Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page
Float trips offer an exhilarating way to explore this incredible fishery. Imagine camping on the bank of a remote stream, fishing until midnight, waking up to the sound of salmon splashing their way upstream. The trip begins with your arrival at the King Salmon Airport. We will double check your provisions and equipment, make sure everyone has a license and head down to the float plane dock. The flight to the lakes takes about an hour over vast areas of tundra, forests and lakes. We land in a spectacular lake at the foot of the mountains and unload all the gear. As the plane takes off we realize how far from civilization we are. If the fishing is good at the lake we’ll get right to it, if we need to proceed down the river to better fishing we will set up the 16’ inflatable catarafts, load up the gear, set up some fly rods and head down..
It doesn't take long to get into some exciting fishing! We are in the heart of the best freshwater fly fishing in the world; clearwater streams, huge salmon runs, large predacious rainbow trout and you. Toward evening we need to set up camp and get some dinner. We all share in the tasks of setting camp, doing dishes, loading the boats, etc.
The camp is luxurious by camping standards with oversized tents that you can stand up in, cots to sleep on make a huge difference, and a screened dining tent with table and stools for meals. Dinners and breakfasts are fairly elaborate (check out the menu section) and prepared by your guide, lunches usually consist of sandwiches served boat-side while on the river. Fishing until 1 am or starting at 5 am is not unusual because of the long days. Our trips are also participatory, meaning we all pitch in with the camp chores like: setup and striking of camp; dishwashing; hauling gear from the boats to the camp site; and setting up the rafts. This does 2 things for the group, it keeps our time on the river floating and fishing and it creates a bond between the guides and the guests. With your help we can set up camp in less than an hour, if it were just the guides it would take 2.5 hours which means we would leave later in the morning and have to rush through some great fishing spots to get to the campsite by 4:30 so we can start cooking dinner by 7. With everyone helping we can take more time on the river with you at the best fishing spots. There is so much fishing daylight the camp chores are just a small part of the day. The other benefit is the work tends to eliminate folks that just shouldn't be out on a camping trip anyway and we get groups that are like minded campers and fly fishers.
On a float trip you determine when to stop fishing not the lodge. The majority of the fishing is done while wading but we always fish from the boat as well.
Some days we will spend an hour in the boat other days 3-4 hours but it is always broken up by periods of wading. We will be living in one of the densest populations of brown bears in the world. These are coastal browns which enjoy a much safer reputation than the interior browns (called grizzlies when they are 50 miles from the ocean). These bears are very well fed on the salmon running in the river. The bears like to follow the sockeye salmon so if you are visiting a river during the sockeye run you will encounter many bears on a trip. Although there has never been a physical incident in Katmai National Park we follow all the "bear-safe" precautions to make sure our journey is safe. The bears are so well fed that they will avoid us as long as we don't interfere with their ability to fish. The week seems to fly by and before you know it we are dismantling the rafts, and loading the plane for the journey back to King Salmon. Living in the wilds of Alaska with no civilization to be found is an experience in itself, combine that with some of the finest fly fishing in the world and it becomes an adventure you will never forget.
The following is a sample menu for a seven day float. Variations are always possible depending on the arrival of our weekly fresh food shipments. We hope to surprise everyone with high quality foods and wine while you are with us
Most special dietary needs can be accommodated.
Day 1
- Dinner: Penne with Asparagus and Sun dried tomatoes in a garlic and oil sauce - Salad, Banana Foster
Day 2
- Breakfast: Bacon & Eggs - bagels - fruit
- Lunch: Cold Cut sandwiches - chips
- Dinner: Thai Chicken with peanut sauce, broccoli squash, rice. Lisa's Special Thai Salad, Cheesecake
Day 3
- Breakfast: Blueberry Pancakes - sausage - Oranges
- Lunch: Cold Cut Sandwiches - chips - apples
- Dinner: Steak Au Poive - Garlic Mashed Potatoes &Vegetables. chocolate mousse
Day 4
- Breakfast: Cream cheese, summer squash and shallot Omelets -English muffins - oranges
- Lunch: BLT's - carrot sticks - chips
- Dinner: Chicken Piccata over egg noodles with salad, bread. Cheesecake for desert
Day 5
- Breakfast: French toast l'orange - vegetarian sausage- Grapefruit
- Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwiches - Boiled eggs-apples
- Dinner: Mesquite grilled Pork Tenderloin or fresh salmon or char - porcini risotto -peas, smores for desert!
Day 6
- Breakfast: Huevos Rancheros - Oranges or Bananas
- Lunch: BLT's or Tuna Sandwiches - Chips
- Dinner: Pasta ala Carbonara, Crepes Suzette
Day 7
- Breakfast: Apple and Cinnamon Pancakes, bacon, Oranges
- Lunch: Leftovers (or civilization)
Beverages: Lemonade, iced tea, fruit punch, coffee, tea Snacks: Candy Bars, cookies, peanut butter crackers, chips, and pretzels
Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page
PO BOX 180446 BOSTON MA 02118
Phone: 888-857-6700
Fax: 617-427-7890
ed@flyfishingheaven.com