I am in need of some advice from you folks with experience in such matters. Before I get to my two main questions, let me give you a lowdown to my trip:
In mid July a friend and I are going to take sea kayaks from Juneau, Alaska south along Seymour Canal and Admiralty Island to his family cabin on Pybus Bay and then back to Juneau, 120 miles round trip. Along the way we will have to stop and get water at the numerous streams and creeks that flow down from the mountains on Admiralty. Naturally, I am going to bring along a fly rod, so my first question is this:
Given that most of the water I will have a chance to fish is very near salt water, what flies should I bring? Obviously, I expect to run into some salmon, and the literature for the area says that there are dolly varden and coastal cutts, as far as trout. My angling so far has not been for salmon, nor so close to the salt, so I am wondering which kinds of flies, leaders and tippet would be best for this situation. Any advice?
The second question has to do with protection. Admiralty Island has the largest concentration of grizzlies in North American, so in addition to bear spray, I want to bring along a firearm (a handgun). My question is NOT what should I bring (which has been covered numerous times in the past years on the board) but what is the best way to get it there? I am flying Alaska Airlines and I am reluctant to wait on hold for an hour with them to ask my questions as to how to properly travel with a firearm on a plane. Do any of you have experience with this? What is the S.O.P.? Would it be a better idea to send it ahead, via FedEx and I could pick it up at a motel on Juneau? Is that even legal? I know of folks who have sent their clothes ahead on some of their travels, but what about a firearm?
I would like to avoid mistakes and hassles, so I am relying on the experience and expertise of the fine folks on the board to enlighten me. Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks in advance.
Cheers!
--FlyGuy (Dave)
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