Fly fishing

[Papaw14]

I have signed up for the fly-out fly fishing excursion out of Juneau. Can anyone tell me about this excursion? I need to know how to dress, shoes, jacket, etc. Any information will be very helpful.

 

Thank you, Paul

[Rock116]

Papaw14 - There are some positive posts I have found but they are a few years old and not very specific to your questions. If you can wait - my father-in-law and I are booked in early June on Fly Out Fly Fishing and can comment after our trip. If it is the same outfit - flyfishingjuneau they have a list of the gear (on their website) they provide.

 

Looks like a fun trip - your cruise is in early July correct?

[Papaw14]

Our trip is July 9 out of Seward. Thanks for the reply. Please post comments on your excursion. I love fly fishing although I only use ultra light rods for pan fish, so this should be an experience.

[Rock116]

I will post when after we return (June 17). My father-in-law loves to fly fish he tries to go out every day - me I've fly fished several times, have gear but little time right now...good luck fishing and have a great cruise. We can't wait! Talk to you later.

[pspercy]

I'd love to do this even tho' it's rather expensive.

 

I'm pretty new to it & my casting is ugly but it's a lot of fun:)

 

Don't know whether to book now or wait & see what the weather will be like - and risk it being sold out.

 

It's these guys: http://www.juneauflyfishing.com/contact_us.html, floatplanes by Ward Air http://www.wardair.com/

 

Send 'em an email with any questions, they'll get back to you pretty quickly.

[Papaw14]

I will post when after we return (June 17). My father-in-law loves to fly fish he tries to go out every day - me I've fly fished several times, have gear but little time right now...good luck fishing and have a great cruise. We can't wait! Talk to you later.

 

Did you take the fly-in flyfishing trip? If you did, please post a report on the excursion. I need to know what to wear, did you tip after the excursion? How much did you tip if you did? How strenuous was the trip, I have had a lung removed and are short of breath after any strenuous activity. What was the snack? What shoes did you wear?

 

Thank you very much for any information you will share.

[Snookum]

My husband and two sons have done this tour on three separate trips to Alaska. It is with the tour company mentioned in the email and they absolutely loved it. There is a bit of a walk but to put it in perspective......my husband the last time was having some chest pressure with a little breathing difficulty. He was about 40lbs over weight so thought that was all it was. Later that year I changed his doctor and we found out there was clogging in his arteries and before we knew it three days later he was having quadruple bypass surgery. My point is that he was able to do this walk to where they fish. It was less than 1/4 mile and guide was not rushing. They were lucky all three times and the weather permited shorts and tee shirts. They took along their rain coats but the tour company provided everything needed, even the waders. Most of them wore sneakes. It was expensive and is even a little more so now but they loved it and are doing it again in 2011 but booking independently with same group. They saw whales, eagles and just missed bear but saw all their droppings. You'll love it.

[pspercy]

Thanks for those remarks Snookum, I've booked & paid, roll on August 29:)

[Rock116]

Papaw14 - sorry for the delay got back a few days ago and just got around to writing this yesterday night.

 

 

We were met dockside at the assigned time (8:45 AM) and our party of six boarded a mini-bus to their headquarters, 20 minutes away at Juneau International Airport. The outfitters had all of the equipment needed – down to extra white tube socks. All I had to bring was outdoor clothing (including hat, gloves, sunglasses, day pack) – but anything related to fly fishing they provided; Cabela waders, 8 wt rods, reels, flys. It took only a few minutes to outfit us, and then we boarded a van to the float plane loading area– 4 in a DeHavilland -Beaver, 2 in a Cessna. Plane ride was great, a little bumpy and pilot provided much needed earplugs. Flew about 35 minutes over Juneau, down the Gastineau(?) Channel to Limestone Creek (?) where we landed, hiked about 50 yards upstream and fished. Our guides Chris and Summers were more than adequate for the six of us. They geared us up and had us casting within minutes. I thought they did a great job balancing time between the clients who wanted more instruction and those who where happy on their own. They kept us grouped together and constantly checked us making suggestions, but it was not annoying or intrusive. We fished for roughly three hours, packed up and flew to Juneau. We were back to the ship sometime after two.

 

I caught four fish (catch and release), 2 dolly varden, 1 cutthroat, 1 somewhat unattractive thing that I promptly forgot its name, but not how it looked. All of these fish were 8-10 inches. One client caught 14 plus fish, but many were quite small, as he said.

 

Would I recommend these guys? Yes I would. They did exactly what they promised and it was an adventure.

 

It is fishing, so the day could be non stop big fish action or hours of quiet water, just luck of the day. But it was certainly worth it to take my 75 year old father-in-law on his first Alaskan fly fishing jaunt, his first float plane ride, see two brown bears (hundreds of yards away) in a spectacular setting. We met four very nice fellow cruisers and it was a nice break from the port stops.

 

 

A worthwhile trip and outfitter. On a side not took the kids Halibut fishing in Homer after the cruise and that was really fun - but a different story!

[pspercy]

Were you really using 8wt rods ?

Seems heavy.

 

How far upstream from saltwater were you ?

 

Glad you got to take F-I-L on a bunch of "firsts" too, great stuff:)

[Rock116]

Now you got me thinking...I'm pretty sure they were 8 wt, but I may be wrong...and that would not be the first time.

 

We were 50 yards or so from the saltwater. Seemed like they fished two spots at that location depending on the wind / tide conditions. I think the other location was closer to the salt water.

 

I may have an aerial photograph of our fishing spot, I'll look tonight.

[Papaw14]

I emailed the service and told them some medical problems I have and they replied that they would take care of me by selecting a place without much walking. I have had a lung removed and also have COPD and emphysema. I emailed back and said I did not want to make other anglers any deterioration of the trip. They replied again and said that their would not be any deterioration of the fishing. I have paid for the trip and am very excited about it. Thank you Rock116 for the nice report.

[Rock116]

Papaw14 -

If you fish at the same spot, they may drop you off yards from where you fish. Due to wind / tide conditions he dropped us off in a little cove and we had to walk. The hike was easy and flat, but in tall grass with some rocks and fallen limbs. My F-I-L did get stuck in the mud briefly, but not a big deal.

Have fun and I’d like to hear you got the big fish that ignored us that day. Look forward to your report.