone reputable, there are a lot of BAD guides up there. 

 

Really jealous, I was back there in May steelhead fishing for a couple days and really need to go back and spend a good week or two. 

 

On Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at 10:05:50 AM UTC-4, Scott S wrote:

I'm going to be in Alaska for a week at the end of August, beginning of September. It's not a fishing trip, but I will get a day of fishing - August 31st. I'm looking at guiding services that are reasonably close to Anchorage. The ones I'm considering are:

D-Ray Personal Guide Service

Alaska's Angling Addiction

Great Alaska International Adventures

Does anyone have any experience with any of them? If not, can anyone reccommend other outfits to check out?

Thanks!

--Scott

================================================

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[TomG]

Fished the Kasilof, Kenai and Russian Rivers on the Kenai Penisula last June. I used, and can recommend, Kenai Cache Outfitter at Cooper Landing. Ask for either Fly Bob or Travis as I fished with both of them and can vouch for them as good guides.

[Scott Stankus]

Great! Thanks, Tom!

On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 1:35 PM, TomG <tguf...@verizon.net> wrote:

Fished the Kasilof, Kenai and Russian Rivers on the Kenai Penisula last June.  I used, and can recommend, Kenai Cache Outfitter at Cooper Landing.  Ask for either Fly Bob or Travis as I fished with both of them and can vouch for them as good guides.

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[Nick Bowler]

I lived in Alaska for 18 months, and I have been back a couple of times.  If I was there in August for just one day I would do one of three things:

1.  Drive north towards Denali and fish either the Little Willow or Montana creeks.  Both have parking areas where the road crosses the river.  For both, you can walk and fish down the river.  For both the confluence with the Susitna river is the hot spot, that will have silvers milling around in the clear water.  Both rivers will be crowded.  (General fishing tip -- fish where the people are, as that's where the bears aren't).  You will be fishing for silver salmon, but will have older chum salmon and pink salmon available.  If you fish the creeks there will be trout and dolly varden available.

2.  Drive south to the Kenai and do a float of the Kenai from Coopers Landing.  You can do a 1/2 day float and then do option 3.  You will be fishing beads for trout and dolly varden unless you ask to do otherwise.

3.  Drive south to the Kenai, and stop at Quartz Creek.  Fish for dolly varden behind the spawning sockeye salmon.  Then drive to the Russian River and fish for trout and dolly varden.  There may be some early silvers or late sockeyes you can cast too as well.  The trout fishing in the Russian River can be spectacular.  The fish aren't huge -- but you can catch 2lb football rainbows until your arms drop off, once you figure out the technique (the rainbows will be in the fast water where you think no fish would be.  Use egg patterns, nymphs, and flesh flies)

Options 1 and 3 don't require a guide.

[Yambag Nelson]

These are good suggestions, but I am curious if you fished quartz in september.  It was my experience that while there were tons of fish there in july to mid august, the fish disapeared in both quartz and crescent by september.  They were absolutely loaded with fish in early august.

Not that you don't need to watch for them everywhere, but watch for bears on the russian.  That is the only place i got remotely close to a grizzly.  It was too busy catching salmon to bother with me, but a guy got his face ripped off a couple days before i was there.  

[Nick Bowler]

My birthday is September 15.  While in Alaska my kids were small (2 years old), and my birthday present was a day to go fishing, with no kid duties!  On a glorious day in Mid September I hit the quartz, and had fantastic fishing for dolly varden (drifting egg patterns behind big old sockeyes).  I then continued on to the Russian to hit a spurt of fresh silver salmon.  I.e., there are tons of fish in quartz in September - if anything I think it is better than August!  

Personally, I think we are solving the wrong problem.  The real answer is that Scott S must get a few more days fishing -- he is there at prime time!

[Scott Stankus]

Thanks for all the info, Nick! Per Dan's suggestion, I booked a trip through Mike Adams with Alaskan Angling Adventures out of Cooper's Landing. We'll be floating the upper Kenai. 

But with all the options you provided, I'm now thinking of taking my own gear to do some other DIY fishing while I'm there! 

Thanks!

--Scott

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[Aaron O]

Scott. Well if you need anyone to help carry your fishing gear in Alaska, let me know. I will find a way to drag myself away from "wonderful" work and suffer in beautiful Alaska just to help out a forum member. 😉

[Scott Stankus]

Thanks, Aaron - so generous of you! Is there a "supermarket convention" in Alaska that week?

--Scott

On Fri, Jun 26, 2015 at 8:44 AM, Aaron O <osh...@gmail.com> wrote:

Scott. Well if you need anyone to help carry your fishing gear in Alaska,  let me know.  I will find a way to drag myself away from "wonderful" work and suffer in beautiful Alaska just to help out a forum member. 😉

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[Aaron O]

They may be a discussion on farmed vs fresh salmon that I need to attend. 😃

[Aaron O]

[Scott Stankus]

Ha! Nice!

The boat holds 4 anglers, and there's still room!

--Scott

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 27, 2015, at 1:48 AM, Aaron O <osh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> They may be a discussion on farmed vs fresh salmon that I need to attend. 😃
>

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