An Invitation to Fish with a Few Locals!

If you plan to be in Southcentral Alaska fishing any time in the near future, you should definitely drop me an email.  As you can tell by my logs, I fish A LOT!   If you want to tag along one day, I'd be more than happy to take you if my schedule allows. Check out my yearly fishing schedule to get an idea of where and what I will be fishing when you come to Alaska.

Having said that here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. I am NOT a guide, nor do I ever want to become a guide.  I am a fisherman.   A good guide will spend 100% effort on helping the client catch fish.  A fisherman spends 100% of their effort in catching a fish themselves.  Note the subtle difference.  A perhaps less subtle distinction is a guide charges $150 or more per day.  Since I am not a guide, I cannot charge anyone...or simply put the trip is free.  The basic idea is that you can tag along and I'll show you as much as I can, but I am there to fish!  There is something to the ol'saying that you get what you pay for!  If you need real attention, I know a lot of good guides.
2. I tend to fish for quality of fish versus quantity of fish.  I'm happier spending 3 days to catch one 50 pound king than catch a 25 pound king three days in a row.   But getting skunked is not my idea of a good time.
3. I prefer salmon fishing to all other fishing.  It'd be tough to talk me into catching even huge 7 pound trout when I can catch tiny 15 pound King Salmon.
4. You cannot be a fair weather fisherman.  We fish in rain, sleet, or snow.   80 degrees or -40 degrees.  We fish!
5. You need to be honest with me about your level of fishing proficiency.  There is no sense taking a guest to a technically difficult place to fish if the skill level isn't there.  There are plenty of other fisheries to go to. 
6. Finally since I have a real job, none of the trips can be guaranteed or promised and cancellations are possible at any time.

I guess in this world, a lot of people wonder why I would take someone fishing for nothing.  Well first of all its never for nothing.  I have developed some great friendships and even learned a trick or two from the guests I have taken out.  The day I run into a bad apple, I'll probably quit.  But in the past several years alone, I have taken dozens of people with only good memories involved.  A more selfish reason is I am trying to write a book on fishing Alaska.  Unfortunately since I have fished Alaska for over 25 years, almost everything comes naturally without too much thought.  I want to be able to explain the techniques and see if a third party can catch any fish with my help.  The suggestions that seem to work best will be used in my book.  Similarly, I can catch fish in hundreds of streams, but some streams are just simply more friendly to fisherman less experienced in Alaska. This will help me find out what streams I can recommend to unguided fisherman.  I also get to use any pictures of the trip!  You can now see my greedy side!

Finally, I HATE combat fishing for the most part.  Still when you do combat fish (and if you fish the road system, you will have no choice), it is much more enjoyable with a group because you can look out for each other and "hold" a good spot.  As an example, at Ship Creek in Anchorage, if you are flipping at low tide in a crowd, I guarantee that you will have twice as high of a chance of hooking up to a fish if you come with us.  It really has nothing to do with our skills as much the fact that the more experienced anglers at the edges of the group can create space and allow the "inside" group to fish much more effectively. Also, even bait fishing at high tide, if everyone goes as an individual, you can only set out maybe 1 line every 10 feet so you aren't crowding another fisherman.  But with a group we can fish every 3 or 4 feet because with a plan, we can vary the distance we cast out and keep from tangling.  It also increases our odds of catching fish because we know where the fish are traveling.  If the lines close to shore are producing then we can adjust for example.

Fishing in Alaska can be easy if you know a trick or two.  We've spent hours and hours trying different techniques and places.  I know a lot of people come to Alaska with high expectations.  Frankly those expectations can be met for the most part with a little bit of prior knowledge.  Check out my logs to see what kind of fishing I will be doing and if that's something you want to do, then drop me a line.   I won't always be able to take you along but I'll make every effort to help you catch fish.   The more people with good experiences in Alaska...the better!  And if I ever do write the book...well, feel free to buy a copy!  Maybe you'll be included! 

So with all of that being said, if you want to go fishing with me, drop me a line!   email me at guidesak@alaska.net

Even if I can't fish with you, make sure you send photos and as much or as little detail as you would like.  I'd be happy to post as many of them as I can on my web page. 

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