The Voices of Alaska's Interior
by Christopher Batin ©WARNING: The Alaska Angler Surgeon General Has Determined that reading the following story is hazardous to people desiring an experience that is devoid of adventure and heart-pounding, fish-catching excitement. Proceed at your own risk.
I hear voices. Not the type that coax me to jump off 30-story skyscrapers. I wish it were that simple. The voices, which resemble a cross between that of Joan Collins and Meryl Streep, speak to me loudest in business meetings, in bumper-to- bumper traffic, and at boring parties. Hauntingly, they beckon me to indulge in strange and unusual practices, the type that cause women to gasp and faint, and macho men to stutter, "You did what?"
Listen closely, and you can hear the voices also. "For true fishing adventure," one says, "look not for the expected, but rather, the unexpected. And the best place to start is Alaska's Interior."
Interior Alaska is sportfishing at its finest. Forget about block-to-block resorts and marinas packed with boats. This is wilderness with inklings of civilization, not vice versa. Expect to perform evasive maneuvers from brown bears that want to eat the 40-pound king salmon you've been catching. Feel the charge of climbing a 5,000- foot precipice to an alpine lake no one has fished, and looking down to see mountain sheep watching in wide-eyed amazement. And hold on tight as G-forces push you into the seat of your fabric and tape Bush plane as you climb toward the 20,320 foot peak of Mount McKinley.
Fishing Alaska's interior is the very essence of life, an ascension above the ordinary, where anglers discover the true meaning of absolute indulgence. The area has so much to offer, even Nature cooperates. Forget about rushing to get the day's fishing done in 10 to 12 hours. In the northland summer, the sun doesn't set for 82 days. Rather, it makes a circle in the sky, following the horizon. You'll be busy catching fish when suddenly, you feel tired. Looking at your watch, you discover it's 3 a.m., and as bright as noon.
You'll need the time. Interior Alaska offers 300,000 square miles of glorious fishing extravaganza. But to experience the best of the best, you'll need to fly in via bush plane. Fishing the road system (what little there is) is good, but it's like eating at a fancy restaurant: the hors duoreves at the bar may be fine, but the main course meal is through the double doors. Once there, it's worth every cent.
The Gates of the Arctic are the doors to some of the best interior fishing available. There you'll find the sheefish, or what early French explorers called "poisson inconnu," meaning unknown fish. It's still an unknown to many anglers today. I'll introduce you. The thick scales, bellows-like mouth and acrobatic leaps once hooked prompted the nickname "tarpon of the north." The fish lives up to the appellation. An esturine-anadromous species, sheefish are slow growers. A 20-pound sheefish may be 15 years old. Sheefish hammer lures with authority, and when they reach the 40-to 60-pound range, they literally destroy them.
The largest sheefish migrate into the very essence of Alaska's Brooks Range, the Kobuk River. This land has changed little: Eskimo grave houses occasionally silhouette the riverbanks and subsistence fish camps occasionally adorn a sandbar. At the mouth of the Kobuk is Selawik country, and what is perhaps some of the best sheefishing in North America. This is a land with few roads and cities. Only wilderness, massive expanses of plant-rich tundra and boreal forests, as much as you want to explore, either by boat, backpack or air.
In the Brooks Range fisheries, you won't need the starship Enterprise to go where no man has gone before. Walk a mile from most riverbanks, and you're there. And there are hundreds of wilderness lakes and rivers to choose from. The best include the Noatak, Selby, Old Man, Walker, and Colville. Most all contain lake trout, robust Arctic char and northern pike. On the Noatak, dangle a fly over the rear of the raft, and watch the bottom literally rise up toward you. The bio-mass of sail-finned grayling in this river is unbelievable. Anglers stop counting after 100 fish. But don't think the fish dim-witted. Most have never seen a lure before.
The Brooks is a vivid reminder of the Great Ice Age. Grab a backpack and explore its geological wonders, climb its massive spires, and swim or fish in its purity-blue alpine lakes. To see the glacial ravages reclaimed by Nature and reset in the beauty of the northcountry's flora and fauna is a humbling experience.
There's much, much more. To the north are the streams of the Sagavanirktok, a prime char and grayling fishery. Be forewarned. The area receives caribou migrations that number in the thousands. A herd of them crossing a river can easily ruin the angling in a pool. That's the price you pay for fishing wilderness.
After the "Sag," stop off in Barrow, the northernmost settlement in North America. There, hundreds of thousands of ciscoes, whitefish and char cruise the intertidal areas of the Arctic Ocean, perhaps the richest in the world. Walking along the beach, you may see a woman skinning out a seal, or find a harpoon head on a remote beach outside town. There's stark contrast between the modern hotel and the tiny Eskimo shacks called houses, built small because it takes less fuel to heat them during the -60 below winters, in a land with no trees for firewood.
Let's head to southeast Interior, and visit the wild and woolly northern Wrangells, perhaps the most rugged mountain range in Alaska. Glaciers, ice climbing, summer downhill skiing, exploration, isolation. In the Wrangells there's land, lots of it, that man has yet to set foot on. And that thought alone makes each step one to be treasured for a lifetime.
Based out of the tiny community of Tok, 40-Mile Air's Charlie Warbelow enjoys opening up the Wrangell Mountains to anglers. He uses a runt of a plane called a Super Cub, a tiny, two-seater aircraft constructed of fabric and tape. Once inside, there's barely room to turn around. Oftentimes you sit on your baggage, which can weigh no more than 60 pounds. Anything more gets left behind. The Cub is an adventure in flying. Heck, it's an adventure in life. You feel every swirl of wind and get jarred with every wave of turbulence. Land on mountaintops that other planes can't touch, or better yet, circle and soar with the eagles. Most importantly, it's your ticket to fishing adventure that others can't reach.
The Wrangells offer good to excellent fishing for lake trout, grayling and pike. Many lakes such as Wellesley near the Canadian Border, and T Lake north of Tok offer comfortable, remote cabins equipped with bunks, stoves, boat, motors, everything necessary for true, away-from-the-crowds fishing. In many areas, lakes that receive more than 20 anglers a year would be considered heavily fished. They make for a perfect adventure the entire family can enjoy. But don't burn out catching lakers, pike and grayling. There's salmon yet to be caught.
Leave the plane in Fairbanks and take the two-lane Parks Highway south . On the way, you'll pass Denali National Park, home to Mount McKinley, North America's highest mountain. It's brooding countenance looms over Lake Minchumina, where Jack Hayden offers good fishing for inconnu to 20 pounds, king salmon to 30, pike to 20 and grayling to three pounds on the Nowitna and remote, wilderness waters farther west.
Continuing down the Parks Highway, take a left onto the Denali Highway and head east. You'll run smack dab into the Gulkana and Klutina rivers, two of my most favorite interior salmon streams.
In July you'll find sockeyes aplenty, especially in the Gulkana. But the powerhouse of the salmon family is the king salmon, and look no further than the Sourdough Campground for starters.
If you're looking to catch beefy shouldered kings a few days from saltwater, then head back to the Parks and the subsequent action on the Susitna and Talkeetna drainages. During the peak of the run on these drainages expect to catch at least a king a day. Set the hook, and they charge up the river channels, and if you're lucky, cartwheel several times in succession before they start again. I know. Each year I spend a week in blissful combat.
Allow me to place you in my shoes. "Ready? Make a cast to that 45-pounder coming up the chute. Twitch the fly a few times. He sees it! No, Don't jerk the fly away! He's taking it! He's taking it! Now. Hit him!"
The fish smashes the fly, conducts a perfect, tail-first cartwheel that completely clears the water before rocketing upstream, with you in tow. Now if you have the stamina to handle that 10 to 20 times a day in succession, you're a better angler than I. My nerves get wasted after the first strike. But five minutes later, I'm always back, nerves twitching with frazzled anticipation. This is blissful overindulgence unlike any other.
In addition to kings, there are four other species of Pacific salmon, arctic grayling, and numerous Dolly Varden. Wild rainbow trout up to five pounds thrive in the dark green currents of the Talkeetna. Of course you can fish for them from a boat, but use ultralight tackle and wade for them. Each year, the river changes course, creating different holes, runs and angling challenges.
Listen, and you can hear the voices again; calling you to fish for pike over in the Tanana, for grayling on the Fish River near Nome, and world-class fishing for char on the Wulik near Kotzebue. They're all calling you to Alaska's Interior.
A word of warning, however. I answered the call over 25 years ago, and have been here ever since. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to leave you on your own. I hear another type of voice, that of my wife calling me to a salmon and halibut dinner. And like the voices of Alaska, hers is the type you don't want to ignore.
Christopher Batin is the editor of the Alaska Angler and has lived in Alaska for nearly 25 years, spending as much as 180 days a year, fishing all over the state to bring you the best information on Alaska sportfishing, without bias or hyperbole.
IF YOU GO.....
WHEN TO GO: Cold in interior Alaska? No way. Expect sunny days with an occasional rainshower. Winds are very light. Expect 70 to 90 degree temperatures from June through September. This period of warm weather also coincides with the best fishing.
WHAT TO TAKE: Because the interior offers a variety of sportfishing action, you'll need your complete arsenal of fishing gear, from ultralight outfits to heavy-duty fly rods for king salmon.
HOW TO GET THERE: Take daily, commercial airline service to Fairbanks. Chartered air service to a variety of northland destinations such as Fort Yukon and Bettles can be arranged through numerous flight services in town. Charter a plane to the Brooks Range; rent a car and drive to Tok or the Wrangells, or begin your grayling fishing adventure by hiking along the Delta Clearwater south of Delta. Keep in mind, however, that many cities such as Nome and Kotzebue in western Alaska are accessible only via connecting flight through Anchorage.
WHERE TO STAY: The interior offers a variety of motels, wilderness camps, bed and breakfasts and camping spots for the do-it-yourselfer as well as the angler searching for the finery of a full-service lodge.
APPROXIMATE COSTS: Costs for chartered air service runs by the hour or trip, and depends on number of people and type of aircraft used. The larger the number, the less the cost. .
Fishing lodges vary in price, and depend on area. Some current charges: five days of salmon and trout fishing, $1800; seven days of sheefish fishing, $2,700; salmon and pike fishing, $1700; Salmon and rainbow trout fishing, $318 per day; guided and unguided day fishing trips range from $125 per person to $45 per person, respectively. Do-it-yourself fishing exists for the angler who has the know-how to fish Alaska.
Learn the specific how-to and where-to-go secrets of catching trophy sheefish, trout and salmon on your own by scheduling a one-on-one phone discussion with Alaska Angler editor Chris Batin via the Alaska Angler Information Service. Check out this site for more details, http://alaskaangler.com/angler/infoservice.htm...or call 907-455-8000 to schedule an appointment.
This page last updated: January 22, 2004