Ask the Pro's: Northern Alaska Remote Fly Fishing

Hi Nicholas

Congrats on choosing Alaska! It is one of the best places to fish in the world! Here is some advice for your trip.

Don't travel too far north, once one gets to a certain Northerly latitude Rainbows are not present in the rivers. They live in Western and South-central AK. To find rivers with out people you will need air travel to get there, whether it be by helicopter or bush planes. September is amazing, some of the best fishing of the year. Rainbow Trout and Grayling are super fat from a summer of eating well and Silver Salmon are present, one of the more aggressive salmon species. October can be a bit of a gamble with winter rapidly approaching. A remote float fishing trip is the best way to cover water and fish comfortably.

Please feel free to reach out to my company directly for any more info.

Enjoy - Adam

To fish off the road system out of Anchorage will be tough to find total solitude.

Your best option would be to get in touch with Rust's Flying Service and see what drops offs they have. They have some fly-out fishing day trips out of Anchorage. Another option would be to get dropped off on Clear Creek out of Talkeetna, you could float it out and walk it out to the Talkeetna River. You will have to be bear aware and careful but can be a great fishery. Another option might be floating the Gulkana River, but it will not have complete solitude.

Thanks - Mike

Thank you so much for your question. As I'm sure you're aware, Alaska is a gigantic state and finding the specific experience you're looking for requires a bit more information. Namely, what would you consider to be "Northern Alaska"? During the fall time of year, the weather can be quite volatile the further north you travel in Alaska, making road travel and hike-in and even fly-in opportunities more and more limited. If your plan is to fly into Anchorage and fish more north of the city towards the Susitna drainage, then there are some good options there fishing the tributaries of the Susitna River, but you will encounter other anglers, especially on the weekends. Further, any time you factor in Salmon fishing, specifically rivers where you can legally target salmon, you will most likely find that you will encounter other anglers. Some rivers and tributaries do not allow salmon fishing, some allow you to fish one small section and the rest of the tributary will be shut down. Due to the vulnerability of salmon in these places, you will have to carefully comb through regulations, even if you plan on catch and release. As far as trout fishing, it can be quite amazing this time of year; however, the more north above the Susitna you go, the less opportunities you'll find, but the more you'll find species like Arctic Grayling, Northern Pike and eventually Arctic Char. One can certainly find some more remote fishing on the road system, but be aware, that you are on the road system and you'll have the same kind of access that everyone else has.

I hope this answers your question and I hope you find the remote experience you're looking for. If you are looking for something off the road system, be sure to check the average weather during Sept/October and whether or not you can fly into those places.

All the best!

Dave

Have a question of your own?

Ask The Pros