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Picture Of The Month



SD2OR with a trophy fall walleye

Topic: Fish on Ice - AK picture report  (Read 4499 times)

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PAL

  • Herring
  • **
  • Date Registered: Jan 2008
  • Posts: 42
I'm just back from an amazing trip up to Alaska with Chris Mautino of Liquid Adventures. Although I've posted about it a few other places, the first two of these photos are so unusual I wanted to share them here - hey Sansano, wish you'd been along for the fun. Fishyaks in the ice? Nice!













At first weather kept us bottled up in Resurrection Bay, so we kicked it at Kayaker's Cove and paddled for silvery goodness. Chris hit the silver button twice for me (nice of him to let me catch both) - my first kayak salmon!

After three days the weather calmed down, so we moved on to Kenai Fjords Natl Park. Dropped in at McMullen, scratched big lings - Chris converted on a 20+. We both lost much larger fish to pulled hooks. Then made the 9 mile pull to Pedersen Glacier and slide in at high tide. Bedded down on that nice soft moss under the pines, then headed up the lagoon the next morning for our ice time. Had to take the rods and reels! Then it was a drift on the moraine outside for flat ones that didn't show, a paddle down to Slate Is for a long-distance eyeball on Aialik, and then all too soon it was over.

What a trip! It'll get the feature treatment in Canoe and Kayak (very soon) and later Western Outdoors. Highly recommended - there may be fishier kayak trips in AK, but none cooler.

Paul
Editor, Kayak Fish Magazine


yessnoo

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: Seabrook, TX
  • Date Registered: Apr 2008
  • Posts: 456
those are some awesome pics...that looks like an awesome trip to go on...but it looks cold lol

one day i might have to do that but it will be a long time
2008 Hobie Mirage Revolution Fish


polepole

  • Administrator
  • Sturgeon
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  • NorthWest Kayak Anglers
  • Location: San Jose, CA :(
  • Date Registered: Apr 2006
  • Posts: 10072
hey Sansano, wish you'd been along for the fun.

Yeah, me too.  How about next year?  Wanna head back up to AK?

BTW, those pics looks familiar.   ;)  Nice part of the world Chris has to up there to play in, huh?  Glad you had an opportunity to enjoy it.  And congrats on the first salmon.

-Allen


coosbayyaker

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • "Hooky Thing"
  • Location: Coos Bay Oregon
  • Date Registered: Oct 2007
  • Posts: 3862
WOW !!  Awesome pics and very nice fishies. Serious Ling envy...
See ya on the water..
Roy



armyjim

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Eagle River, Alaska
  • Date Registered: May 2008
  • Posts: 114
Looks like a nice trip, great pics. Was that picture on this month's Coast magazine from the same trip?
I'm going to make a Seward run next week, weather permitting, I hope there's some Silvers left.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day...
Teach a man to fish and he will sit at his miserable job all day wishing he was fishing...


PAL

  • Herring
  • **
  • Date Registered: Jan 2008
  • Posts: 42
Jim, the silvers were hit and miss in Ressurection during our trip. As I was on the way out, we saw signs a lot of bait was flooding in. Could be getting better. Good luck!
Editor, Kayak Fish Magazine


yessnoo

  • Lingcod
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  • Location: Seabrook, TX
  • Date Registered: Apr 2008
  • Posts: 456
do you have to pay for lodging or do you camp the whole time?
do they provide the Kayaks?
What about fishing gear? do you bring your own?
how many days were you up there?
i am really interested in doing this either next year or the year after.  that looks like the trip of a lifetime.
when is the best time to go?
2008 Hobie Mirage Revolution Fish


PAL

  • Herring
  • **
  • Date Registered: Jan 2008
  • Posts: 42
Quote
do you have to pay for lodging or do you camp the whole time?
do they provide the Kayaks?
What about fishing gear? do you bring your own?
how many days were you up there?
i am really interested in doing this either next year or the year after.  that looks like the trip of a lifetime.
when is the best time to go?

I think the biggest issue is getting your hands on a fishing kayak. Besides Chris, who has a small fleet in Seward (for guide trips and buddies - not for rental) and Howard in Ketchikan, fishing kayaks appear few and far between. I bet you can get more help here at this site if you ask the right people.

My trip was a buddy trip. We camped some of the time ($0), bunked in a remote hostel for paddlers a couple of nights ($20/nt), and hung out at my friend's place.

I brought most of my own fishing gear, because there's no substitute for using gear you know and love. Plus I wanted to try some California techniques up north, like a huge 12-in FishTrap (a big ling hit it on the first drop - pulled the hook after 3 minutes). Gear is a major hurdle if you're flying. Luggage costs are sky-high; United only allows 50 lbs per bag. Postage is nearly as bad, although mailing rods Priority vis USPS only ran me about $20 insured each way. Much cheaper than airline oversize fees, but watch out - you have to use a narrow cardboard tube no longer than a tad over 7 ft.

Best time to go is when you can - ask around. Depends on what salmon run you want to hit, and how remote you want to go. If you are on the tourist trail, might want to wait until the tail end of summer when things slow down.

My main costs were transportation. Water taxis charge an arm and a leg - the 60 mile roundtrip to Kenai Fjords from Seward was $300 plus fuel surcharge.  :o Not much alternative out of Seward - I'd be interested to learn costs elsewhere in the state.

Finally, I was up there 10 days. Travel ate up 1.5 days each way from SoCal. Weather can always be an issue, so you want extra time as insurance. High seas (20+) kept us out of Kenai Fjords the first three days I was in Seward. We eventually made it, but had to cut that part of the trip by nearly a day and a half. I wished I'd had two weeks to play with.

HTH

Paul
Editor, Kayak Fish Magazine


yessnoo

  • Lingcod
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  • Location: Seabrook, TX
  • Date Registered: Apr 2008
  • Posts: 456
i was under the impression that if you went on the guided fishing trip through liquid adventures they provided the yaks?
but i am assuming that you went on more of a friendly trip than a guided trip
2008 Hobie Mirage Revolution Fish


polepole

  • Administrator
  • Sturgeon
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  • Location: San Jose, CA :(
  • Date Registered: Apr 2006
  • Posts: 10072
i was under the impression that if you went on the guided fishing trip through liquid adventures they provided the yaks?
but i am assuming that you went on more of a friendly trip than a guided trip

I believe Chris at LA has 4 SOT kayaks rigged for fishing up there.  He can customize any trip you might be interested in.

I believe what PAL is talking about is availability in general of SOT kayaks in AK.  I'd add that there are 2 outfits in Valdez that have SOT kayaks, Pacific Mountain Guides has 6 WS Rides and Kimberlins has 4 P13's.

Water taxi's are a big portion of the costs.  PAL, in Valdez we pay $500 each for a 70 mile round trip.

-Allen


PAL

  • Herring
  • **
  • Date Registered: Jan 2008
  • Posts: 42
No worries yessnoo, Chris provides fishing SOTs on his guided trips. He has 1 Prowler Trident and 4 P15s IIRC.

$500 from Valdez! I guess Seward prices reflect a quantity discount - lots of sea kayakers getting a lift hither and yon. No wonder Chris dreams of buying a boat. Given the quality of the experience, there's nothing to do but swallow hard and ante up.

Allen, those P13s at Kimberlins... your salmon shark rides? That must have been some powerwash job!
« Last Edit: September 03, 2008, 12:07:06 PM by PAL »
Editor, Kayak Fish Magazine


polepole

  • Administrator
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  • Date Registered: Apr 2006
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$500 from Valdez! I guess Seward prices reflect a quantity discount - lots of sea kayakers getting a lift hither and yon. No wonder Chris dreams of buying a boat. Given the quality of the experience, there's nothing to do but swallow hard and ante up.

Yup.  Water taxi's are the biggest expense.  We essentially took a whole 6 pack charter and paid the going rate for chartering it for 2 days.  There were water taxi options in Valdez, but the areas we go to are off the beaten track and the logistics are harder to share expenses with others, so they ended up being even higher for a group of 6.


Allen, those P13s at Kimberlins... your salmon shark rides? That must have been some powerwash job!

Yup.  Those be the ones.

-Allen



 

anything