Affordable Float Plane Fishing in Alaska Part 1: A How to Guide

by Neil Woodburn on

Float plane fishing in Alaska has always sounded like a prohibitively expensive proposition to me.

Having just returned from my first time doing so, I can now definitively state just how wrong I was.

Sure, float plane fishing can indeed be VERY expensive, costing hundreds of dollars a day with private guides and First Class service. But there are much cheaper, do-it-yourself options available. The one my friends and I slapped together, for example, cost a mere $50 per day, making our “prohibitively expensive” vacation one of the most affordable I’ve been on in a long while. And, one of the most enjoyable.

It would have been a great trip no matter where we went because it was with a group of friends I’ve known since junior high school, no wives or girlfriends allowed. No one really knew what to expect, however; only two of us had ever been to Alaska before (click here to see the 17-part series from last year) and only one was enough of a fisherman to actually own his own rod. Nonetheless, the trip turned out to be the perfect Alaskan experience; bears, bald eagles, fresh salmon, and jaw-dropping scenery. And, great friends, of course.

Organizing such an excursion for a group of half-fisherman, Alaska neophytes, certainly took a bit of planning but the return on the investment was priceless.

The following is a detailed guide for preparing a similar trip yourself. If you’ve never fished or spent time in the outdoors, however, I wouldn’t recommend this option; you’ll definitely need a guide, some handholding, and plenty of money to spend. But if you do have rudimentary outdoor skills and are ready to tackle the Alaska wilderness on your own, please read on.

Ketchikan

We settled on the Ketchikan area because it’s the fastest way in and out of Alaska. My $540 Alaska Airline flight left Los Angeles at 6:15 in the morning and would have arrived in Ketchikan at 11:30 a.m. had it not been delayed four hours in Seattle. Thankfully we had decided to spend our first night in the city; otherwise we would have missed our charter flight out to the wilderness.

Spending a day in Ketchikan also allowed us to pick up supplies, eat a hearty meal, acclimate to the wonders of Alaska, and stay the night in an old bordello.

Although there are cheaper places to stay in Ketchikan, we opted for the historic New York Hotel. The main part of the hotel is on busy Stedman Street, but the two-level suite we booked for $240 was located 50 yards away, literally hanging over a picturesque river of spawning salmon (above).

This is the historic Creek Street area, a gangplank-connected row of turn-of-the-century buildings that served as the red light district up until prostitution was made illegal in 1953. Today, it’s overrun with t-shirt stores and souvenir shops but still remains a wonderfully beautiful location within walking distance of all the best restaurants, bars, and stores in Ketchikan.

The Charter Plane

If you’re not careful, the wrong charter company can set you back quite a bit of money. On the other hand, finding the cheapest crop duster to fly you into the wilds of Alaska is probably not a good idea either.

After plenty of online research and numerous telephone calls, we eventually settled on Alaska Seaplane Tours. The company had some of the more affordable rates and was very pleasant on the phone during the off-season when we were planning the trip. We ended up chartering their entire fleet for all seven of us; a five passenger DeHavilland Beaver and a two passenger Cessna 185.

The total round trip cost for the flight (20 minutes each way) was a modest $800 for both planes; just $114 per person. The pilots were professional and yet hilarious at the same time. They picked us up at our hotel in Ketchikan, drove us to their dock, loaded up the plane in moments flat, and then took to the air-all within a 30 minute time span. The whole time they were making jokes, having fun, and otherwise entertaining us.


My only complaint was some poor communication leading up to the trip. They were difficult to get a hold of during their busy summer season and never responded to emails regarding pickup times and weight limits. Otherwise, they were a great, lucky find and I highly recommend them.

The flight itself was a joy. I’ve never been in a float plane before and was rather surprised at the smooth take off and landing. Water is so much better than tarmac! The planes also fly rather low and provide wonderful opportunities to check out the surrounding mountains and lakes. Even if you’re not heading out to the wilderness, this would be a great sight seeing tour.

The Gear

Packing for a float plane trip is similar to packing for camping; everything you might need must be packed in advance because the nearest civilization is miles away.

The Alaska Seaplane Tours Lake Trip Rental Package was a huge help. The following items were packed into the plane and flown out with us for just an additional $89:

2 fold chairs
1 Coleman – double burner propane cook stove
1 back-up single burner propane stove
1 week’s propane supply
2 Therma-rest sleep pads
1 cooler for food
Necessary cook utensils
1 cook pot
1 fry pan
1 dish bowl
1 weeks plates/bowls
1 6hp two stroke Yamaha outboard
1 Coleman Propane Lantern
1 week’s mixed two-stroke engine fuel
Lifejackets

Fishing equipment was a bit more of a challenge. Only one of us had a decent pole. The guys at Alaska Seaplane Tours threw in three extra rods to help us out, but they were a little banged up and, as we would find out, strung with line that was too light to catch salmon. Luckily, we also rented poles from Alaskan Aquamarine for $10 per day. For an additional $10 they delivered the poles directly to the float plane dock and then picked them up again at the end of the trip.

We did, however, have to spend some time buying lures and other fishing equipment. The best place in Ketchikan to do so is the Tongass Trading Company located right on the docks. They’ve got a tremendous amount of fishing supplies and some very knowledgeable staff to point city-slicker neophytes like us in the right direction.
Lastly, each of us needed to buy a fishing license. It’s easy to do so in Ketchikan, but an even easier option is online here.

The Cabin

The US Forest Service maintains a number of cabins throughout Alaska. They are simple, Spartan structures that provide shelter, warmth, and not a whole lot more. The most important thing, however, is that they are very cheap. Our cabin was just $35 a night.

It came equipped with two wooden-plank bunk beds, the bottom of which was wide enough to sleep two each. That’s just barely room for six people. We had one extra person which meant we took turns sleeping on the floor of the cabin. With enough bed pads, it was actually quite comfortable.

The interior also had a small table, some shelf space for cooking supplies, and a wood burning stove. The stove wasn’t very practical for cooking but it did a great job of warming up the cabin. We did most of our cooking on a camp stove outside or wrapped up in foil and placed on the embers of an outdoor fire ring. Next time, I think we’ll bring a small grill to place over the embers.

The cabin also had an exterior outhouse as well as a completely loaded woodshed. Best of all, nearly every US Forest Service cabin in the areas comes equipped with a small skiff.

The cabin was awfully small for seven people but served its purpose well. I was a little disappointed, however, that there was no roof over the front porch. It rains a lot in this part of Alaska and this is where we spent most of our time in the evenings. Thankfully someone brought a rain tarp which we strung up.

One word of advice in booking a cabin; try to do so six months in advance. This is when the Forest Service opens up the reservations and the more popular cabins can disappear very quickly when this happens.

Tomorrow: Affordable Float Plane Fishing in Alaska Part 2

For a gallery of more Alaska photographs from this trip, click here

Life at Latitude 59: On Top of Mt. Alice

by Catherine Bodry on
There are many wonderful things about living in Seward, Alaska. Besides the astounding natural beauty, there’s the small-town camaraderie, the pride residents have in being one of the few that stay for the winter, and the All-American feel of the old downtown. It’s what I consider an authentic town, meaning it’s cute in an unpolished way. Sometimes the wind blows the smell of the fish processing plant downtown, and other times coal dust from rail cars transporting coal to waiting ships blankets the town. It’s not just a tourist town; it’s industrial, and a little bit gritty. Seward is a 2-hour drive south of Anchorage, which is far enough to feel separate from the big city, but close enough that if you need to head to Anchorage for just a day, you can. Cruise ships stop here, and the touristy Alaska Railroad carts tourists to and from Anchorage. But it’s easy to escape the hordes.

Probably my favorite part about being in Seward is its proximity to phenomenal trails. Within a 15-minute drive is the trailhead to Exit Glacier and the Harding Ice Field, the famous Mt. Marathon (hosting an infamous 4th of July race), and the 15-mile Lost Lake traverse. It’s a rare evening when I don’t run or hike a trail. We Sewardites even get on the trails during the winter.

It’s rainy here, so perfect hiking days can be rare. My husband Lael and I took advantage of one such sunny day last week and climbed up Mt. Alice, the tallest mountain in Seward.

The trail up Alice is not maintained and is a bit of a local secret. There’s no trailhead, just an inconspicuous turn-off. As you start your hike, you’re in a forest of mossy Hemlocks, with blueberries scattered around.

The climb is steep, gaining 3000 feet from sea level to the end of the trail, and you emerge from the forest in an alpine meadow with only half of your climb behind you. From there, you follow a sharp ridge sometimes balancing on the edge of the cliff — or so it seems. Dall sheep wander the hillside and leave their wool in tufts on the rocks.

The trail ends when the meadows do, and you’re left to clamber over boulders and snow patches. You can’t get to the actual top of Alice as it becomes too technical for a mere hike. But you do get quite close; you can see the ridges and cracks in the small glaciers below her face.

We found a tarn hidden amongst the rocks; Lael took a quick swim, and I waded to my waist and eventually dunked my head. It was surprisingly cold for being so small, but tiny snow patches still dripped into the water so I guess it doesn’t get as much sun as it seem to on that bright day.

After the swim, with our shorts wet and bodies cooled off, we descended the mountain. We had blisters and sore thighs, but we also saw about 4 people on the mountain the whole day so it was a worthwhile journey. Even though it’s only August, fall is rapidly approaching and there’s a general feeling of “seize the sunny day” around town. Suddenly, it’s dark at night and you have to turn your car headlights on as early as 10p.m. I know that in the dead of winter I’ll cling to this bright day, because it’s so hard to imagine Alice without snow 8 months out of the year.

Extreme Geography in the United States

by Justin Glow on

Catherine’s post on the not-so-well-known geographical center of the United States got me thinking: there’s something fun and intriguing about visiting, say, the northernmost point in a country, or perhaps driving eastward until you can drive no further — if only so that you can say, “There’s no one further east than me,” unless there’s someone else standing next to you. If so you’ll have to say, “There’s no one further east than me…and this other person.” But somehow that’s not quite as romantic. Unless it’s a girl and you’re a guy and there’s a bit of chemistry going on. Anyway. Here we go:

All 50 states:

48 Contiguous:

P.S. This is my 500th post with Gadling. Woo!

A Long Weekend in Denali National Park

by Catherine Bodry on

There are a few ways to experience Denali National Park and Preserve. One is to arrive like a rajah on the second floor of a domed rail car or lofty motor coach, and stay at one of the plush corporate lodges. From there you can book a number of excursions that include flight seeing, river rafting, and guided hikes and tours.

Or you can arrive independent of commercial companies, bus into the park, and backpack through terrain absent of trails but full of grizzlies, caribou, and panoramic views.

Our approach was a compromise between the two options above. A good friend who works for one of the large tour companies got my husband and I free round-trip tickets for the train as a gift for our one-year anniversary. While the tourists arrived from their hotels via motor coach, we parked our car in downtown Anchorage and boarded with large packs. From there it was a spectacular 8-hour ride to the park. The sky was cloudless, and Mt. McKinley (“Denali” or just “The Mountain” to locals) was looming — a rare sight.

After we disembarked we took a shuttle to Riley Creek Campground, just inside the park boundaries. We walked in, but were clearly outsiders; the campground was full of RVs and campers. We couldn’t find any bear-proof storage bins so we left our food outside the tent and hoped for the best. Not the smartest thing to do, but I figured if there had been any bear problems we would’ve heard about them. It turns out that our biggest problem was aggressive and fearless squirrels.

The next morning, our only full day in the park, we caught a 9:30 a.m. “shuttle” (read: school bus) that took us on a several-hour journey to the Toklat River, just over 50 miles in. Along the way our driver stopped for caribou, eagles, and one large but distant grizzly. The park road, 91 miles long, is unpaved and only open to shuttles; the ride is dusty and bumpy, but one of the coolest and easiest ways to access Alaska’s backcountry. You buy a ticket for as far in as you’d like to go and can get off and on wherever you want.

We arrived at the Toklat just after 1 p.m., and since it was such a perfectly warm and sunny day decided to take a hike up an enticing valley across the river.

We crossed the river, filled our water bottles from a bubbling spring, snapped the following photos,

and went on our wary way. We followed a glacial stream up the steep valley until it became more of a canyon. As we climbed, the orange walls became steep and towering and when we looked back, the top of Denali rose heavily above the mountains (see first photo).

It was one of those rare perfect Alaskan days — the sun was warm, there was a slight breeze, and no bugs. We found a patch of meadow and took a short nap before continuing up the canyon. We reached a surreal-looking landscape where the stream we’d been following split and flowed from several sources. This was our stopping point.

Since we had to make the last bus out of the park at 7 p.m. we didn’t have time to scale one of the higher ridges, much to Lael’s disappointment. Reluctantly, we made our way back down the creek, across the river, and on a waiting school bus. Back at camp we devoured our pasta and were in bed far earlier than is normal.

It turned out that our glorious weather was short-lived — it began raining sometime during the night and when we woke up everything was soggy. I peeled my damp pants on over my sweaty, dusty skin and made my way through the rain to the nearby general store, where I indulged in a latte and hot shower ($4 each). Civilization was never too far away. We boarded the train back to Anchorage later that morning, scrubbed and happy.

Booking a Flight from New York to San Francisco Online. But Where Online?

by Iva Skoch on

I used to be a big fan of buying tickets on travel websites such as Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com but lately, I found that it is often cheaper to buy them directly through the airlines’s websites. Have we come a full circle?

I picked a random date–a long weekend Sept.13-17 from New York to San Francisco–to see what rates would come back.

A sample of a few direct flights:

  • United: $303 on Expedia, $298 on United.com
  • Continental: $357 on Expedia, $352 on Continental.com
  • Delta: $303 on Expedia, $358 on Delta.com
  • Alaska: $343 on Expedia, $498 on Alaskaair.com (hello!)

OK, so it’s a mixed bag. I have to say though that I have yet to find a flight that is cheaper on Expedia or Travelocity than it is on Continental.com. Their website is really good, I think. It is comforting to know that airlines are starting to understand how to use the Internet to their–and our–advantage.

I now use kayak.com to see the best rates and then book directly on the airlines’ sites. Plus, I get extra miles for booking online. Expedia, be worried!