beyond fly fishing

Visiting and Fishing Alaska's Interior

By Scott Richmond

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ost fly anglers who visit Alaska never see more than the south-central or southeast coastal regions. That's understandable because most of the fishing and nearly all of the lodges are located there. It's a wonderful part of Alaska, with mountains, wildlife, and rivers full of fish.

But there's more to Alaska than the coast.

Alaska's Interior is very different from the coastal areas--different in terrain, wildlife, weather, and people. There's plenty to see and do in the Interior, both in summer and in winter. And it has some pretty good fly fishing, too, if you open your horizons.

Hub of the Northern Interior

Fairbanks is the queen city of the Interior. With a metro population around 100,000 people, it's Alaska's second biggest city. But don't think of it as a mini-LA; forests surround Fairbanks, and it doesn't take long before you're out of town and into the wilderness.

This is a very different city than coastal Anchorage. Anchorage has good places to stay and some great restaurants, and there are tourist services for seeing the local scenery. But frankly, I've always found Anchorage a bit boring--a place to spend a night or two while on the way to fishing.

Fairbanks, on the other hand, has a lot more community feel than I ever detected in Anchorage. Fairbanks is a happening place; no matter what the season, it seems like there's always something going on here.

This last summer, I arrived a day before the solstice. I went straight from the airport to the start of the Yukon 800, a two-day 800-mile endurance boat race. Specialized powerboats with three-person crews speed up the Chena River to the Tanana and Yukon rivers, spend a night, then roar back to Fairbanks the next day.

From the boat race, we moved on to a farmer's market, then took a tour of the El Dorado gold mine (gold is the reason for Fairbanks' founding). After a good dinner, we finished the day with the Midnight Run, a local fun run.

The next day we went to the street festival, with many booths and entertainment, then watched the Midnight Sun baseball game. This latter game has been played every solstice for over 100 years. It starts at 10:00 p.m. and goes past midnight--without artificial lights!

While the solstice is a big deal in Fairbanks, there are other summer festivals, celebrating everything from art to native American fiddle playing.

Year-Round Attractions

It's easy to understand why people get frenetic in summer, with all that sunlight. But there are winter activities, too, ranging from dog sled races to the "Farthest North Jewish Film Festival."

And of course there are winter activities you can do on your own, such as cross-country skiing (watch out for moose!) and ice-fishing. One winter attraction is viewing the Aurora Borealis. The colorful "northern lights" occur over 200 days a year here. You won't see them in summer because there's no darkness, but in winter they're a regular occurrence.

By late February the weather is warming up, the days are almost 12 hours long, and you can go to the World Ice Art Championships. Sculptors from around the world carve artistic creations from huge blocks of ice. If your ice sculpture experience is limited to golden wedding celebrations and bar mitzvahs, then toss out your preconceptions. These sculptures are true art, and can weigh tons.

Out of Town Activities

While Fairbanks itself has much to keep you busy, there's plenty going on out of town. The Interior has many small lakes with pike, and grayling abound in the rivers. Big game hunting, of course, is big deal here--as you might expect when the town's roads have "Moose Crossing" signs.

Wildlife viewing is another option, and if you think the Interior is nothing but tundra and gentle tree-covered hills, remember that there's this park two hours from Fairbanks called Denali. That should be spectacular enough for anyone!

Warm and Cold, Light and Dark

Summer weather is surprisingly warm here, giving amble opportunities for T-shirt wearing. Winter, of course, is snowy and cold; 45 below zero is not unusual, and you'll have swapped your T-shirts for down parkas.

But things never stand still in Fairbanks, and you shouldn't get used to the weather, whatever it is. It's hard to appreciate how fast things change when you're only a couple of hundred miles from the Arctic Circle. At the summer solstice, the sun is below the horizon for only an hour, and it's never really dark. Conversely, six months later old Sol peeks above the horizon for only an hour.

That's not hard to grasp. What's mind-boggling is how fast it's changing in between. On average, each day is over 7 minutes shorter (or longer) than the previous one, and it accelerates as you get near the equinox. You can leave Fairbanks for a week and come back to one hour less (or more) daylight than when you left!

Diverse and Friendly

Fairbanks is surprisingly diverse. There's a large Indian population, which you'd expect. But there are also many Latinos, African-Americans, and Asians. The city is not only diverse, it's friendly: all the residents I encountered seemed open and ready to offer advice and cheer to visitors.

Advice for Fly Anglers

Unless you're a pike/grayling addict, I wouldn't recommend a trip to Fairbanks and the Interior just for the fly fishing. But don't write off the angling because it's not like the coastal streams! Most of the Interior lakes and rivers have pike, and many have grayling. If you take the proper gear, such as a four- or three-weight fly rod for the grayling and a eight- or nine-weight for pike, you can make a fishing excursion of anywhere from a half day to several days. There are bush pilots that can fly you to remote lakes with skiffs to fish from and simple cabins to stay in.

For more about pike fishing in the Interior, see Fly Fishing for Pike--The Basics

Getting There and Trip Planning

Fairbanks is about a six-hour drive from Anchorage, or you can take a scenic train ride that stops at Denali. Airlines such as Era offer regular air service between Anchorage and Fairbanks.

For more about Fairbanks, check out the short audio segment below, and see the Fairbanks website.

Scott Richmond is Westfly's creator and Executive Director. He is the author of eight books on Oregon fly fishing, including Fishing Oregon's Deschutes River (second edition).

Uploaded 11/30/2009.

A boat leaves Fairbanks at the start of the Yukon 800.

Runners prepare for the Midnight Run.

The annual Midnight Sun baseball game has been played every solstice--at midnight, without artificial lights--for over 100 years.

Well-preserved creatures from the last Ice Age can be found in the Museum of the North.

Tourists get a lesson in sluicing for gold at the El Dorado mine.

Fairbanks street fair on the solstice.