The Last Frontier

This summer I received the opportunity to guide in Alaska for almost two months and I wanted to share a bit of that experience here. My Alaskan tour of duty was based out of Rainbow King Lodge in Iliamna, AK. Rainbow King is near and dear to the Jamie Rouse team since Jamie, Matt, Kati and now myself have all worked out of the lodge. Being my first trip to Alaska, I was bursting with excitement and wonder on the flight from Arkansas. Being such a unique frontier adventure, there is not much you can do to prepare for the experience to come. I did have a bit of a leg up since Jamie and Matt both gave me their advice before departure.

The flight from Anchorage to Iliamna takes you by Mt. McKinley and through the Lake Clark Pass. This is where you start to get an idea of the beauty and remoteness you are in store for during your stay. Beautiful mountain peaks, volcanoes, water everywhere….simply breath taking. I arrived on a gorgeous summer Monday afternoon and was quickly put to the task of getting situated in my room (known as the swamp), obtaining my needed gear, familiarizing myself with the lodge and starting the neverending task of painting beads. At about 4:30 I could hear planes returning from the day’s fishing which meant dinner time and meeting my fellow guides.

It became quickly obvious that my calling card would be my slow southern drawl as I was the only person on staff from the south, much less not from Orgeon or North California. After getting to know everyone and having dinner, it was time to hit the sack. Tuesday would be the start of what can only be termed, the grind. An average day as a Rainbow King guide goes a little something like this: About 4:30 wake up, wader up and go eat breakfast. After eating you go to the guide shack (Samovar) and load your day’s gear onto the quad trailer to move it to the beach for loading onto the plane. You load the plane and pack rafts, then about 6:30 or 7 you would meet the guests, load them onto the plane and take off. You arrive at your day’s destination and unload the guests and gear, inflate rafts and attach frames, load gear and the fishing begins. Around 11:30 the extensive lunch program begins. Cook shore lunch, make hot drinks, build a fire and then pack it all up. Once the day’s fishing is done, you meet up with your plane, breakdown gear and rafts, load the plane and return around 5:00. Now you unload guests and all gear back onto the beach at the lodge, the gear is taken back to the guide shack, and you clean your lunch pack and all dishes. You have a second to grab a quick shower before 6:45 dinner. After dinner you usually paint beads till about 8:30 when the next days schedule comes out. With your schedule in hand you go back to the guide shack to assemble the needed gear for the next days trip. Usually after this it is past 11:00 and time for bed. Wake up and repeat every day except for Sunday, which is the sacred day of sleep and rest.

Sounds tough, I know, but the fishing more than makes up for it! To be blunt the waters we fish are considered the best wild rainbow fisheries on the planet, and the advice Jamie and Matt gave helped me capitalize quickly. We fish so many different locations it would be impossible for me to cover them all here. Each location has it’s own geographic feel, but they all have HUGE rainbow trout. Some trips are raft trips, some hiking trips and some motor boat trips. We would fish in howling winds, pouring rain and bitter cold. You are around bears constantly and that took me the longest to get used too. They get very close at times. For anyone who has wished they could fish dry-run creek, you need to take the trip for southeast creek and dream creek alone. Total sight fishing to huge bows on tiny creeks. Quite possibly one of the most special waters I’ve ever fished.

The Alaskan summer quickly gives way to winter and snowfall, letting you know the season is over and time to go home. It truly was the adventure of a lifetime! So if you like huge fish, amazing remote locations, beautiful plane rides and the ultimate outdoors experience, maybe you should come fish with us this coming summer….it will blow you away! The getaway from the brutal summer heat is nice too.

Oh yeah, almost forgot…….NO PEBBLE MINE!!!
–Tony