Bring own fishing poles?

[stephv710]

Has anyone brought their own fishing poles? We are going to be driving around Kenai Penninsula for 4 days before our cruise and plan on stopping at creeks. Would this be too much of a pain?

[Alaskanguide]

Depends on when you come up ? And what kind of poles ? Fly rod or Spining. The Salmon might not be there yet but the trout and dolly varden might be .. They (Salmon)start showing up there around middle of june. Be sure of the regulations also some fisheries up here are closed during the week and only open on weekends .( During King season) By the time you buy lures, license , Maps on whats open whats closed. Its best to just hire a fully guided fishing trip . Everything included except license. Half day trip run around $135 and and 8 hr trip runs about $155 . If Fish and game writes you a ticket the min. fine is $100 , Most places on the river system state that if you bring a King salmon out of the water completely and then put it back in the water to release it thats illegal it considerd a caught fish. I can go on and on. The fishing regulations up here are complex. And I hate to see non locals get fined because they did not know the rules. No slack up here. Ya just can not go put your line on the water anywhere and fish. You can check out the fishing regulations at online at Alaska fish and game.

[stephv710]

Would just be fishing for trout in some of the streams along the highway. We do plan on going out for salmon, but we will be leaving that to the experts and getting a guide. I will definitely research the regulations and license requirements.

[charliem]

Stephv710,

My wife and I were in Alaska for 2 weeks last year and I brought my own rod, reels and tackle to fish on my own. Had a great time. I know that I did not catch as many fish as I would have if I had hired a guide but to me it is just not the same as finding the fish yourself. I only fished one day in the Kenai and did not have any luck but I now know we were about 3 weeks early for the best fishing. I have been doing a great deal of research and there is a lot of unguided fishing opportunities available in the Kenai. Some is combat fishing but there are some areas that are not fished as intense. I brought along a casting rod (medium heavy) and two casting reels. One filled with 20# line and one with 10# line. My brother was along for the same trip and he brought two spinning outfits. One with 6# line and one with 10# line. For most of the creek fishing any type of outfit would work. I also fished at three of our cruise stops. The spinning outfits would be fine unless you hook into a King. I hooked three on my heavy outfits and was unable to land any of them. Believe me these fish can pull.

 

We will be going back to Alaska in late July and believe me I will be taking my fishing rigs. As a matter of fact, my wife will also be taking a rod and reel and will fish some with me. We will be spending a week in the Kenai before our cruise and it is my hope to fish as much as possible. (Hope my wife reads this)

 

As a short answer to your question-YES take you own poles. You will not regret it.

 

If you have any questions I would be happy to answer.