Your Tell-All Guide...

Your Tell-All Guide to Denali Fly Fishing!

(Part One)

So here’s your inside tell-all look at Denali fly fishing written by a real, live local fly fishing guide with almost thirty years of experience in fishing the Denali area!  Obviously, you’ll want to know where to find the best water, the peak dates, and the top techniques--and I’ll try to answer most of those questions without spot burning any of my favorite water.  But at the risk of sounding self-serving, I’m going to keep coming back to my number one piece of advice:   hire a good local guide!

I’m not saying that because I need the work.  

I’m currently working full-time as a science teacher during the school year and while I’m not getting rich teaching kids, I do like what I do and I’m doing just fine, thank you.  I don’t guide because I need to.  I guide because I love to get out on the water and meet new people and teach them whatever I can.  

Now ask yourself, just how much have you spent to get to Alaska?  And what do you want to do more than anything else while you’re up here?  I’m guessing that the answer is to catch beautiful fish in the midst of epic mountain scenery on a gin-clear creek?  If that’s the case, you’ve really got to hire a guide.  

I do. Every year.  Let me explain.

Each year I look forward to fishing the Mayan Riviera--a gorgeous stretch of paradise north of Belize--for tarpon, bones, permit, and snook.  I’d fish there four or five times a year if I could, but I have just a single week of spring vacation, and although I’m good at finding fish, I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars flying south just to spend my entire vacation trying to figure out what other guys already know.  So I pay to play for two or three days. 

There’s this insane idea out there that you can learn everything you need to know from the internet.  But up-to-date local knowledge is rarely available on the interweb.  That knowledge is not in the cloud so much as it’s in the minds of the guys and gals who spend every day out on the water.  Take advantage of them.  

I do each spring when I hire Nick.  Nick Denbow is a good guy and a great guide.  Nick puts me on fish, teaches me what I need to know, coaches me to strip strike, and takes me to the mouths of hidden cenotes that would otherwise take me years to find.  

So I fish with him for 2-3 days and then DIY for the others.  Nick gladly tells me where to go on the days when I’m on my own.  He gives good advice because he’s had a chance to fish with me and he understands that I’m going to release my fish and not give away his hot spots.  I’ve told him that I shut off the location finder on ALL my pictures so anything I share won’t be traceable.  I think that he appreciates all those things.  I know I would.   So he hooks me up.  That’s how it works.   

So whether you hire me or another local guide, remember:  hire local knowledge.

You won’t regret it.  Chances are--if you demonstrate that you’re going to guard the resource and your guide’s spots, you’ll get some fantastic insider advice that you can use to spend a  productive day or two fishing on your own.  As guides, we know where the fish are and even though this is Alaska, they aren’t just anywhere and everywhere.  As a bonus, most of my clients want to know where else they can fish as they travel throughout Alaska, and I’m happy to give them serious tips about when, where, and who to fish with.  

To Be Continued!

Stay tuned!  In my next post I’ll give you what I promised:  how and where to fly fish near Denali National Park!   And if you’re ever looking for a great fly fishing guide in Mexico, check out Nick Denbow’s website:  The Southern Yucatan's Leading Guide Service. You won’t regret it. If I can help you plan a trip, you can email me at denaliangler@gmail.com.

Take care,

George Rogers

Denali Angler 

Owner and Denali Fly Fishing Guide