DIY remote Alaskan Fishing Trip

Many outdoorsmen don’t even know that a DIY float trip is even a possibility. What a great alternative to paying anywhere from $5500 to $7000 for a guided float trip. Personally, I really enjoy a challenge and I absolutely love working for the joy of a float/fishing trip. Setting up and tearing down camp can be on the exhausting side by day 3, but the challenges, scenery, wildlife, experience, unknown, fishing, and raw beauty on the river makes it well worth the work.

Doing anything for the first time can be a little nerve wracking, especially when it’s in the remote wilds of Alaska. Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, sweepers, rapids, water falls, weather, and 100 miles from the nearest hospital can all be a little more than daunting to the beginner. A little bit of outdoor experience and some common sense and you’re well on your way to success. I would not recommend doing a self guided fishing trip in Western Alaska unless you have some form of prior back country or outdoor experience.

Here are a few things to consider when planning your trip. Bring quality gear; do your home work; ask questions; familiarize yourself with river features or any problem areas. Talk to your adventure company or transporter about any important information to know about the river pre trip. Ask if there are any “turn offs” or “splits” in the river. Confirm drop off and pick up locations, date and time if necessary. Take a GPS and two way radio for each boat. Garmin makes a combination GPS and two way radio called a Rino. The most important feature of the Rino is it will also let you see on the map the location of the other person. Bring a sat phone, inreach, or some form of satellite communication incase of an emergency. Be sure to get your transporters phone number as well as the local SAR or national guard in the event of an emergency. Come up with a pre-planned procedure if you get separated from the other members of your group. Plan your camp sites with high water in mind. At camp, always bring your boat out of the water and securely tied to a firm object . Keep a clean camp. Keep food at an acceptable distance from camp before you call it a night. Bring a good quality cooler and stock up on lunch meats, breakfast foods and other enjoyable meals. As long as you can spare the weight, don’t take freeze dried meals and take advantage of fresh foods. Especially breakfast foods!! I pre-make a breakfast burrito for every morning on the river. I make them at home and freeze them prior to the trip. They help keep the cooler cold and stay edible all the way to the end of the trip. Bring a little sour cream, salsa, and then fry two sides of the burrito in a little vegetable oil and I promise that breakfast will be your favorite meal of the day. Find out how much weight you have available per flight and try to plan your groups weight accordingly to keep flight costs down and to prevent the pilot from having to bump any of your gear.

My first trip was on the Kisaralik River. What an adventure and I will tell you all about it, but that’s for another day. However, I will leave you with my personal “first timer” tip. Be sure to securely strap down the net including the sides. I lost my tackle box on the first day. It popped out from the bottom of the net after hitting a sweeper. Great start to the trip, right?

These suggestions only scratch the surface but will give you a running start. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Papa Bear wants to set you up for a successful trip and we’ll help guide you to the path of success. Call us anytime. We love to talk fish, rafting, and Alaska. Ask questions!

On side note, 2 weeks after returning from my float, another fishermen found my tackle box floating and stuck in a sweeper. Yehaw!!