Alaska encompasses 371 million acres and has more landmass than Montana, California, and Texas combined. The sheer size of the 49th state is immense and in terms of fishable waters is even more staggering. Itâs difficult to convey the caliber of just how good the fishing is in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Why would anyone travel to fly fish in Alaska when thereâs the U.S. Rockies? Isnât it a long way to travel for a week of fishing?
Â
Hopefully, by the end of this article, itâll be easy to understand why Alaska is one of the worldâs premier trout fisheries and why you should begin planning your trip today!
The Last Frontier
In a lot of ways, Alaska is the epitome of Americaâs last frontier. Alaska has more than half of Americaâs national parkland and more than 80% of Americaâs national wildlife refuge land. For a state that is the United Statesâ largest, it has a little over 700,000 residents and even has homesteads still up for claim. Let that sink in for a minute!
There are so few people in Alaska the government is still paying people to live there. What that means for you, the angler is that itâs entirely possible to go the whole week without seeing another soul â heck, you could probably go for an entire year without seeing anyone if you really wanted. If youâre hoping to escape the fast pace of society then there may not be a better place to do so than Alaska. So now that weâve established that crowds are virtually nonexistent, letâs paint a picture of rainbow trout fishing.
Want to fly fish for Rainbow Trout?
The trout fishing is good, but letâs make sure to have a reality check; itâs still fishing. Some days can be great, epic, even legendary â and other days can be downright no good outright miserable if you have a weather system move in. However, on whatever phantasmal scale by which we judge âhow goodâ the fishing is, Alaska falls on the far side, and weâd even go so far to say itâs exceptional.
If catching good-sized rainbows, and lots of them, is your definition of good fishing then no need to look further than Alaska- the rainbow trout fishing is second to none. But donât limit yourself to just rainbows, Alaska boasts an array of other species to target as well.
Diversity of Species
Salmon are synonymous with Alaska and the Bristol Bay area alone is the worldâs largest sockeye salmon fishery. Salmon are a cornerstone species in Alaskaâs ecology providing essential nutrients and biomass to river systems and landscapes- from microorganisms to the largest grizzly bears, salmon provide an invaluable food source. And when these salmon return to the freshwater rivers to spawn anglers can target them just as they would any fish.
Depending on where you go to Alaska, you can target all five species of Pacific Salmon. For whatever reason salmon sort of âfly below the radarâ, but donât be fooled, there have been more than a few anglers who were surprised by just how much fun salmon fishing can be. On top of salmon and rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, Arctic grayling, steelhead, and Northern pike are also found in Alaska.
There is no lack of diversity in Alaska which makes it a great place for both beginners and experts alike. The absence of crowds, the terrific rainbow trout fishing, and the variety of species all lead to Alaska being one of our favorite destinations- not to mention that the only way to get around is by hopping into a small plane with pontoons for wheels!
Â
Fly on a Float Plane
The floatplane is Alaskaâs workhorse. If youâre an Alaskan native, odds are you have your pilotâs license and have already logged hundreds of hours flying the backcountry. Since so much of Alaska is untouched with no roads connecting towns and villages, lodges have adapted to utilizing small aircraft to access fisheries that normally would be inaccessible. Flying anglers to and from remote fisheries, and floatplanes are what make the Alaskan experience so unique.
Every morning, lodges across Alaska load up their planes with excited anglers and fly to new remote and productive fisheries. Leave out the fantastic fishing and youâre still left with a plane ride across some of Americaâs most breathtaking landscapes. You may need help keeping your jaw up as you gape out the window at snow-covered peaks, glaciers, meandering rivers, and the seemingly endless expanse of wilderness that you donât have to ask permission to explore. And if youâre lucky enough maybe youâll even see a bear or moose waltzing around on the tundra below.
As John Muir stated, âTo the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.â We couldnât agree more! Alaska is a place every angler, no matter their skill level, should experience at least once. With flights to Alaskaâs Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) flight logistics are relatively easy and donât require multiple days of travel. The fishing, the diversity of species, and the thrill of floatplanes are just a couple of the many reasons why we love Alaska. Weâll leave it up to you to understand the rest.
+ Listen to this WAYPOINTS Podcast: CAMILLE EGDORF - Alaska Trip Planning and How to Do it Right
+ View the Alaska Fly Fishing Gear Guide: Everything You Need
Related Articles:
