I am Coming to Alaska What do I do now?

August 18, 2006 on 4:02 pm | In General Information, Equipment | No Comments

If you have booked a Fishing Trip with Black Rock Charters in Gustavus, Alaska then you are probably wondering what to do next.  Below I have outlined a list of the items I feel are important to remember when planning and preparing to come to Alaska.

Prepare
The first and most important part of coming to Alaska is to prepare.  Often times people book the trip, mark it on their calendar, then hop on a plane to Alaska one night after work.  My feeling is you need to think about what you want out of your Alaska experience.  Do you want to catch lots of fish?  If so what kind? Halibut, Snapper, Ling Cod, Shark, Salmon… What kind of Salmon? King Salmon, Silver Salmon, Pink Salmon, Coho, Chum, Humpy or Sockeye Salmon? 

If you are not in Alaska to fish then what are you there to do? Hunt, whale watch, view wildlife, relax, and/or spend time with your family?  What ever your reason for coming to Alaska the key is to prepare yourself ahead of time.  Knowing what is important to you before you arrive is very important, because then you will be prepared to accomplish that feet while you are there. What to Bring - Fishing Many times people wonder what they should bring to Alaska.  This is an extremely important question. 

If you are fishing with Black Rock Charters while you are in Alaska then you will have all of your fishing gear provided for you.  However, most fishing guides encourage you to bring your favorite fishing lure or fishing rod.  Also, after you get off the boat at night you may want to have dinner and then walk down to the river and fish for a while.  In that case it would be important to bring a few lures and a fishing rod.  Many of the local Inns provide fishing rods and lures for this purpose.  However, they are not always the highest quality due to the sheer volume and normal wear and tear.

What to Bring - Other
How about clothing?  The average summer temperature in Alaska is around 60 degrees.  Therefore depending on your home town and the temperature and what you are acclimated  to you will want to dress accordingly.  However, I would recommend jeans and a long sleeve shirt for days when you are on the boat.  I would also recommend bringing at least one waterproof jacket.  Long Underwear is not unheard of in the summer time, usually when the Black Rock Chaters’ boats are motoring to the fishing grounds early in the morning warm clothes are needed.  However, come mid-afternoon, it is nice to be able to strip down to a tee-shirt when the sun is beating down on you.

Other Items you may want to bring:
Pillow
Tooth Brush
Dental Floss 
Deodorant
Brush/Comb
Chap Stick
Sun Screen
Glasses
Contacts
Sun Glasses
Add’ Fishing Equip
Knife
Bug Repellant
Flash Light
Kleenex
Rain Coat
Boots (Waterproof)
Sandals
Stocking Cap
Asprin
Camera
Film
GPS Unit
Small Backpack

You can visit our website for a complete list of items to bring to Alaska or you can download our Camping Supply List Here  One final consideration when it comes to packing is the return trip home.  Most airlines allow each passenger to check two bags up to 50lbs each and then have one carry on.  While this is important for the trip to Gustavus, Alaska it is very important on the return trip home when you have caught hundreds of pounds of Fresh Fish.  The local fish packing company can package your fish in 25-50lb boxes for you to take home.  Well, if you can get all of your clothing and equipment into a carry on then you can take home two fish boxes for free on the airline.  If you need to have the fish shipped to you, they have to be shipped overnight via Fed Ex.  If you can imaging how expensive shipping a 50lb box overnight from Alaska you will find yourself bringing less clothing.   

You can visit Black Rock Charters website to get a list of gear to bring to Alaska or your next camping trip.