i am starting to plan my senior trip for the summer of 2005 and i wanted to have some good insight on what rivers to fish and what i should bring and such. I am experienced in salmon/steelhead/trout fishing in the great lakes, so i have the tackle and flies are no problem. I wanted to plan on fishing the alagnak(sp?) and keni (sp?) river systems and streams in the surrounding areas. i will be camping and i have a 14 1/2ft flat bottom with a 15hp motor, should i plan on bringing it? its a long drive from michigan but i dont plan on flying and i will most likely spend a month or so. I was wondering what month(s) i should go and what weight fly rods i should bring. i really want to catch some big bows and kings and silvers and chums but i know they dont all run at the same time, so waht time frame would be the best for having a chance at hooking into as many of these fish as possible?

i know this is well in advance but i need to start saving for the trip and i need to know if i really want to pull this off. Also, if anyone needs info on fishing the great lakes for salmon/steelhead etc. i will gladly help

thanks for any help

Adam,

Check out www.akflyfishers.org, as well as the book Alaska Flyfishing, by Anthony Route. Great data there. If you want to twitch a little bit, check out www.oz.net/~andrewb/home2001.htm. ;-)

The boat will be great on the Kenai, but very expensive to get to the Alagnak or most of the other interesting rivers. There just aren't that many roads. If it were me, I'd leave it at home. Plenty to do without it.

Adam,

I went on a similar trip with two fishing buddies after I graduated from high school (waaaaay back in 1994...lol). I'd be happy to let you know what I learned. Shoot me an email at pstuthei@alumni.law.upenn.edu and I'll tell you what I know. You certainly should do it, come hell or high water. My trip was unforgettable.