polepole:
Is anyone thinking about a trip to Alaska this summer? I'll be in Valdez for a trip from July 23-25 plus one day on either side. I've been trying to work out a trip before this date, probably out of Seward. Since I'll already be in AK and I have the time off, I thought I'd take advantage of it and get as much kayak fishing in as I can.
One option is to head to Port Ashton Lodge ... http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/bb/index.php?topic=275.0. Kaycamp from the site works at this lodge.
The other option is to do the Aialik Bay trip as suggested here ... http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/bb/index.php?topic=189.0.
The target is large butts and lings, with some salmon (millions of pinks and some sockeye) thrown in for good measure.
I hope to have the logistics and prices figured out in the next 1-1.5 weeks. Let me know if you're interested in something like this and I'll include you in on the planning. Otherwise, I'll make a decision and open up slots if there are any open. I'm hoping to get 4 people to go. YakontheFly is working on this with me, so there are at least 2 of us already. I'm trying to keep prices under about $1000 plus airfare, which is pretty reasonable for an Alaska experience. I'm secretly hoping to have the costs a bit lower, but that all depends on my power of persuasion and how many people go. ::)
Disclaimer: I'm not organizing this trip (or any trips) as a business and will make no money off of it. I just want to fish my ass off and enjoy the moment with friends. Therefore I take no legal responsibility for anything to do with it. I just wanted to state that as I've been asked this before and wanted to be clear about that.
-Allen
P.S. I'll probably post this exclusively here for the next 3-4 days, then open it up to the guys at NCKA. So if you really are interested let me know soon, so I can plan a spot for you.
fulltimenut:
Man, you're killing me. There's no way I can go, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who might be on the fence. Might this become an annual thingie?
polepole:
--- Quote from: fulltimenut on May 13, 2007, 04:08:24 PM ---. Might this become an annual thingie?
--- End quote ---
If I have my way ... YES!!!
-Allen
polepole:
Man it's been a lot of work trying to figure this one out. Finding yaks has been the hardest part. Finding reasonable water transport has been equally hard. It looks like we've currently thrown everything upside down and our plans are way different than where we started.
Currently leaning on going out of Valdez on a multi-day camping trip. This made getting kayaks easy as I'll already have some up there for the Valdez mothership trip I have planned. Still working on water taxi and camp spot.
Is there anyone at all here possibly thinking of going? It would help me to know as I work through the final planning.
-Allen
polepole:
We're still looking for a hardy sole to join us on this trip, although the trip is a go no matter what. I have YakontheFly from the KFS board joining me on this one. The dates are still a little in flux, but I'm flying into Valdez on July 13th and need to be back to Valdez before the 22nd as I'm leaving on a overnight charter on that date for 3 days. I'm still working with the charter to figure out which days are available/best for us to travel.
The plan is that we are chartering spots on a normal halibut charter with Pacific Mountain Guides to take us out to the edge of the Gulf of Alaska. That's about 70-80 miles from Valdez so it is way out there. I'm sure that other than the natives of long past, we'll be some of the few people that have kayak fished in this area. We will camp on either Hinchinbrook Island or Montague Island, depending on the weather and where the big boat is running for the hot bite. Montague Island is marked on the map I'm attaching. Hinchinbrook is the large island to the NE of Montague. You can see that they separate Prince William Sound from the Gulf of Alaska. If the weather is on the nasty side to cross Prince William Sound, we will need to be flexible to change locations to something closer to port.
The cost is broken down as follows. The charter is $520 each ($260 per day for a normal halibut charter). We're hiring an outfitter for $150 per day total (split between those going). The outfitter will provide camping gear (exact details to be worked out) as well as provide brown bear protection (guns and knowledge). I think (still confirming) that we'll be able to fish the large boat on the last day as it is a normal halibut charter. So if we can fish the big boat, we'll be able to meat fish that day and take home some fish with us. So if we go 6 days and there are 3 of us, the cost will be $820 each. We'll be on Prowler 13's. These will be new yaks that we'll be breaking in before the mothership trip I'm going on after the camping trip.
Just a peek at what we have planned for the mothership trip. This charter is fully booked and we have myself, Allen Bushnell, Howard McKim, and Chris Mautino on it. It will be 3 days and 2 nights overnighting on the big boat. I suppose it's a bit of an Ocean Kayak Fishing Crew get together. We will have mobility with the mothership so this will definitely be a Big Fish Charter. I can't wait to fish this trip with the experience level of those going!!! Just trading stories over a few beers with these guys is worth the price of admission.