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[fishseeker29]

Hi Everyone, I'm taking my dad on a dream fishing trip to Alaska in the last week of May/first week of June and would love to hear any advice from those that have fished up there.

We'd like to target both Halibut and Salmon and we're basically open to going anywhere (aside from one of the expensive lodges - simply don't have the budget). Right now I'm considering flying into Anchorage, renting a car and driving out the Kenai Peninsula to fish in a few spots - maybe the Kenai river, Homer, and Seward or somewhere else. This plan would also give us the chance to see the Peninsula a little bit, which we've always wanted to do.

My second option would be to go somewhere like Sitka in SE Alaska and just fish that one location for several days. The travel is more straight forward but we would be somewhat locked into just that location (SE Alaska requires a ferry or plane to move around). Any thoughts on how SE Alaska (and Sitka in particular) would compare with Homer and the Kenai peninsula?

Any recommendations or other options worth considering? At this point, I'm completely open and really want to do everything possible to stack the fishing odds in our favor. We would also be using charter guides the whole time.

Cheers!

[Easywater]

I was in Anchorage for a week near the end of June 2011 and people were fishing for chinook in a creek called "Ship Creek" right downtown.
http://www.alaskanoutfitting.com/fishing/shipcreek/shipcreek.shtml

I am not suggesting that you fish there but to give you an idea of the timing of the fish returning.
Kenai opens on June 11.

I didn't fish but I did watch for a while.
It was similar to crowded fishing here but they use tennis-ball sized styrofoam floats and huge gobs of roe.

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&tbo=d&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=when+is+a+good+time+to+fish+Kenai+&oq=when+is+a+good+time+to+fish+Kenai+&gs_l=hp.3...2453.7632.0.8343.29.14.0.15.15.0.85.699.14.14.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.eKRGMF6KPYA&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.41642243,d.cGE&fp=ed48b52b54cb9dd4&biw=1680&bih=931

[cohojoe]

Check out  Bob Marriotts fly shop  website .   Many AK  lodges listed there.   Also  Kienes  of Sacramento fly shop.    These guys seem to be dialed in.

Other than those  I work with   Ayakulik lodge in AK.   This is a river lodge not  halibut.   but you could hire  a guide for one day  and go  butt fishing  out of  Kodiak where  the  Ayakulik lodge  boards their  helicopters.

Just a thought.    Big  salmon on a pristine wilderness river without  crowds.   Priceless.

[Pat AV]

S/E is a lot more peaceful than the Kenai Penn but like you say a lot harder to get around. Renting a car and driving around from Anchorage would be a good idea you could see lots of nice country.

I spent some time around Haines and Juneau in S/E both have good fishing Juneau has some amazing beach fishing opps

I also spent some time on the Kenai penn and was happy to leave to be honest with you just too busy and too many beads. It is a real nice area though I just dislike crowds and beads.

One piece of advice though, your timing is not great most rivers will be in freshet and fishing the chuck without a guide from the shore can be tough obviously.

Anyhow have fun planning your trip and if you have any specific questions about AK feel free to ask away.

Edit to add google "alaskan outdoor forums" this is a good forum, the guys are not overly helpful but the search function on there and doing some digging around could pay off.

This is a good book to buy: Alaska Fishing "The Ultimate Anglers Guide" I found it to be useful in my trip planning up there.