Jet Boat Eases Walking, Provides New Fishing Options

11.09.12

Nice trout caught at small creek.

During the recent 2012 Alaska fishing season we tried an experimental jet boat at our early season Alaska Wilderness OUTPOST camp. The experiment was a huge success!

Not only did the boat alleviate some of the hiking across the tundra, it also opened access to 3 small creeks down river of base camp, where on some trips we found exceptional rainbow trout fishing, plus good grayling and some chum salmon fishing (one day, our guests found exceptional chum salmon fishing – 2 fishermen must of landed 25 fish a piece in just a couple of hours!). Plus, there is still miles and miles of unexplored stretches of the larger glacial river on which our base camp is located.

Happy after jet boat shuttle!

When fishing our home water creek, we can use the boat to shuttle fishermen between base camp and the mouth, saving a 30 minute one-way walk. (Remember, base camp is set up on a large river. We traditionally walk across the tundra each day to access a smaller, crystal clear creek). And, we can even save some walking time when accessing the upper reaches of our home water creek with a jet boat shuttle as well.

Both guides and guests enjoyed the water taxi rides this season. It definitely felt like a touch of wilderness luxury at our rustic fishing camp!

Zooming along larger river to access other creeks.

Getting the boat to/from camp requires some daunting logistics – which is the subject of another story  (we ran the boat 120 miles in 1 day to get it to camp!), but we found the effort well worth the reward for more fishing diversity and a little less tundra walking… We definitely look forward to having the boat back for the 2013 Alaska fishing season.

Posted in Fishing, News, OUTPOST