I've often thought that a person will love or hate Alaska shortly after getting off the airplane, the first time you just know. The 737 landed in Juneau on the way to Yakatat our destination, Mark and Julia took me into the terminal so we could get a coffee, sure------ that and show me the collection of bears in the big plastic boxes. Giant stuffed bears in plastic boxes, enormous, like really big dogs, that was my first impression. Mark told me not to worry; the bears we would be around were summer bears, just happy to eat salmon and salmon berries without a care in the world. He just packed the 44 magnum because it was light and fun to carry around. At least the tiger situation was behind me.

It was raining when we dropped out of the clouds and on to the flight line in Yakatat. Cool, wet and big were my first impressions, this was a serious place. My very first cast into the Situk River would pretty much sum up the fishing for the next eight trips to Alaska. In preparation for the trip I bought a new Sage 10'nine wt.rod, a teeny 300 line, and a spool of 20lb Maxima tippet material, this and a box of huge weird flies. They weren't really flies but enormous egg patterns the size of golf balls called "fat freddys"since we were to be fishing Kings and Sockeyes I also had some smaller sockeye patterns. Mark and Julia walked me up the trail to a place they affectionately called the Puker Hole about a Quarter mile off the salt water, a beautiful pool with some downed cedar logs. Looking into the pool I got my first glimpse of our quarry, a long line of dark shapes head to tail moving up river, it is startling to see that many big fish for the first time. I rigged up a fat Freddie depth charge and made that first cast,---- boom. An enormous King salmon, I hit him back as hard as I could, driving the big hook deep into his head, this was the first mistake. He rumbled up river maybe thirty yards turned and headed back to the ocean, by now the handle on my reel had whacked my thumb to a bloody stump. Mistake number two: The speed and violence of a really big bright king is startling for trout fisherman, imagine being tethered to a torpedo jetting away from you. The truth is I had no idea what was happening, except I was going to lose all my gear in the first three minutes in Alaska. By now I was stumbling down the river in a couple of feet of water desperately yanking the rod trying to get some line back on the reel and trying to break this beast off, but remember I had 20lb tippet…. mistake number three. It took that King about ten minutes to turn me into a whimpering dog, I had fallen in a few times and drown my cigar, both hands were bleeding and I was really talking to myself. Begging the Almighty to let this fish release me, I promised to be good, I mean really good. The last and only time I saw the fish was from about 150 yards, the tail silhouetted against the dark water. Just the tail strait up, imagine a mermaid tail waving in the air, waving to me: "so long you clown". This is not kinder and gentler fishing, these brutes want to have sex and die and you are in there way. It's life and death; it's the difference between a motorcycle club and a biker gang.

I am fairly sure my trips to Alaska are behind me; the last morning of the last day there I remember standing in the river thinking I wouldn't be back, no regrets. Alaska is not a sentimental, warm and fuzzy place but it needs to be a destination on your fly fishing journey, it has things to teach you, and some of them are about fishing.

If you are planning a trip to the land of the midnite blue tarp, I have some advise. You will need an 8 wt. Rod for most of your fishing, if your fishing Kings in a little river take a 12 wt or take your chances. You will also need a couple of Teeny 300 lines, just in case you lose all your line and backing on a mermaid. The reel is up to you, we always bought cheap reels and left them there, remember it doesn't get dark in the summer and you can fish fourteen hours a day, you will trash your gear if your doing it right. Finally take some 8 lb. Maxima tippet material, so when you do hook into a monster you will be able to break it off and live to fish another day.

And if you happen to land in Juneau say hi to the big dogs for me.