Fishing in Canada / Alaska

[jornvango]

We're busy planning our upcoming drive to Alaska (starting in Austin, TX) and were wondering 'how easy' it is to catch our own dinner along the way; especially in Canada and Alaska.

We are what is called 'pescetarians', meaning we eat 95% vegan and 5% the ocassional fish.
Seeing that most people are still meat eaters, we have low hopes of finding good vegan food (such as meat replacements) along the way in rural areas. Our AS fridge can only carry that much food and we can only eat beans for that many days in a row!

We're thinking: can we take a fishing rod, buy a fishing license (Canada and Alaska), and catch our dinner once every few days?

Both of us are 'fishing fools'. I used to go fishing as a little boy with my dad back in Belgium, but those memories have gone.

What is a common size fish we could get, and what gear do we need to take with us?
I've seen pictures of monster sized salmon and, even though that would provide us with dinner for a long time, I don't think that'll be an 'average' catch ...

Thanks!

[pappy19]

Get a copy of the Milepost and that will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about camping and fishing along the way to Alaska through Canada.

Pap

[RamblinManGa]

Hi from AZ. . . if you 'Google' ...fishing Alaskan Hwy & ...fishing Canada, you will get lots of info. License fees, rules & regs, what to catch where & when, etc. We have a whole folder of useful websites. We want to catch our supper almost daily too, & seems doable in several areas. Our trip keeps getting put off, & now looks like 2014. (started planning for this past summer, alas, life keeps getting in the way !Regards, Craig

[crisen]

I don't want to discourage you but if you want to count on eating the occasional fish you better stop at a grocery store. The fishing in Alaska where you can pull off at a stream and catch your diner has been pretty much gone for decades. If you willing to hike a little and fight the bugs you might do ok. Such fish in the north are very slow growing and are easily fished out. Also were there are fish available, such as the Chena here in Fairbanks the grayling are all catch and release only so be up on the regulations for your area.

There are also stocked lakes that yield decent catches.

Salmon are are different story as they are seasonal and available only in limited areas at limited times. Also by they time they get to the road system in many areas they are either 1-protected, 2- won't take a hook too well, 3- available only with 'combat fishing'. Also they are sometimes pretty well past their prime for eating but this is up to the fisherman. I certainly have seen people keeping salmon with a big smile on their face that I wouldn't bother bury in the flower garden.

I would spend some time checking out ADF&G website, Home Page, Alaska Department of Fish and Game under fishing and licenses and such websites as Outdoors Directory and ALASKA OUTDOOR JOURNAL - Internet Magazine with Real Time Information about Alaska fishing for king salmon, sockeye, silver salmon, coho, reds, halibut, pike, rainbow trout, grayling, and other Kenai Peninsula fisheries..

[cameront120]

You'll need to familiarize yourself with restrictions, stream closures, open/closed seasons etc. for every region you drive through. British Columbia has 8 regions alone, each with it's own regulations:

Fish, Wildlife and Habitat Management - Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations - Province of British Columbia

Depending when you plan on travelling, the fresh water fishery may be closed to any fishing. Could you do it? Sure, but you need to familiarize yourself with the regulations of the areas that you are travelling through. Fishing licenses can get pretty expensive for non-residents and may cost more than the purchase price of fish from grocery stores along the way.