Recommend Fly Fishing Tour Operator

[ChefPeg]

Hello!

 

I have been trying to research fly fishing in Alaska for my DH and I. We are not interested in fishing from a boat / charter. We want to learn fly fishing in a river / stream.

 

I was wondering if anyone can recommend a reputable fly fishing company / guide / tour operator. Preferably will pick us up at the pier.

 

Any of the ports would be great: Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan.

 

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

 

Thank you!!

Peggy

[pspercy]

RCI/Celebrity offer a trip out of Juneau - it's fly-out so expensive. I had it booked but I cancelled last week mainly due to the cost ($430pp) for only about 3.5hrs actually on the water. They use Bear Creek Outfitters for the fishing who use Ward Air for flying.

http://www.juneauflyfishing.com/fishing_trips.html

http://www.wardair.com/

 

The fly shop in Juneau will be able to offer suggestions I'm sure:

http://juneauflyfishinggoods.com/

 

Good luck:)

 

P.S. Found this: http://www.sea-runner.com/index.htm

[ChefPeg]

RCI/Celebrity offer a trip out of Juneau - it's fly-out so expensive. I had it booked but I cancelled last week mainly due to the cost ($430pp) for only about 3.5hrs actually on the water. They use Bear Creek Outfitters for the fishing who use Ward Air for flying.

http://www.juneauflyfishing.com/fishing_trips.html

http://www.wardair.com/

 

The fly shop in Juneau will be able to offer suggestions I'm sure:

http://juneauflyfishinggoods.com/

 

Good luck:)

 

P.S. Found this: http://www.sea-runner.com/index.htm

 

Thanks...I did see the excursion through RCCL but I agree.....way too too expensive for what it is.

 

I did find one in Juneau also but they are a bit pricey too. So I will keep looking.

 

Hopefully some one will have a few ideas.

[ChefPeg]

RCI/Celebrity offer a trip out of Juneau - it's fly-out so expensive. I had it booked but I cancelled last week mainly due to the cost ($430pp) for only about 3.5hrs actually on the water. They use Bear Creek Outfitters for the fishing who use Ward Air for flying.

http://www.juneauflyfishing.com/fishing_trips.html

http://www.wardair.com/

 

The fly shop in Juneau will be able to offer suggestions I'm sure:

http://juneauflyfishinggoods.com/

 

Good luck:)

 

P.S. Found this: http://www.sea-runner.com/index.htm

 

BTW: I bookmarked the sea runner web site. They might work for in Juneau...will check with DH.

[Suzanne123]

My husband is also doing the fly-out fly fishing excursion with Princess, but I did find a list of other Juneau fly-fishing tour operators here:

 

http://www.traveljuneau.com/listings/index.php?cat=adventures&subcat=sportfishing (click on the little menu on the right to get fly-fishing)

 

Good luck!

[ChefPeg]

My husband is also doing the fly-out fly fishing excursion with Princess, but I did find a list of other Juneau fly-fishing tour operators here:

 

http://www.traveljuneau.com/listings/index.php?cat=adventures&subcat=sportfishing (click on the little menu on the right to get fly-fishing)

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the link. Lots of tour operators there. Might I ask why you chose to go with Princess and not an independent tour?

[Suzanne123]

I couldn't find any other operator in Juneau than cost much less (Maybe there are some, but I just got tired of "googling"), and since he is flying out to a remote stream, I wanted to make sure he got back to the ship on time. It just semed more convenient.

This is our 6th trip to Alaska, and he's always had better luck fishing out of Homer, Cooper Landing and Seward. In fact we're leaving next Saturday for a week on the Kenai prior to our cruise and he's already got the waders, vest and lures taking up most of the space in our luggage. :)

Anyway, his favorite fishing excursion on the cruise itself is an all day tour he's taken with both Princess and HAL in Ketchikan (four times) where they fish and have their catch for lunch out in the woods.

 

 

http://princess.exclusivefishing.com/index.html

[greatam]

Do you have a couple of extra days you could add on?

 

Other than the very expensive fly in fishing excursions, you won't find much from the ship.

 

DH flies to Alaska to fish at least twice a year and most years, three times. Fly fishing is best done in the quiet streams in inland Alaska. And especially if you want to learn anything-a short 3 or 4 hour shore excursion won't teach you much. DH spends a LOT of time fishing the streams of the Kenai Peninsula-the Ninilchik, Anchor, Deep Creek, Kenai, etc. etc. If you can add on the time, you get a superior experience for much less money than one of the fly in trips from the port (private or ship booked). If you need further info and can spend a couple of extra days, please post.

[ChefPeg]

Do you have a couple of extra days you could add on?

 

Other than the very expensive fly in fishing excursions, you won't find much from the ship.

 

DH flies to Alaska to fish at least twice a year and most years, three times. Fly fishing is best done in the quiet streams in inland Alaska. And especially if you want to learn anything-a short 3 or 4 hour shore excursion won't teach you much. DH spends a LOT of time fishing the streams of the Kenai Peninsula-the Ninilchik, Anchor, Deep Creek, Kenai, etc. etc. If you can add on the time, you get a superior experience for much less money than one of the fly in trips from the port (private or ship booked). If you need further info and can spend a couple of extra days, please post.

 

Hello!

 

Thank you for the suggestion but no, we are sailing from San Diego to Vancouver, therefore no overnight stops before, during or after.

 

I don't mind only fishing for 3 or 4 hours, DH and I never fly fished before and thought it would be fun to try it with an instructor in Alaska.

 

I just don't want to spend the 430.00 per person that RCCL is charging. I have contacted a few places so we will more than likely book of them.

 

We would love to spend more time in Alaska, it's so beautiful and majestic.

 

Thanks again!

[greatam]

Hello!

 

Thank you for the suggestion but no, we are sailing from San Diego to Vancouver, therefore no overnight stops before, during or after.

 

I don't mind only fishing for 3 or 4 hours, DH and I never fly fished before and thought it would be fun to try it with an instructor in Alaska.

 

I just don't want to spend the 430.00 per person that RCCL is charging. I have contacted a few places so we will more than likely book of them.

 

We would love to spend more time in Alaska, it's so beautiful and majestic.

 

Thanks again!

 

BEFORE you spend a chunk of change for a fishing trip, can I assume you are taking this trip VERY early-like mid May or earlier??? Fishing won't be very good at that time of year if I am right about your cruise timing. Save your money-you could be sorely disappointed, the water will be darn cold and you could even have snow.

[ChefPeg]

BEFORE you spend a chunk of change for a fishing trip, can I assume you are taking this trip VERY early-like mid May or earlier??? Fishing won't be very good at that time of year if I am right about your cruise timing. Save your money-you could be sorely disappointed, the water will be darn cold and you could even have snow.

 

We have snow and cold weather here by lake and people fish all the time. Not sure why you express we will be sorely disappointed, such strong words.

 

According to what I have read by experts....May is a an excellent time to fish for trout, sea bass and red snapper.

 

http://www.alaskanfishing.com/alaska-fishing-calendar.htm

[pspercy]

I decided to make freshwater fishing a trip in itself as Greatam basically suggests.

 

Also trying to find out if driving the Alcan in late May would offer any decent stream fishing, mostly trout I would think.

[pspercy]

We want to learn fly fishing in a river / stream.

 

Not sure where in PA you are but several big name places offer schools, usually over a weekend. Orvis has a 2-for-1 or something like that, I'm sure there's others, even local places.

 

I did a weekend school, Christmas present from DW, it was a lot of fun.

[ChefPeg]

I decided to make freshwater fishing a trip in itself as Greatam basically suggests.

 

Also trying to find out if driving the Alcan in late May would offer any decent stream fishing, mostly trout I would think.

 

I don't think I could do a vacation of just fishing. We fish on our boat every weekend, I think I, personally, would get 'fished' out. DH on the other would love it.

[ChefPeg]

We want to learn fly fishing in a river / stream.

 

Not sure where in PA you are but several big name places offer schools, usually over a weekend. Orvis has a 2-for-1 or something like that, I'm sure there's others, even local places.

 

I did a weekend school, Christmas present from DW, it was a lot of fun.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

We are sort of near Erie, lots of fishing type places around here. Just wanted to try it in Alaska, the novelty and beauty of it. We've been to Alaska several times and this time we thought to try something different.

[greatam]

We have snow and cold weather here by lake and people fish all the time. Not sure why you express we will be sorely disappointed, such strong words.

 

According to what I have read by experts....May is a an excellent time to fish for trout, sea bass and red snapper.

 

http://www.alaskanfishing.com/alaska-fishing-calendar.htm

 

I certainly consider my husband an expert. He has fished around the world and in a lot of tournaments. When he completely retires, he is either going to guide for both hunting and fishing or strictly fish tournaments. His choice-it interests me not one whit.

 

As posted previously, he is in Alaska AT LEAST twice yearly, just to fish. He follows the Alaska fishing stuff the way some people follow the NFL/NBA. I don't fish-I hate it EXCEPT for the overnight double limit halibut trip we take every year. Feeds us halibut for an entire winter.

 

Your chart is deceiving. LATE MAY-after May 15. IF you are on the Radiance of the Seas, you will be fine fishing in your time frame. If you are on one of the coastal repos that arrives in Alaska BEFORE May 15, you could be sorely disappointed. The salmon have not started moving in yet and the rivers can still be partially frozen. If you look carefully at some of the outfitters pages, there are usually SPECIALS until about May 20. Why-because there are not a lot of LOCAL fish in the streams. Sea bass/red snapper-from a boat in the ocean. Trout, Dolly Varden (a kind of trout), Arctic Char-in the streams and rivers and caught via fly fishing.

 

Just some FYI

[mytime53]

Your chart is deceiving. LATE MAY-after May 15. The salmon have not started moving in yet and the rivers can still be partially frozen. If you look carefully at some of the outfitters pages, there are usually SPECIALS until about May 20. Why-because there are not a lot of LOCAL fish in the streams. Sea bass/red snapper-from a boat in the ocean. Trout, Dolly Varden (a kind of trout), Arctic Char-in the streams and rivers and caught via fly fishing.

 

That chart, and your info, are about the Kenai Peninsula. The streams in S.E. Alaska will be just fine to fish in come May. April and May are the peak time for steelhead in most places.

 

Chef Peg--many fly-fishing clubs offer introductory classes for low cost or free, and they are usually inexpensive to join. I would suggest checking for some around your area, and taking advantage of that before your trip. That way, you would have some basics under your belt so you would get more time actually trying to catch a fish rather than trying to get your fly in the water...it's not as easy as it looks! Have fun (and wear glasses of some kind to protect your eyes--yes, I speak from experience:o)

 

Here's a link for Ketchikan: http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/areas/fishing/southeast/ketchikan.htm

Juneau: http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/areas/fishing/southeast/juneau.htm

Skagway/Haines: http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/areas/fishing/southeast/haines_skagway.htm

[ChefPeg]

That chart, and your info, are about the Kenai Peninsula. The streams in S.E. Alaska will be just fine to fish in come May. April and May are the peak time for steelhead in most places.

 

Chef Peg--many fly-fishing clubs offer introductory classes for low cost or free, and they are usually inexpensive to join. I would suggest checking for some around your area, and taking advantage of that before your trip. That way, you would have some basics under your belt so you would get more time actually trying to catch a fish rather than trying to get your fly in the water...it's not as easy as it looks! Have fun (and wear glasses of some kind to protect your eyes--yes, I speak from experience:o)

 

Here's a link for Ketchikan: http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/areas/fishing/southeast/ketchikan.htm

Juneau: http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/areas/fishing/southeast/juneau.htm

Skagway/Haines: http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/areas/fishing/southeast/haines_skagway.htm

 

Thanks for the suggestions and the links. Me being a real novice with 'fly' fishing....I don't expect to catch much if anything. I do well with reel and rod but I have a lot of experience with that type of fishing but know nothing of fly fishing. DH and I have always wanted to try it.

 

What happened with your eyes? Thanks for the tip about glasses and I appreciate you sharing your experiences.

[greatam]

That chart, and your info, are about the Kenai Peninsula. The streams in S.E. Alaska will be just fine to fish in come May. April and May are the peak time for steelhead in most places.

 

 

NOT my chart. And no mention of steelheads by the OP (although that would involve an expensive fly in which the OP is NOT wanting to do).

 

JMHO and NOT knowing when this cruise takes place, you suggestion of learning BEFORE the cruise is much better. IF they are on the ROS, they go to Sitka. That would be DH's choice.

[Snookum]

Will add my two cents here. My two sons (adult) and husband and friend always do the fly-out-fly fishing with Bear Creek which they book through RCC. This next trip 2011 they are going to book with them independently. They always have the most amazing time and the guides are wonderful. You see whales, bears, eagles, all kind of wild life. They supply everything of course and just do a phenomenal job. It's a lovely trip on the float plane as well with great views. They usually leave about 7:30 and return around 2pm. Hoping to do a longer one independently this next cruise. They all love it!:)

[Snookum]

By the way, they never did fly fishing before going for the first time with this group and they showed them everything and were very helpful. Spend as much time with you as need be. We always go in August and the fish are plentiful and can't wait to jump on the line.:)

[ChefPeg]

Will add my two cents here. My two sons (adult) and husband and friend always do the fly-out-fly fishing with Bear Creek which they book through RCC. This next trip 2011 they are going to book with them independently. They always have the most amazing time and the guides are wonderful. You see whales, bears, eagles, all kind of wild life. They supply everything of course and just do a phenomenal job. It's a lovely trip on the float plane as well with great views. They usually leave about 7:30 and return around 2pm. Hoping to do a longer one independently this next cruise. They all love it!:)

 

Bear Creek is the tour operator through Royal Caribbean? And which port? Do you know if you can you book Bear Creek independently or only through cruise line?

[Suzanne123]

It looks like they would like you to book through the cuise line, and the cost is about the same.

 

http://www.juneauflyfishing.com/contact_us.html

[ChefPeg]

It looks like they would like you to book through the cuise line, and the cost is about the same.

 

http://www.juneauflyfishing.com/contact_us.html

 

Hmmmm....that's interesting.