Fly Fishing Alaska's Wild Rivers

341 Pages·1998·3.87 MB·English

by  Dan Heiner

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Page i
Fly-Fishing Alaska's Wild Rivers
by Dan Heiner
Page ii
Copyright © 1998 by Stackpole Books
Published by
STACKPOLE BOOKS
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or
portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Stackpole Books, 5067
Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.
Portions of the material in this book appeared previously in Dan
Heiner's books Alaska on the Fly, and In Search of Alaska's Best Fly-
Fishing.
Fly Drawings by Jon Conrad/Jon Conrad Studio, Monrovia, CA
Line Drawings by James Havens/Wasilla, AK
Watercolor Painting by C. D. Clarke/P.O. Box 344, Upper Fairmount,
MD
Fly Pattern Photos by Greg Martin/Greg Martin Photography,
Anchorage, AK
All other photos by Dan Heiner, unless otherwise credited
Map illustrations by Wendy A. Reynolds and Caroline M. Stover
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Heiner, Dan.
Fly-fishing Alaska's wild rivers / Dan Heiner.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-8117-2762-9
1. Fly fishingAlaskaGuidebooks. 2. Freshwater fishesAlaska.
3. AlaskaGuidebooks. I. Title.
SH467.H45 1998
799.1'1'09798dc21 97-29137
CIP
Page iii
This book is dedicated to my father,
Daniel P. Heiner,
for teaching me, among other things, to fly-fish,
and also to the memory of
Tom Bukowski
Page iv
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power,
and magic in it.
Goethe
Page v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
At the risk of forgetting several individuals, I'd like to thank the
following people for their inspiration and assistance over the years:
my wife, Anne Heiner, Steve and Gina Abel, R. Clark Alvey, Nick
Amato, Geoff Armstrong, Lem Batchelder, Mark and Greg Bell, Bo
Bennett, Mike Bergt, Ken Bethe, Doug and Danny Brewer, Eberhard
Brunner, David Byrne, Jimmy Carlsen, Dr. Joseph Leon Chandler,
Jack Charlton, Peter Cockwill, Trey Combs, Jon Conrad, Tom
Coomer, Bob Couey, Bob Cusack, Dr. Mike Cusack, Dale DePriest,
Bobby DeVito, Jerry Donaldson, John Donovan, Mike Dooley, Claire
Dubbin, David Ford, Dennis Gearhart, Ted and Mary Gerken, John
Gierach, Gus Gillispie, Jeff and Don Glaser, Chris Goll, Mike Gorton,
Greg Hamm, Wayne Hansen, Greg Harrington, Jack Harris, Van
Hartley, Tom Haugen, Albert P. Heiner, Mike Hershberger, Bill
Herzog, Bob and Jed Holley, John Hutchinson, Ron Hyde, Sr., Les
Jacober, Eric Jameson, Lawrence John, Bruce Johnson, Mark
Johnson, Ray Johnson, Will Johnson, Elly Jones, Randall Kaufmann,
Bob Keller, Craig Ketchum, Gary King, Jr., Russ King, John Klar,
Greg Lindgren, John and Joyce Logan, Gary Loomis, Ames Luce,
Andy MacLeod, Bob Marriott, Greg Martin, Sean McAdams, Dennis
McAffee, Dennis and Sharon McCracken, Dr. David McGuire,
Thomas E. McGuire, Don Meahan, Michael Mills, Perry Mollan,
Nanci Morris, Willie Morris, Greg Niesen, Russ Nogg, Bernie
Ortman, John Ortman, Jr., John Ortman, Sr., Mike Patton, Gunnar
Pedersen, Raymond "Sonny" Petersen, Ray Petersen, Sr., Kip Roberti,
Paul "Eli" Rotkis, Mike Sanders, Tony Sarp, Marty Sherman, Chris
Smith, Franklin "Doc" Smith, Larry Smith, John Stacer, Bob Stearns,
Dick Steinman, John Sumrall, Evan Swensen, Jim Teeny, Bret and
Mark

Page vi
Thunell, Bob and Curt Trout, Tony Weaver, Tom White, Bob
Whittenberg, Jimmy Winchester, Rod Wolfrum, Dick and Darwin
Wright, and the many Alaska fishing guides, pilots, and clients I have
been privileged to spend time with. Special appreciation also to Harry
Geron, antique tackle advisor, Vera de'Clair, Professional Processing,
G. Loomis, Inc.
Page vii
CONTENTS
Foreword ix
Introduction 1
Part One: Getting Ready
1 6
Rods, Reels, Clothing, and Cameras
2 19
Fly Lines and Leaders
3 26
Fly Patterns for Alaska
Part Two: The Alaska Experience
4 42
Bush Planes and Fly-Outs
5 44
Weather Permitting
6 48
Alaska's Fishing Lodges
7 50
Alaska's Bears
Part Three: Where to Go
8 60
Anchorage Outbound
9 63