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Do-It-Yourself Fishing Trips to Alaska |
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By Larry Tullis (Larry is a noted author who guides locally and in Alaska. This article was originally published in Utah Outdoors magazine.)
Some friends know I like to do wilderness floats in Alaska and asked if they could tag along. That's all I needed for encouragement, and we planned a float on the Ongivinuk and Togiak rivers in late summer of 2000. I had never been to the Togiak system, in southwestern Alaska above Bristol Bay, but it came highly recommended. The floatplane air taxi operators up there are great sources of information about which floats to try in their areas. They drop people off at all the good spots, often get reports back from happy or disappointed anglers at the designated pick-up spots, and usually keep track of where the salmon runs are happening. They can even take you to another spot at the last minute if your chosen float is not fishing well. I chose to begin at the Ongivinuk because I wanted a quiet float on a small, less-used river. The floatplane (based in Dillingham) dropped the four of us off on the headwater lake after a spectacular flight through the Wood River/Tikchik Lakes area. It's always nerve-racking when you see the plane taxi away from your wilderness put-in spot and you know civilization is a couple hundred miles away. You hope you brought everything you need, but it's too late to turn back now anyway, so the adventure begins. The drone of the retreating plane dies off and you're left with the quietude of your thoughts and the wind. We unpack the travel duffels, get everything set up and organized and decide where to camp for the first night. The kickboats we use are specially designed, lightweight, durable boats made for this kind of trip. Just any old kickboat won't do. You must have one that can handle all your gear and any rough whitewater you encounter and still be lightweight and compact for airline travel and possible portages. All your gear should be top quality, because you're risking your safety, not just your comfort, with poor quality stuff. Your tent should be freestanding and able to withstand wind and driving rain. Quality waders and rain gear are a must, along with good insect repellent. On this trip we are in no rush to get downriver, even though we got to the lake a day late due to bad flying weather. We set up camp near the lake outlet as we watch a sow grizzly and three cubs forage on the nearby hillside. Fishing is slow on the lake outlet, except for spawned-out sockeye salmon, so I go out on the lake with kickboat and fins and soon find a concentration of Arctic char feeding around some bright red spawning sockeye salmon in a small spring-fed bay. It's like bonefishing, except for the cool weather. The fish are cruising everywhere on a shallow shoal in one to three feet of water. They are feeding on salmon eggs but hit the infamous Egg-Sucking Leech quite well. In addition, we catch some salmon mixed in with the char. I sleep remarkably well despite the spawning salmon splashing around all night and a nearby disturbance that sounds like bears walking by. We had hidden the food away from camp in bear-resistant containers and sealed trash bags so they would not be tempted to cruise through camp at night. Camping in bear country is not difficult, you just need to keep a clean camp and cook and store food away from camp. I fish downstream, catch a few nice big Arctic grayling and see another grizzly only 100 feet away. It sees me and flees into the hills. I like scaredy-bears more than aggressive ones. We all carry firearms, just in case, but in more than 1,000 bear encounters in Alaskan backcountry (over the years of guiding and doing my own trips), I've seldom drawn my gun and never used it. The bears are well fed by late summer and are not a real threat to anglers because they recognize humans as a super-predator, one to be avoided. Bear attacks seldom or never occur in wilderness, but rather mostly around towns, garbage dumps and rural areas where bears habitually feed on human trash and other available food, developing nasty habits that bring them in close proximity with humans. In wilderness, just keep clean of food smells, make noise when walking through brush so you don't come up on a sleeping bear, and try not to set up camp on a bear trail. Getting on the river Finally, we begin the float. It's small water here, and we often need to stand up and pull the boats through ankle-deep water, which is why this stream is seldom floated in rafts. But every turn of the stream brings a new and beautiful mountain vista. It's peaceful and invigorating. A sense of adventure pervades. Tiny streams rush into this small river, adding to the volume and making floating easier. We start seeing rising fish and pull over to fish in a beautiful run that probably had not been fished all year - no footprints in the sand except those of our neighbor the bear. The grayling are huge, one to four pounds, and are smashing the green drake mayflies that are hatching. They pounce on our Royal Wulffs, Parachute Adams and Paradrakes like kittens on a yarn toy. It's a blast on a 5-weight fly rod. We move on and fish several more great grayling holes. Then, as suddenly as the hatch began, it ends. We camp on meadow-like tundra if it's level, or on gravel bars. Dinner is a nice batch of freeze-dried chili mac or turkey tetrazini. Breakfasts are usually oatmeal and dried fruit or freeze-dried eggs. Lunches are simply gorp, beef jerky and nutrient bars so we don't have to stop and pull out the cook gear. Eat any fresh steaks, chicken or eggs the first day so you don't tempt the bears to join you for a late snack. Filter the water because even in the backcountry, giardia can be a problem. Keep water or juice handy throughout the day and keep well-hydrated to avoid headaches, backaches and other problems. Numerous mountains beckon us to explore and climb, and we hike up a couple of the smaller ones. The views are spectacular, and the hillsides are loaded with blueberries, bearberries and many other edibles. We load up on the berry feast and the scenery and take a nap in the sun before continuing on. While floating through a long hole, I suddenly see silver and rose streaks that identify fresh silver salmon. We pull over and two of us hook up immediately, but both lose the salmon. Several Dolly Varden are caught, but the salmon are spooked and won't bite again. As we float, we continue to see small pods of silvers, but they are migrating and don't seem too interested in feeding. We need to get to some good resting water in the sloughs along their migration routes. Soon we come up to a pod of rolling fish in a backwater. The first cast produces a big bright female silver salmon of about 17 pounds. A half-dozen others are soon caught, and their wild antics rip up our flies and put deep bends in our 8-weight rods. We're excited because the silver salmon fishing should continue to get better as we move downstream. Every backwater is now filled with silvers, and we race each other to the next spots to hook the first few fish, which are usually very aggressive until they get spooked. They are all in the 8- to 20-pound range. The stream, which started out half the size of the Provo River, continues to get bigger and is now almost as big as the Green River. The map and GPS unit show that we'll soon reach the Togiak River. Camp is made at the confluence, and we catch numerous silver salmon and Dolly Varden. We still have several days before the float plane is scheduled to pick us up at the mouth of another river downstream, so we leisurely float down this huge river, fishing anyplace we find concentrations of fish and camping where side streams come into the main river. There are a few motorboats here from lodges and some native peoples heading upstream for the moose hunt, but it is still very much wilderness. A guide we talk to complains about low salmon numbers this year, but we can't complain about all the salmon we've caught so far. Camp is made near a unique backwater area that is as big as a mountain lake. It turns out to be full of silvers and char. The grilled salmon cooked over an open fire just before dark is delicious. Another bear walks by but keeps his distance. Probably smelled our salmon feast but is afraid to come close. The next day we reach our takeout spot. I'm reluctant to have the trip end, but I have one more day to camp, explore the Pungokepuk River where we camp, catch a few more silvers and see one more bear before we pack up and the Grumman Goose picks us up. Another successful trip to a beautiful part of the world. If you go I've tried to describe my trip, and include information I think is important for those who may want to do a wilderness trip themselves - to Alaska or elsewhere - but this information is by no means complete. Read everything you can find, talk to experts, and preferably bring an experienced wilderness traveler along. Preparation is the biggest factor in making a remote float a success. Make sure you get a reliable description of the river from others who have been there. The floatplane operators that service the area and the float may be described in one of several books on Alaska float trips, or on the Internet. Take along detailed USGS maps and know how to use a compass and GPS unit. Choose your gear carefully. Your kickboat must be rated for the type of whitewater you can expect (class I to II rivers are normal, but some rivers have class III to V rapids). Consult an expert on kickboats to determine which model you need for safe multi-day floats and airline travel. Have oars, or a kayak paddle for propulsion, plus fins for fishing from the kickboat. Also have a quality pump, repair/patch kit, safety flotation vest and tie-down straps. Practice overnighters on the Green River or elsewhere with all your gear before you attempt Alaska on your own. Wal-Mart tents won't do in an Alaskan gale. Take a warm sleeping bag with synthetic insulation, because wet down is useless but synthetics will still insulate when damp. Better yet, keep everything dry in waterproof dry bags lined with plastic trash bags. Airlines won't allow you to carry stove fuel or bear pepper spray canisters, so plan on picking them up at your jump-off town before getting on the floatplane. Don't rely on fires for cooking, because some areas don't have any dry wood. If you take a firearm, it must be in a locked case and in a separate check-in bag than the ammo. It must also be declared when checking in at the airline's desk. Airlines have weight restrictions on bags, usually 60 to 70 pounds each, but some are as low as 44 pounds, so find out before you go. Airlines may bump your overweight luggage even if you pay extra for it. Packing lightweight without leaving necessities at home is an art. Forget the Dutch ovens, cast-iron skillet, boom box, folding furniture, kitchen sink and anything else that might be considered a luxury. Assemble your equipment at home and reject anything that is too heavy, too bulky, little used or of poor quality. Take quality, lightweight, multi-use gear that works well and is useful on a daily basis. Avoid cotton clothing, and bring synthetics and wool for best performance in damp conditions. Prepare for wet, windy conditions, but hope for the best. Try kickboating a wilderness river sometime - it's the most adventure you can have sitting in a river. |
I've
always been a big fan of "do-it-yourself" fishing trips, partly because
I can't often afford lodge and guide fees and partly because the adventure
possible on self-contained trips is limitless. Go where you want, when
you want and, once you have the equipment, it's a pretty cheap way to
explore and fish in style. Getting into backpacking many years ago let
me enjoy many remote mountain areas where fishing was great. When I got
into kickboating I realized that remote river floats are easy in a similar
manner, because I use the same backpacking gear but carry it on the water,
on the back of my boat instead of my back. Even if you start from scratch
and have to buy all your gear plus a kickboat and air fare, it's still
much cheaper than going to an Alaskan lodge (most now cost $3,000-$6,000
a week plus airfare). Then every subsequent trip is a bargain. Don't get
me wrong, I love to go to lodges. But given the choice of one lodge trip
every few years or several do-it-myself floats in a year, and I'll take
the latter.Home - Fishing - National Parks - ATV - Photography - Other Topics - Recreational Property
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