# I'm going to Alaska!!!!



## Brandaman (Dec 5, 2004)

I'm a hospitality business major at MSU and there was an ad for an internship on a bulletin board for jobs on our website for Alaska's Last Frontier. It is a small fishing lodge on the Kenai River offering trips for salmon, rainbow trout, and I believe they trek out to the ocean for hallibut. After a few e-mails, a phone interview, and some anxious waiting I found out I got the job! They're paying my round-trip airfare, hooking me up with the bottom floor of one of their lodges (several bedrooms, tv, pool table, etc.), and paying me to basically help them run the place. Housekeeping stuff, lawnmowing/landscaping, running errands for the guide, taking the fish into the processor, stuff like that. I couldn't be more excited! If there's an open spot on the boat I get to go out fishing, hallibut trip for employees...should be fun. 

Now that I'm done bragging, I'm wondering what I should do while I'm out there. They said I can take time off to explore Alaska and I'll only be working 25-30 hours a week. I get paid a certain amount each day and am paid to be on call rather than by the hour. Apparently, I'll have a ton of free time. So, if anyone knows the area and could give me some ideas on what to do on my first trip to Alaska, that'd be excellent. Anything i should be sure to bring with me? What are the must-see/must-do things? I plan on doing plenty of fishing, taking lots of pictures/videos, and enjoying the beauty. Boy am I pumped...


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## CaptBB (Nov 1, 2005)

Um, fishing, fishing, fishing, and then go fishing some more.
There isnt much to do in that area but fish.


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## FlyFishingAttorney (Dec 26, 2007)

Where on the Kenai is the lodge? The upper Kenai above Skilak Lake is trophy rainbow water and is near the Russian River which is the best river in the Kenai Peninsula, in my opinion. If your lodge is on the upper Kenai, their halibut charters are likely run out of Seward which is a great, great town.

The lower Kenai (basically, Soldotna and below) is known for its amazing king salmon run. The world's largest king of 89 lbs was caught there.

If you're going to be near Soldotna, there are some great rivers within a couple of hours - the Ninilichik, Deep Creek, the Anchor River are all great, great rivers. I am guessing they run their halibut charters out of Ninilchik or Homer if the lodge is on the lower Kenai. The Salty Dog saloon is not to be missed in Homer.

Depending where u are on the Kenai, I'd highly recommend going up and seeing Denali Ntn'l Park. It's 3 to 4 hours from Anchorage. You can park at the park gate and take a bus for miles into the park. It's the best place to see a wolf in AK. 

Being on a boat all the time, u will likely see Grizzly on the Kenai.

Must haves:
1. Quality digital camera
2. light, breathable rain gear including rain pants
3. lots and lots of DEET based bug dope. You wont be able to wear bug netting while u are working and the flies and skeeters in AK from May till mid August are insane
4. If you're staying on teh upper Kenai, it's flies only (if I recall correctly) you'll need lots and lots of egg patterns, flesh patterns and, before teh salmon hit teh river, the rainbows in the rivers LOVE size 12 hares ear type patterns
5. Bring lots to read - days are 22 hours long much of the summer and
if you don't have cable or a dish, the TV will not work

My favorite town in road accessible AK is called Talkeetna. Cool, funky little town with a couple of fun bars. It's also within 45 minutes of 5 terrific salmon rivers, including my favorite - Montana Creek. There is a great access near Talkeetna.

There's a whole laundry list of other stuff. If I was staying a whole summer,
I'd go to Wal Mart and buy a bunch of their cheap cargo pants (they're like $15 a pair) as jeans don't wear as well, especially under rain gear, and the cotton dries quicker

Oh yeah - a good, quality fleece jacket will be one of your best friends. It still gets cold at night and u can have summer days in the high 50's.

Enjoy. Good for you and you will have the time of your life! 

What I did before my 1st Alaskan trip was go to Borders and read all the guide books. The Gazeteer is a must. The Roadside Traveller is OK. There is a book called "Alaska Roadside Fishing" by a guy named Gunnar Pederson or Peterson. It's OK but not very reliable.

Oh yeah. While in downtown Anchorage - Humpy's Bar is an absolute must! Awesome beer selection and great food.

Things to avoid - any town where there is a cruise ship. Cruise ships are bad - too many people in town at the same time. Seward gets em once a week or so. I don't think they stop in Homer. Cruise ship people are often crabby old coots and they can be a bummer.

If u have an SUV, u can try to drive across the Denali Highway. There are some amazing grayling streams just 15 miles in BUT the road is a treacherous 4 hours of crater sized potholes and some fairly high passes for a gravel road. They've been talking about paving it for 40 years and, if princess Cruise Lines gets their way, it will be ruined by making it convenient to RVs/Buses.

If you are a bird hunter and will be there in bird season, i'd buy a cheap shotgun and go partridge hunting along the Denali Highway. there are many spots where you literally trip over the coveys of pats.

Oh yeah - all streams are public access and you can camp anywhere alongside a public road. 99% of teh land is public.

Alaska is a real life dream. Good for you!


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## Brandaman (Dec 5, 2004)

Yeah the place is in Soldotna so I believe they pretty much do all king salmon fishing. I'm hoping to learn a lot as its owned by a younger couple, the husband does the guiding and the wife takes care of the lodge. So, I'll be the only other employee. I'll get to learn a lot about running a small business like that as well as a lot about fishing. Should be one of the most memorable summers of my life.


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## Huntnut (Jan 21, 2000)

What is the name of the lodge??


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## FREELANDFLYFISHER (Jun 25, 2003)

I was there last July and basically in all the same places mentioned. I would also recommend white water rafting down 6 mile canyon. The fishing was awsome and I wish I would have fished the upper Kenai with my five weight, the problem was the guys I was with were not fly fisherman and didn't have the equipment and the one guy we went with which had been there 6 years running didn't have any knowledge to do so. Homer was a great place to walk around and have a few beers in the salty dog (add a dollar you will see what I mean). I will be back in a year or two. I would also recommend the trip out to Katmai national park and see the grizzlies. Awsome. Everything is beautiful pretty much. Seward is a neat little town and I would check it out. We did two overnight halibut trips out of there with a guy who left Saginaw and is now a guide out there, pretty cool. You will not see enough of it when you leave it is a huge state and you will want to see more after you leave, at least I do. We put 1200 miles on our RV in 14 days and never left the Kenai penninsula other than leaving Anchorage and returning. If you have any question PM me and I will help if I can. The Fred Meyer store in Soldatna will become your favorite store, at least I was very impressed with it but it doesn't take much to impress me.


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## shawnfire (Nov 5, 2005)

watch out for bears:lol:


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## Brandaman (Dec 5, 2004)

The name of the lodge is Alaska's Last Frontier. The owners seem like really nice people. I'll be sure to check out those places you guys have mentioned so far. I believe the lodge is located right by a state park but I could be mistaken. 

My main concern at this point is watching my Tigers! They've got satellite out there so either I pay for the extra innings package or I take a broadband card out there and get the online thing. The Tigers will probably be the only thing that'll keep me inside for any length of time. 

What kind of fishing gear should I take? I've never done any kind of salmon fishing so I'll be starting from scratch. Getting stocked up on a broke college student's budget could be tough but hopefully I can piece some stuff together over the next couple months. I guess this would be a good question to send on to my employers as they'll be experts on fishing the area.

Hey Huntnut, I see you're from the area. Do you know anything about this lodge? Any other tips on what I should bring/do/expect? 

I'm curious what this salty dog saloon is all about....


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## JasonCarp (May 9, 2005)

I graduated in '93 from the MSU Hospitality program, and am glad to see another hotelier and restauranteur doing something fun with this business. I was so focused on corporate restaurants at the time, I didn't explore options like this, and wish I would have. 

Enjoy this time to explore and learn exactly what you want to do. The rewards of having this degree will pay you back several times in the business world. Most of my classmates that graduated with this degree are no longer in this line of work, myself included. However, I still use my hospitality based education to further my Real Estate and Construction Career. 

Have fun it sounds like a great time! Sparty ON!

Jason


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Lucky Dog. I wish I had thought of spending a Summer, or two, in Alaska, when I was younger. I mostly partied a lot - although I have always enjoyed the out of doors in Michigan, in all seasons. I recommend that you get a 6 weight flyrod, with matching reel and line. That will help you fish for the smaller fish you will find, there. Also, you should get some heavy spinning tackle - I would recommend a couple spinning rods and reliable reels. I would recommend rods in the 9 - 10 foot length, which can handle 20# line. You will probably be able to borrow gear from the lodge owner some of the time.


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## fisheyejack (Mar 6, 2007)

Thanks alot just when my alaska craving was neatly tucked away behind mi steelhead ya go and bring it up, I'll be day dreaming all day. As mentioned the Russian is a must fish and explore but it is crowded, my favoite spot is at the mouth where it's clear water mixes with the milky kenai. The upper Kenai nearSkilak Lk has huge native rainbow's 6-10# with some line breakers twice that. The kenai where the Funny R. meets is a sockeye arm sore it's private with a land owners right of way{pm me} for details. Here is a website with valuable info. it's easy to predict good fishing days, they literally count fish daily, this site has good links, www.alaskadons.com a couple more to check out www.sf.adfg.ak.us/statewide/regulation and also www.AlaskaDepartmentofFishandGameHomePage Also the Dept of Agriculture Department of Interior has remote cabins to rent very cheap and in cool places. If you can check out S.E. Alaska that is my favorite everything is packed between snowcapped mountains and the Pacific Ocean, glaciers to whales. Not to knock north of Anchorage interior it's just so far between destinations ya end up driving instead of doing. The cruise ships in the S.E are a double edge they dump tons of money into small towns thus your line of business is extremely BOOMING, ie. Sitka....good luck.....where the heck was I?


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## Huntnut (Jan 21, 2000)

Brandaman,

Alaska's gonna suck you in for good...say bye bye Michigan >

I'll pm ya some stuff...

AL


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## stelmon (Sep 21, 2000)

Have Fun, Dude! 

I spent last summer in Alaska, guiding on the Kenai, and it was a great time!

Listen to what Huntnut has to say. He knows a great deal about the area you'll be in! If I have some time, i'll send ya some pics to get you thinking Alaska and nothing else. :lol:


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## Sparky23 (Aug 15, 2007)

Im in the same boat and will be in Bethel AK, from June-Oct. Cant wait life long dream coming true. Congrats.


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

Besides the DDET and good headnet take lots of bucks-1's, 5's etc. I just heard that the new 5 will be out today.


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## Fishslayer5789 (Mar 1, 2007)

There are 2 must do's in Alaska in terms of fishing and that is 1.) Halibut fishing out of Homer and 2.) Salmon fishing on the Russian River. If you fish the Russian, go during the first 2 weeks in August and there are so many reds and coho that you can't see the bottom of the river. You cannot cast out and reel back in without catching a salmon. Alaska is the trip of a lifetime and was by far the best vacation I have ever taken and I definately will go back the next opportunity I get. We saw moose along the roads and Grizzly Bears standing in the Russian River less than 100 yards from us when we were fishing for salmon. Watching a bear catching salmon is a ton of fun. Bring a video camera and a digital camera because it is a great spot for making a wholemade fishing video because you catch a salmon every cast. Good luck! This will be a trip of a lifetime!!!


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## KI Jim (Apr 14, 2004)

WOW! Sounds like a great opportunity-I am jealous.

Jim


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## Gone Fishing (Jul 31, 2001)

Have fun, we were there last August and spent a good portion of our trip in Soldotna (Orca Lodge). Here's a few pics to get your blood flowing:

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=197028
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=197927


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## bclinton (Jan 31, 2005)

also when u get to anchorage. make sure u go to the alaskin bush co. !!!! great place for a drink!!!


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## StiffNeckRob (Apr 19, 2007)

First off congrats on the summer of a lifetime!

I spent 16 days on a solo trip last Aug/Sept...and in a tent every night of it. I second that Talkeetna is one of the greatest towns on earth, and I've been to 46 states and quite a few countries. Get there and check it out. If the Bar B Que stand is still there get some and get the potatoe salad.

Watch for bears on the Russian, the campground and staging area was closed last year in late Aug as I made my way down to Homer.

Like everyone said, good boots, good rain gear and Deet will be essential. 

I drove a total of 3200 miles on every major Highway while being camped for 6 nights on the river in the bush 15 miles up from Talkneetna. If you can, get a car and get out...explore...see the glaciers and the waterfalls. Stay out of the cities (Anchorage and Fairbanks) since you can see all that at home. Go see the McCarthy area....check out the fish wheels on the Copper River.....check out the post office in Chicken....get out and do everything that you can. Go to the Salty Dog in Homer....then walk out back and watch how fast the guys/girls at Buttwhackers clean them fish.

If you have time explore...you can always read at home or when you only have a hour to kill.

If you need any tips or ideas shoot me a PM. I have a ton of pics and a 12" stack of brochures that I came home with....in addition to the 300 lbs of Silvers, Reds, Halibut, Lincod and Rockfish. 

Have an awesome time!


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## duckman#1 (Sep 22, 2002)

Congrats on the job! I envy you  You ask what to do up there? Uhmm, well, since Gold is almost $1,000 a Ounce, I would suggest panning some creeks up there, catch a few fish for lunch and pan some more....
Remember to send me a few ounces of that yellow stuff!!:evil:


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## Brandaman (Dec 5, 2004)

Thanks for all the replies so far. They will be providing me with a car to use both for work and for pleasure but I'll probably try not to put tons of mileage on their vehicle. Can you guys think of any specific fishing gear I should look to snatch up?

I've never touched a fly rod and don't think I'll quite be able to master that in time. So do people just use a regular spinning rod/reel? If so, what size/type of rod should I look to get and what type of lures would work for wading/bank fishing? I'll probably buy a pair of waders and try to go to the Russian River for trout and salmon as well as the Kenai. I've got several rods that I use for fishing lakes around here, just medium action 6 1/2-7 foot rods, would that work? Some of these fish I'm seeing pictures of look like I'd need a crane to get them out of there. 

I'll be out there from June 1st to August 16th so if anyone knows of any other places I should check out and what times would be best that'd be helpful. It looks like there is a lot of "combat fishing" taking place around there so if you guys know of some place I might have some luck without fighting the crowds that'd be awesome. 

Thanks for all the comments so far guys. I spend quite a bit of time watching youtube videos of people reeling in all kinds of amazing fish out there and can't wait to fly out!


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## Fishslayer5789 (Mar 1, 2007)

Get a 10" medium action St. Croix or Traverse Bay Steelie rod and a Shimano CX 4000 reel and 10 lb Trilene XL and you should be all set. Those salmon fought like crazy and the 10lb will slow them down. The TBS rod and the reel I just mentioned was the combo I used and it is by far the most fun combo i have for salmon and steelhead. I caught an 8lb steelie on it Sunday as a matter of fact lol. I probably caught 30 salmon while I was in Alaska and I only fished for them I think twice. That combo is under $120 and will last you forever if you take care of it. I promise it will not let you down there!!! Quality gear like that is a must.


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