Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Hi All -

I promised Ernie I would post about the trip-

It has been a dream of Tara's and mine to head to Alaska - so this summer we did -- Took our two boys - 12 & 14 years old -

Here is our summary -

The Trip turned out Fabulous -

Landed in Anchorage on

7-30 - Rented a Minivan - loaded up food supplies at Carrs - ate dinner at Gwennies - not terribly impressed with food at Gwennies - but service and people were very nice - Stayed in Anchorage at Hoilday Inn Express (yes - we are Smart People!) go tsome rest for a long day of travel.

7-31 Traveled up North to Denali Princess Hptel - enjoyed the ride - it was chilly and Breezy but a good way to break in to AK - attended the Dinner theatre show at Princess - hokey -but we had fun - enjoyed the food and entertainment

8-1 - Took the trip to Kantishna - 90 miles inside Denali National Park - Great weather - Great Wildlife - and we got full view of Mount McKinley (MMK) - The folks up there at the park are so passionate about keeping things as natural as possible -
Lots of Caribou, Bears, Golden Eagles, Dall Sheep and more!

8-2 - Went to North to Fairbanks to do the Riverboat Discovery Tour - arrived in Fairbanks early so we went to UAF Museum - it was real cool and I am glad we visited - The Riverboat tour was also pretty cool - learned a lot - and enjoyed a BEAUTIFUL day -
On a recommendation, we went to Fox AK and had dinner at the Turtle Club - It was a great meal and we enjoyed the ride as we got to see the Pipeline - so we took pics of our kids at the pipeline for my Father in law - He worked at Prudhoe bay in the late 70's as there was a big contingent of Pittsburgh guys that went up there for the work - so he will love telling my boys the story.

We saw 6 Moose near Healy on the ride home - 3 Mommas, 3 Calfs

Also saw a HUGE plume of smoke from the fires.

8-3 - Travelled down to Talkeetna for the next stop- checked into the Meandering Moose B&B/Cabins, Cathy, our hostess was great - The view of MMK was UNBELIEVABLE the whole ride down that we found ourselves giggling - and we had that same view for the next few days - Had very good meal at The WildFlower in town - Takeetna is a cool little town.

8-4 - Took a hike at Little Coal Creek in Denali State Park- 7 miles with Blueberries galore and incredible views of MMK, Beaver Ponds - It was sunny and clear - - We had dinner at The Talkeetna Lodge - it was another great view -

8-5 - It finally rained - but we were scheduled to fish with Travis Laing of AK Custom outfitters - We boarded his jet boat Center Console on the Talkeetna - we headed to Clear Creek and went 200 yards up from the mouth and the 15 fisherman at the mouth - We watched "the Rocks move" and pulled over and started to fish - we were spinfishing with Mepps - and soon got the hang of it and began to catch chums and Pinks - My son and I caught about 40+ fish - and it was pretty cool - we did make a decision not to leave the area and just finish our trip there since the action was good - and we enjoyed Catch and release - We also saw a very nice King that was cruising downstream - it was real cool - you can really see the difference in size of the Kings compared to the pinks and chums that we were catching.













We did discuss heading up to Larsons for reds - but it was raining hard, my 14 year old was happy where we were - and my wife and 12 year old were still back at the cabin - so Larsons REDS will have to wait until next time.

8-6 - Left Talkeetna - Had the Roadhouse Breakfast before leaving- highly recommended - traveled to Seward - but got caught 10 minutes behind that well reported fatal accident on turnagin highway just before Beluga Pt. so we tracked back to that Potter boardwalk park which is very cool and watched Bald Eagles - and watched Pinks and I think Silvers heading up the stream - and also saw them staging at the Culvert under the boardwalk-

Got back on road after a four hour delay and made it to Seward -

8-7 - Took the Kenai Fjords tour - again - a BEAUTIFUL Clear day - Amazing scenery - saw Sea Lions, Orcas and Humpbacks - met nice people - awesome trip - my wifes favorite - plenty of Nature eye candy.  Also saw Glaciers breaking off into the water - very cool.

8-8 - Went to EXIT GLACIER - glad we did - very cool up close - and then backtracked to a town called Hope - (another perfect day)- it was a neat little place where we panned for Gold with two local characters - Dallas and Peck - never did get the big nuggets we hoped for - but kids were successful in getting some gold in a little vial - they were excited - we also saw the commotion and "fishing" for the Pinks at the Campground - it was an eye opening experience watching the fish being "Caught" - but again - it is all new to me - we moved on quickly - my wife was not real excited about the snagging , uh, I mean fishing going on.

8-9 - Silver Fishing(coho) with Puffin Charters- Captain Andy was a very nice host - we limited on 8-12lb. Silvers out in the Ocean - but fishing inside the bay was tough and we only got a few - we did see a Humpback up close - and that was cool. The water was like a lake - and again - sunny skies!! (don't hate me!) I did have J Dock process and ship our Salmon - and am already giving out as gifts for those who covered for me at work - and watched over our house/pets.

Our fishing method was "Mooching" - which is light tackle fishing with strips of sardine for bait - it was fun -

If I were to do it over again - I would opt for a combo trip so we could score some Halibut - but my 14 year old was with me -and we left the other half of the family back at the dock - since this was really a family trip - with some fishing fit in - I though that a Salmon trip would be better if we limited out early and got back to port - - My wife suggested that the next trip should be fishing only, and just connect with some Pals for that type of trip - I agree. and I will get it in writing!

8-10 - Left Seward - stopped at Wildlfe refuge, and then to Girdwood - Aleyeska - and then to Anchorage - we rented bikes and rode Coastal trail - which was again a beautiful sunny day - and we happened on a Mother Moose and Calf - did not get too close - or loiter - Had dinner in the Captain Cook hotel in Anchorage - and it was very good - and good service -
Went to Tastee Freeze - and drove over to Kinkaid park - and finally saw a Bull Moose who was roaming through the bushes - darn they are big - his antlers were very big!!

Boarded plane home at 1 am -  It is a beautiful state - and so many great choices on things to do -

We really lucked out with the weather by the way - -

a week earlier Seward had monsoon like rain - timing can be everything.

Rob Allen
Reston

Last edited by Rob Allen (Sep-06-09 8:15PM)