If you live out of state and are looking to travel to Alaska, there are several reasons why you should go. From a fishing perspective, the fact that Alaska offers what many consider to be the best fishing on the planet, is all the reason you really need.
When planning your trip to Alaska, the key is figuring out what kind of fish you want to catch. If you’re a longtime veteran of fishing in the Last Frontier, then you likely know what you’re looking for. If you’ve never been fishing in Alaska, then there’s a bit of homework to be done.
Checking species run-timings in the area you wish to visit is the first step, as it’s hard to catch your target species if they’re not around. From there it’s just a matter of making travel arrangements, gathering the proper gear or booking with a guide, then preparing to head north.
Alaska is the perfect training ground for anglers. There’s nowhere else in the United States that even comes close to offering anglers what Alaska has. From multiple fish species to a variety of habitats in which to fish them, Alaska has something for everyone.
If you want to try new techniques and new gear, Alaska is the place to do it for the simple reason there are so many fish. Take sockeye salmon and coho salmon for instance, two of the salmonids we specialize in catching here at Rainbow Bend Lodges on the Naknek River and surrounding waters. It’s not uncommon for anglers to fish for these species and catch more salmon in a day than they will catch in an entire season, back home.
Some of the top spinner makers and egg fishermen in the world of salmon fishing spend a lot of time in Alaska. Why? Because salmon abound here in high numbers, whereby allowing much needed testing to be efficiently carried out.
When looking to master a new fishing technique, what better learning ground than in rivers where fish will be caught? If wanting to learn the art of float fishing with jigs for steelhead, head to Alaska. If looking to learn how to drift, chug, strip and swing poppers for salmon, head to Alaska. If wanting to catch rainbow trout measure in pounds, not ounce, on a fly rod, head to Alaska.
There’s no substitute for actually catching fish when trying to learn something new, and one of these rewards comes in the form of reading water. In Alaska, often times anglers find themselves in small, shallow streams with good clarity. What better place to actually see the fish? When you are able to observe these fish, either individually or in schools, note where they’re laying, and why. Study the surface flow of the river to see what’s happening on top, and what the fish seem to be doing below. Look at what the bottom structure is like both above and below where the fish are holding, then determine what’s causing the fish to hold where they are.
As you find salmon, trout or steelhead in silted or tannic rivers, evaluate why they are holding there. There are specific conditions that attracted fish to an area, and what appealed to them in Alaskan waters will also appeal to them in the rivers you fish back home.
If looking to test terminal gear, be it new, different color combinations or styles totally off the wall, then Alaska is the place. Want to put a new line to the test, or work with different hook combinations? Head to Alaska. Testing gear in Alaska can save you weeks, maybe months of fruitless effort on your home waters where fish numbers are much lower.
Once you go to Alaska and discover for yourself what a great learning ground it truly is–not to mention how easy it is to get there–you’ll be planning a return trip. The biggest complaint we here from people who’ve fished with us over the years at Rainbow Bend Lodges is they wish they’d have started coming to Alaska sooner in life. What you’ll discover is it’s really not that hard to get to Alaska, making it much more feasible than a once-in-a-lifetime experience many people believe it to be.
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