Pictures and commentary are available at:
http://staff.washington.edu/parker/alaska2001/alaska1.html

In short, we had an awesome time and can't thank The Really Big One enough! Personally, I won't recommend him to any of you because if I do, you'll take my spots for next years trip!

We had everything from a 20 fish day on the start, to your average 6-10 fish days once the nets were in the water. Like everything else, it's all about timing.

Once you are there, try to experience all that is available to you. What made the trip, besides the Monster Kings, was the razor clamming, Red Fishing, Upper Kenai and all the other fun stuff one get's to do in 20 hours of daylight!

I took top honors with this nice 42 lb. fish.



The Kid came in a close second with this nice 34 pound brute.



The "schooling" by FishGal never happened, as she clamed she "had to work". Probably a good thing, as I busted my 8# GL3 while Red fishing




Next year though, she'll have no excuse as I really got my lining technique down on those reds! Whatch out FishGal, I'm The Man when it comes to Red fishin'! I put the serious HURT to The Kid and those Reds! Bring it on next year!

Superfly and The Redneck don't know it yet, but I'd really like to see all of Team Vision make an appearence on the Kasilof next year! Maybe I can convince him to do some business up there so he can write the trip off! Boy, that would be a fun trip!

Another year, another fine trip with the Really Big One on the Kasilof.

Buy allstar rods!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nuff Said
Peace Superfly

Yeah, after I snapped the rod, I shouted out to no one in particular:

"Should have bought an AllStar Rod!!!!'

I chuckled...no one else did!

Great pics and story Parker. Looks like you and the Kid had a great time.

Nice chrome brite fish Parker. Who did you say the guy with the boot in the second pic was?

Nice picture parker, Kid- that would have been a better fish if you weren't fishing on the reds!! I must say it makes me jealous to see big kings with vents hanging out, plenty of eggs there! You two need to bring some of those fresh eggs down and see how they'll perform on the lewis. The steelhead are still thick and the silvers are already showing!! I can't wait, Kings will be here soon if they're not already there. Killer trip guys, I'd like to get in on that one next year!
Keith

Keith - I'm still waiting for that email from you that says "Come on down..."

Bob snatched up any and all eggs we got on that trip. Seeing how he will use a 1 gallon bag per trip, and he's running two a day, he was a little short on eggs. I did my bit to replace what I used up!

We were fishing about a mile up from the salt. The "dark" fish are fish that ride the tides several times before going up river.

Parker

[ 08-01-2001: Message edited by: parker ]

Parker - Thanks for the wonderful website and terrific pictures. It certainly brightened up my lunchhour! Chinooks, sockeye, rainbows, razor clams, scenery, and up-close wildlife. I guess that's what makes Alaska so special. I'm sure you could have done without the combat fishing and the commerical guys but overall your trip seemed like an unforgettable experience.

Perhaps if you don't mind could you reveal what it costs for the whole trip per person -airfare and all. Just the bottom line is okay. I would really enjoy a trip like your's but would need to fit it into a tight budget. I would add a halibut trip on the lower Cook Inlet it make it just about perfect! Thanks.

Well, costs will vary, but here's a good idea:

Air Fare to Anchorage. Search around. There are deals to be had. Cost of this depends on where you fly out of. I think I paid $300 for my flight. I know there are better deals out there.

Fishing Package with Bob Ball. Take a look at his Alaska site and pick the package that suits your needs. You can go on the "cheap" by camping out at places like DeepCreek, or you can go with the B&B's in the package. Fly-outs and Halibut trips will be more expensive then oh, say just the Kings. Costs will vary if you want to go on guided Red Fishing excursions, razor clamming trips, whale watching, etc. I opted for the 3 days fishing 4 nights lodging package. I think that runs $670 or so. Check Bob's site for exact figures.

Rental Cars are always expensive. If you rent a 4x4 (which is hard to do during the summer months), it's your ticket to the razor clams. No 4x4, no clamming. The Exploder cost me $400 for 5 days.

Fish processing will run about $1.5-$2 per pound. That's having the fish fillet, vacuum packed, and quick frozen. You can bring up some coolers and just send them home with you on the plane. Or, you can pay to have them sent back home...or just buy the packaging boxes and send those home. Shipping is not cheap. I got screwed over this year by the fish processing people. I did not bring home any fish I did manage to have 12 reds smoked, vac-packed, and will be shipped to me. Probably will work out to $5-6 per pound. Expensive, but I was put in a bind right on the spot. I'm not too pleased with good old Fred at this time.

Food is really not a problem as there's really no time to eat when in AK. I'm suffering through a cold right now...probably due to the 36 hour staying-awake binges, 1 meal a day, and going balls-out for the days I was there! All you really need is a $10 sub sammich from the sub shack. You'll see this place on the side of the road just past the Kasilof and say to yourself "Is this for real?" Best damn subs you'll ever eat!

A few $5 bills to get in to the State Park. No $5, no entry. Just that easy.

$50 to replace the busted GL3.

All said and done, I'm probably looking at $1,200, once I split some of the costs with The Kid.

PS. Bob is truly a machine. He survives on about 2 hours of sleep in any one given 24 period of time! Truly impressive! I don't know how he does it! Christ, all you have to do is just look at Bob and you'll start to feel all tired and sleepy!

[ 08-01-2001: Message edited by: parker ]

My fish in the picture is darker than Parker's fish because it was tide flushing. Still had sea lice and the bucks show a lot more color than the hens, at least most of the time. I released a ton of fish as I was looking for a trophy in the 50lb. range. Broke 50 once before and come close a few other times. Just a lot of fun catching a lot of kings. The reds are a different story as they are some of the craziest and hardest-fighting fish pound-for-pound of anything I've ever hooked. They fight like a summer run steelhead, coho, and chum all in one.

The clam digging is intense!! I cooked some of my clams using Bob's recipe and I'm hoarding them all for myself now. Parker, want to sell me your clams?

Oh, yeah. Stay out of the mud in the tidal areas. I almost got swallowed up I hear that it eats people and the tide does the rest every year. Bob saved me from stepping in the mud and it would've been ugly.

I hooked a couple kings the other night and it was nothing compared to the crazy kings in AK. Can't wait to go back.

Hey Parker and Justin, glad to hear you guys had a great time catching fish with Bob up in AK! How did he manage to keep you guys out of Soldotna's "Good Time Charlies" (named changed?) long enough to catch those fish? - Steve

Not too sure about Good Time Charlies, but when you get a chance, ask us about the "Meat Rack" at the Alaskan Bush Company in Anchorage!

Best $1 you'll ever spend in Anchorage!!!!!



Parker

[ 08-02-2001: Message edited by: parker ]

alaska bush co, no need for me to ask, spent to long there one day after the plane crashed into lake illiama, needed a meeting place to regroup figure out what we were going to do, i recommend it highly

Would that be Bush 1 , downtown, or Bush 2, by the airport. Back in the day, 1 used to rule, but it has been a long time

The Great Alaskan Bush Company was a blast! Sitting at the "Meat Rack" enjoying the view is definately a great way to wind down after a great fishing trip.

Parker,

Glad you two had a great trip !! Thanks for
posting those great pic's.

Cigar Mannull
[*]null

Bob's dad knows all about those mud holes and it is a very dangerous situation. He walked to a rock, surrounded by water, sat for a short time and when he got up to leave, his hipboots filled with mud. It took three people and all he had to get to stable sand.
There's is a true story about the Turnagain mud flats,
south of Anchorage. Some newlyweds got mired
in the mud and a helicopter was brought in..
they tried to pull the woman out and it tore her in half. Sad but true....

Good Time Charlies is still. A couple of the guys went there. They had a few too many, went to the rig and passed out. One of the guys got cold and turned it on. Guess what...DUI. The person in the drivers seat wasn't the one that turned it on. We woke up the next morning ready to go on a butt trip and no rig and 2 people missing. Had to take a cab from soldotna to deep creek. Cost us a $100. Only cost us $50 back, hired the bait boy to run us back. Keep that in mind. Good way to ruin a trip. These guys had no plan to drive. The guy in the drivers seat had his seat reclined all the way back. Still busted.

Fishhead5

Geez Doug, sometimes overzealous law officers just don't care what's fair or not! They just care about their ticket quota and their needy self-esteem. ...

And I didn't know they had a bush store in Anchorage Justin. What kind of bushes do they sell? Are they edible? Or do you just 'plant' them? Do they 'come' by the bushel? If I am in need of a bush, do they send mail out orders from the AK Bush Co.? .... The table dances in Anchorage couldn't be any better than at Good Time's - only as good; maybe. .... BTW, I hope you dudes stayed out of the mud holes!

RT