Seward Ak.

[kenfishbum]

I will be in Seward Ak. for a week in July, first time in Ak. Where do I fish around
Seward? We will have a car. What size rod and what flies.
Thanks for any suggestions.

[Rawthumb]

One can fish saltwater out of Seward, but most of that is party boat fishing and is not for me. If it is trout, dollies, salmon, steelhead, etc., then the Kenai Peninsula is the ticket. One can operate out of Coopers Landing or the Sterling-Soldotna-Kenai area.

If you tell people the fish you seek, you will get specific recommendations.

[kenfishbum]

I will be staying in Seward, Will have a car and want to fish rivers, lakes and streams.

[BillD]

According to Google, Soldotna is about 2 and a half hours drive time from Seward. I've been to Seward but don't know of the fishing in the area. However, at Soldotna you have the Kenai River. Sterling is even closer. On a trip to Ak we watched fishermen from one of the bridges on our way down to Homer. Sterling should be about two hours from Seward from what I see. Don't have any idea as to the gear but if you Google you should find some information. Try giving the Chamber of Commerce in Seward a call, bet they could help you. I think everyone in AK fishes and/or hunts. They would be able to head you in the right direction for sure. If you do Google Maps you see some lakes but access might be interesting unless you have 4WD. In Seward your pretty much surrounded by ocean and mountains. Big mountains. You have to drive through them, literally, in a tunnel to get to Seward. One lane tunnel. So, if your driving make sure you check out the times when you can drive in and when you can drive out. You share the road, as I say, a single lane with the train and opposing traffic. But, it's a great experience.

[hap]

According to Google, Soldotna is about 2 and a half hours drive time from Seward. I've been to Seward but don't know of the fishing in the area. However, at Soldotna you have the Kenai River. Sterling is even closer. On a trip to Ak we watched fishermen from one of the bridges on our way down to Homer. Sterling should be about two hours from Seward from what I see. Don't have any idea as to the gear but if you Google you should find some information. Try giving the Chamber of Commerce in Seward a call, bet they could help you. I think everyone in AK fishes and/or hunts. They would be able to head you in the right direction for sure. If you do Google Maps you see some lakes but access might be interesting unless you have 4WD. In Seward your pretty much surrounded by ocean and mountains. Big mountains. You have to drive through them, literally, in a tunnel to get to Seward. One lane tunnel. So, if your driving make sure you check out the times when you can drive in and when you can drive out. You share the road, as I say, a single lane with the train and opposing traffic. But, it's a great experience.

I believe you are confusing Seward with Whittier on the tunnel thing... Though there is an incredible... strike that thought... unfreakingbelieveable corkscrew trestle on the train track to Seward. But no tunnel on the road.

Cooper Landing is the bottom end of Kenai Lake and MUCH closer to Seward than Soldotna. It is where the very good Kenai River fishing starts. To get there you are required to pass a number of incredible fisheries...
art

[idlerick]

Seward's not a great place for a trout/salmon angler to stay. Last I was up there all the streams flowing into the Seward area were closed to salmon fishing, but that was in Sept. Check the current regs and see if that's still true. You have to go up past Moose Creek/Resurrection Pass to get into the next drainage. There is a lake at the apex of the Seward highway that drains to a creek that flows north to Hope. It (the lake) will hold salmon, is roadside, and is in that next drainage. The creek itself can be fun, if you can call a 60-mph torrent a creek. Access is by ropes with handholds provided by someone. Don't fall in.

Trout is open, but mostly that's a hike-in to stocked lakes situation. Contact the AK F&G to get maps and details. You have a lot of reaserch to do.
As mentioned above, best bet is to drive to Sterling, Cooper Landing, Soldotna, or Homer and fish the waters you pass that are public (most aren't). The Kenai is a great river, but TONS of anglers competing for a few public spots. A guide is the best way to go - float the river.

[hap]

Seward's not a great place for a trout/salmon angler to stay. Last I was up there all the streams flowing into the Seward area were closed to salmon fishing, but that was in Sept. Check the current regs and see if that's still true. You have to go up past Moose Creek/Resurrection Pass to get into the next drainage. There is a lake at the apex of the Seward highway that drains to a creek that flows north to Hope. It (the lake) will hold salmon, is roadside, and is in that next drainage. The creek itself can be fun, if you can call a 60-mph torrent a creek. Access is by ropes with handholds provided by someone. Don't fall in.

Trout is open, but mostly that's a hike-in to stocked lakes situation. Contact the AK F&G to get maps and details. You have a lot of reaserch to do.
As mentioned above, best bet is to drive to Sterling, Cooper Landing, Soldotna, or Homer and fish the waters you pass that are public (most aren't). The Kenai is a great river, but TONS of anglers competing for a few public spots. A guide is the best way to go - float the river.

Please, where are these non-public waters you speak of??? I have only lived here since 1964 so I might have overlooked some private water... or have been trespassing for the past four-plus decades. Driving to Cooper Landing forces one to pass a lot of very good water. Though the Kenai River is a great fushery, fact is Trail River is the headwaters of the Kenai... and it does not suck for fishing! Unless you have something against large trout and dollieS??? I will Grant you the salmon fishing is closed (major hint there for the observant) but there are some incredible venues for a great day afield along the way.

Dave's Creek, Ptarmigan, and several others are pretty cool.

Way back in the good ol' days I remember fishing from the public dock in Seward and watching (experiencing?) some drunks shooting their fish when they got them to the top. For some reason all of the shot fish rolled their eyeballs after being shot... At least according to the drunks.
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[hap]

Kenny
Was good talking with you this evening! Will put together an itinerary for six days of fishing just so you are forced to make tough decisions! As I said, Riley will be in Seward deckhanding on a salmon charter boat, but fishing evenings in local streams. He will give you lots of good fresh info when it matters... You have chosen a good time and a better place!

A 6wt will do for most all of the trout fishing, but buy a sacrificial salmon rod... 9' long, very fast, dirt cheap, and did I mention inexpensive? Most salmon fishing is not technical... I believe Mel Krieger called it a "Belgian cast" when you swing a huge wad of dangerous stuff in a good wide arc and chuck it into the river... Hardly a gossamer tethered size 26 dry on dainty riggin'! Jim Teeny's "Chuck and Duck" comes so close to truth it hurts...

For grayling the 6wt will do just fine and there are some decent fish available in surprisingly underfished waters. You may have trouble matching Denny's grayling, but 22" grayling are rare... Large enough to get the C&R patch (18") is not out of the question though. But realize the state ranks an 18" grayling with a 32" rainbow and it should make the relative size difference pretty vivid.

Wish I was going t be around when you are here, but I will probably be in Kodiak prepping for the "Sixth Annual Once in a Lifetime Alaska Fishing Trip" and waiting on Riley to do all the hard work!
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[hap]

And the first, most important point is the fact the second red salmon run on the Russian River should be in high gear during your trip... and for those that do not want to fish for reds there are the cleaning tables where people throw all sorts of large chunks of red salmon flesh, viscera, and ova to the rainbows waiting below. And where the enterprising trout angler casts large flesh flies to the waiting hordes...
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[kenfishbum]

Good talking to you also, hope you got your project finished. Thanks for all the info. I am looking forward
to my trip up there. Might have a chance to make it up in 2012 also. Maybe we could hookup then.
Ken