I would also give your left nut to fish Steinfossen.
Who said fly fishing is expensive.....
- Thread starter Brian in OR.
- Start date
I would also give your left nut to fish Steinfossen.
FinLuver
Native Oregonian…1846
fatbillybob
Steelhead
Agreed! ...and so often fishermen are varying degrees of "guide puppet."
Totally different life history. The Russian steelhead rivers are tributary to the Sea of Okhotsk, not the Pacific Ocean. The Sea of Okhotsk freezes over during the winter, unlike the Pacific Ocean, and steelhead ascend rivers in the fall and over winter under the ice, similar to Atlantic salmon in many of the northern rivers. Different fresh water life histories and different marine waters forage base make for no comparison to Pacific steelhead, just as California and southern Oregon steelhead are not directly comparable to northern Pacific steelhead.
The cost of Dean River lodges has gone up faster than general inflation. I presume that's because demand exceeds the number of available slots per season. A friend of mine got a lodge slot two years ago when a regular customer died. That is a pretty common way to get in, but the wait can be very long. The all in cost is way less than an additional $5k unless you're flying to Hagensborg via personal Lear jet. The DIY method has worked for me, altho the helo flight went up significantly a couple years ago. And you have to deal with the uncertainty of the draw (lottery). We got pretty good dates this year, which is way better than not getting drawn at all, but we couldn't match up with helicopter availability. So we have to fly in on our first fishing day and fly out on our last fishing day, instead of going in on the day before and out on the day after. So we get 7 fishing days instead of 8, but it's still a pretty good deal compared to alternatives.
Scudley Do Right
Legend
I've only been out with a guide about 5 times and never to a lodge. This describes the feeling I get. The only thing I'm doing is casting. All I'm doing is putting the fly where they tell me. That's probably why I prefer fishing on my own even if it's less successful.
A good guide and a willingness to listen and learn has helped me become a better fisherman. It has also resulted in a friend I would not have had otherwise.
A lodge trip can be a great value if it is known you are after an experience and not just catching fish. The location, the staff, and the guide are all very important for the trip to be a “success” and worth the investment.
A lodge trip can be a great value if it is known you are after an experience and not just catching fish. The location, the staff, and the guide are all very important for the trip to be a “success” and worth the investment.
There are many fantastic fishing locations that you cannot DIY, and need to sign up with an outfitter to fish there. Most guides are good at evaluating an angler's abilities and let the more experienced ones fish independently. That's why I prefer the independence of wade fishing to being stuck on the boat. Even so, a good guide is an invaluable teacher for those willing to listen and learn. I've learned a ton while travel fishing and this has improved my local fishing success. Guides are worth the expense, not so much the fine dining and luxury accommodations.
Brian in OR.
Life of the Party
Did I read that right…. Towards the bottom it says the Providence atoll return flight is $25,378 and that’s American money
Brian in OR.
Life of the Party
You tell em Jim!
Yeah, I really enjoy fishing and I enjoy traveling, but I also enjoy a good value.
Not sure if it's the engineer in me or growing up poor, but my question is always "Why?" Why is it $18k per person? Am I staying in a luxury lodge, with a top chef, fishing for large or exotic fish that only 20-30 others will fish for all season with one of the best guides on the planet?
One of those better hit for me to even consider it. If none of them hit and it's simply because enough rich people (or companies) will pay it then no thanks. I'll look for a better value. I get supply & demand. I get that premium outfits have higher costs. I've paid thousands to stay in an all-inclusive resort. They're really nice! But there has to be value there.
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I’ve fished out of only one “dedicated” fishing lodge but have done so 7 or 8 times now. It’s in AK and it’s pricy. The lodge itself is great. The food is good but what you are paying for IMO is access. To their boats, planes, their privilege on certain rivers, and guides which are required most places you are fishing.
Is it worth it? I’ve gone a bunch so yes but honestly not just for the fishing. Catching big bows is great but not the only place you can do it. I’ve also had the chance to target char, Dollie’s, lake trout, grayling, pike and various salmon species from the lodge which is cool but also something you can do in a number of places.
One of the reasons we’ve coughed up that money is I have a non-fishing spouse and that lodge is good for her. They fly her out to do bear photography while I go my own way and fish. She enjoys the comfortable room but even she could do without the other amenities. We don’t need the open bar and there is too much food. Only fishing trip I ever come back from feeling heavier. We’ve also been going there awhile so I don’t get “over guided”.
Go forward though, we won’t be going annually. We can camp where my wife likes viewing bears. I can fish other places when we go to AK. Plus, I have other places in the world I’d like to explore where I’m not paying a premium for “luxury”.
1 week fishing AK or a rental in MT for 2 months where I can DIY fish all kinds of water and species. Honestly, cost is similar for MT and a lot of other great fishing destinations.
Is it worth it? I’ve gone a bunch so yes but honestly not just for the fishing. Catching big bows is great but not the only place you can do it. I’ve also had the chance to target char, Dollie’s, lake trout, grayling, pike and various salmon species from the lodge which is cool but also something you can do in a number of places.
One of the reasons we’ve coughed up that money is I have a non-fishing spouse and that lodge is good for her. They fly her out to do bear photography while I go my own way and fish. She enjoys the comfortable room but even she could do without the other amenities. We don’t need the open bar and there is too much food. Only fishing trip I ever come back from feeling heavier. We’ve also been going there awhile so I don’t get “over guided”.
Go forward though, we won’t be going annually. We can camp where my wife likes viewing bears. I can fish other places when we go to AK. Plus, I have other places in the world I’d like to explore where I’m not paying a premium for “luxury”.
1 week fishing AK or a rental in MT for 2 months where I can DIY fish all kinds of water and species. Honestly, cost is similar for MT and a lot of other great fishing destinations.
Can't tell if yer jokin', but there might be at least a kernel of truth to that. In any case, in addition to being achingly beautiful, huge and full of incredible geology and landscapes, Alaska gives us lower-48ers a chance to see what a mostly intact salmon ecosystem can look like, which means lots of wildlife in addition to rivers full of fish. It's worth it just to adjust your baseline.Guess I never really look much into these trips that are not even in the same zip code as my budget. That said, if I had the means, I'm certain that I would be taking advantage of some of these places....well, probably except AK....just never really been all that interested I guess. Probably just too mainstream...
fatbillybob
Steelhead
I get both your points! Both realities exist. I see guys floating down a river drowning nymphs but the guide is running them over the exact holes yelling "SET" , and is really the puppet master. Then there are times when the guide gives a great education. I fish guides all the time and I'm as good as I am because of them and on some occasions their long term friendship where I have gotten to fish with them as two buddies. That's when I really learn things. A pro is always at another level. As I have aged in the sport guides are for access and boating skills that keep me safe. If you can fish they know it.
Way above my pay grade. I went to Baja to fish for Dorado with Les Johnson (Capt'n Skippy, RIP) and his merry group many moons ago and that was it for me and paying a fairly large sum to flyfish. I'm really just as happy to drive to YNP and back for my out of state trip.... and it doesn't cost anything close to the above prices.
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I enjoy fishing in the Western US. I am not a hot weather, higher humidity type person. I prefer to spend less and have more time for the same budget - much like @jasmillo indicated above. Can I spend/afford more on luxury/exotic trips? Absolutely. What I did was to forego those types of excursions so that both of my kids graduated from college debt free.
I have yet to book a guided trip, stay at a lodge, or fish a pay-to-play lake or beat. Part of that is Yankee frugality and lack of funds. But mostly I just like poking around by myself (maybe with a dog or good friend) and seeing what I can find, for the price of gas and a sandwich.
It would be cool to go to some exotic destination and catch big fish and I eagerly read the trip reports posted by people who do that. But I doubt I will ever do that.
I would like to get up to B.C. and find a place to go to once a year or so.
It would be cool to go to some exotic destination and catch big fish and I eagerly read the trip reports posted by people who do that. But I doubt I will ever do that.
I would like to get up to B.C. and find a place to go to once a year or so.
I'm not joking about my own minimal interest in AK....
Personally, if I'm spending anything extra on a fishing trip, it's probably going to be somewhere warmer.
Not all lodges are upscale and fancy, but this one had a farm to table restaraunt where you could pick out the chicken you wanted for dinner... The 'Karawalla Hilton'...only 2 story building in the village !!!
My suite for 8 days
Fishing was good, chicken wasn't bad either.
My suite for 8 days
Fishing was good, chicken wasn't bad either.
One thing I see in AK a lot that drives me bonkers is the guides back trolling rivers. Outside of a physical ailment, I am not sure why you would pay that much to have a guide zig zag back and forth across miles of river while you drag a dalli llama off the back of the boat. Horriblly boring way to fish and shitty to those that want to get in the water and swing it after 4 boats with three clients each have literally bonked every fish in the run on the nose with their fly. You sometimes see a guide literally walking back and forth across the river holding the raft with clients in it dragging their flies downstream. It’s even more enjoyable when they stop in the run you are fishing right below you and start doing it.
It’s a weird dynamic. I think a lot of folks with minimal fly fishing experience go up there and spend a ton of money to fish AK. Based on what they are spending, the guides feel obligated to get them on fish so they resort to tactics like that. No wading and no casting needed. Just let out some line and wait for the tug.