June Alaska Wading Jacket : Which One?

Hi,

I'll be heading to Alaska in late June for the sock-eye salmon run and will also be doing some walk and wade for Rainbows in the Upper Russian & Kenai river. I had lived and fished in tropical saltwater all my life so it would not hurt to plan to be a little warmer than usual.

I had settled on a set of Simms breathable (Freestone) waders, layered with internal fleece if required.

Will I need a heavy wading jacket? This is my first Alaskan trip and would like to know which wading Jacket you would recommend?

I'm currently deciding between the Simms Freestone, the Simms Pac Lite and the Arc'teryx Theta LT. Would you recommend any other make or model?

It'll be a bonus if the jacket could double up as a tropical rain wear and hiking jacket as well.

Thanks and best regards.

Patagonia Deep Wading Jacket. Short, BIG pockets on front, good hood, waterproof cuffs, and folds up small to fit in the back of your vest.

June is prolly the best weather month in AK. The probability of needing a heavy raincoat is lower for that month. I would purchase the lightest gore-tex jacket that you can find with the Gore nasty weather rating (I forget the precise term) if you will stay out and fish in the rain. I believe that Simms has one with two ply, perhaps the Freestone or Raincloud. I do not believe that one ply will keep you as dry as you would want if you are going to stay out and fish in the rain. If you are going to use it just to get back to the car, then it may suffice.

If you are going to fish in the rain, the sleeve cuff is an important consideration. Having your casting arm up will allow water to go down and get a long way down and cause you misery or immersion chill. I have the Simms Guideweight jacket that has a neoprene cuff tucked away up under the sleeve. I roll up the shirt sleeve under the jacket (if I'm wearing long) so that I can cinch down the neoprene cuff. It works pretty well, but the jacket is 3 ply and is a little hot for a lot of summer applications.

IMO, the best fishing on the Kenai and Russian is mid August through Oct. The fish feed on the carrion and eggs, and get very fat. They get more rain in that period.

For me it boils down to three things:
1. If you can spend the money get a Simms or Patagonia jacket.
2. Check that the sleeve of the jacket doesn't have a flap to catch the line. My Patagonia SST does but its about 3 years old. (SST is Salmon Steelhead Trout)
3. Patagonia doesn't use Gore Tex, (I think? so please check). I would rather have Gore Tex than pay the same high price for no Gore Tex.
All the best,
Migs

I guided in Alaska for 8 years. I had the Simms guide jacket, Patagonia SST, Patagonia Skanorak, and 3 or four different Gore-tex jackets by Patagonia and Mountain Hardware. It's a personal choice but I prefer a full-lenght gore-tex jacket over a shorter wading jacket. On the upper Kenai you won't be able to wade too deep or you'll be "toast" it's a powerful river. Besides, many of the fish are in pretty shallow water. So the shorter length doesn't really help. I like the overlap of a longer jacket, plus I can use it skiing, backpacking, climbing, etc. - more versatile. Right now I'm using the patagonia torrenshell, a really lightweight jacket that's waterproof and packable. I wouldn't use it when I was guiding because it would never hold up to the abuse, but for the types of trips I do now - recreational trips in the Rocky Mountains and AK 40-70 days a year mostly walking and wading - it's great. Really lightweight and not too expensive. Consider checking with Sierra Trading Post last time I was there they had the torrentshell for dirt cheap. Seriously, just about any regular-length gore tex or equivalent shell will do the job. Plus, a jacket like that would be useful in a thundershower in the tropics in the winter.

If you wear a vest you might consider ordering a jacket one size larger so it will zip over it. I wear a chest pack so it's no big deal, I just wear it outside of the jacket.

Have a great trip. Late June can be good weather, you never know. Best of luck to you.

-John

Wanted to add one thing I know about gore-tex versus the substitutes that conflicts with my earlier suggestion.

Deet will actually dissolve the waterproof/breatheable membranes used in most all of the non-gore-tex garments out there. Gore-tex is not affected by Deet and therefore will not dissolve. This is one of the reasons why Gore-Tex products are able to command a higher price as well. (keep this in mind when buying waders too!)

I mention this because I am aware of the swarms of chicken-sized mosquitos that are the norm in Alaska and the popularity of Deet based repellants to keep them away.

Get something that will keep the rain out and do a good job of that and then layer. I've lived here in Alaska for 26 years and regularly fish the very waters that you are going to be on. Rawthumb is right, June is the best weather month here. That being said, it can be 80 degrees or 50 and raining hard. ktokj is also right....you won't want to be doing any heavy duty wading in the Kenai River. I am pretty nimble on my feet and will not wade most places any deeper than my knees. June is ok but it's just starting to get going on the Kenai. Parts of it are closed totally until June 15 to protect the spawning trout. If you'd like to know a little more about patterns, who to go with and etc., give me an email and I'll try to help out. If you're going to be here at the very end of June, after the 28th, I'll take you fishing. I have wedding guests for my daughter's wedding until then$$$$$$$$$$$. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/redface.gif)

The thread did not ask about the when, how, who for the Kenai and Russian, but you should definitely budget some money to do a float trip. They are right about wading the Kenai, it is too strong. It was made for boat fishing, and stopping at various bars, etc. The Russian is much easier to wade, and can produce some pretty nice fish. But overall, not as large as the Kenai,which just has more food. You can park at the Russian campground or ride the ferry and go down the far side of the Kenai to various places.

The downside to guide services on the Kenai is that it is party boat fishing. The Kenai has multiple layers of fed and state regulation and designation, and the permit holders have limited starts. Thus, they try to make the most of it, and typically fish 20 footers with up to four anglers. Four strangers in a boat, and some of them w/ no prior experience, ain't many people's idea of a real good time.

Fishing "the canyon" below Jim's Landing and above Skilak Lake is a nice change.

There is a fellow from Alaska Dean's town, Chugiak, who is a guide down there. His name is "Tom," but I can not remember his last name. Others I can refer personally are Mystic Waters and Rainbow Alley. I prefer younger guides because they have the enthusiasm and it is still fun for them. They also experiment more and come up with some pretty neat tricks. The older ones may have the experience, but they can get stuck in a rut and can tend to look back rather than experiment and adjust.

[This message has been edited by Rawthumb (edited 05 April 2005).]

Hi,

Thanks for all the kind advise.

To answer Rawthumb's question, I had engaged Mystique for a 5 day package of float trip on the Upper Kenai and possibly a fly in to the Upper Russian from 19th to 23rd Jun.

I was considering a day's trip on the Lower Kenai to try geting a Chinook on fly, but the crowd of the "Combat Zone" is making me think twice.

My concern was the temperature as my wife and myself lives in the tropics and we had heard of the nasty cold in Alaska, summer notwithstanding.

I guess I am more assured now after all your kind replies.

I'll most likely go for the light-weight breathable jackets and be prepared with inner layer fleece just in case.

Thanks again and best regards.