Fly Fishing Trip of a Lifetime

[John Dunkle]

For those of you who have not received your EXCELLENT copy of the latest issue of Parker Pages yet - there is indeed a "Centerfold" :eek:

What is in that centerfold is an excellent opportunity for a PGCA Member to win a Fly Fishing Trip of a Lifetime. This raffle will benefit the Parker Gun Foundation - and it looks simply outstanding...

Anyway - I've attached a scan of the centerfold, below - and it looks to be an adventure and something that might happen only once in a lifetime....

Good luck to all who enter..!

John

http://parkerguns.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=31686&stc=1&d=1393975207

[jeffkinser]

Do you have to be present to win? or can you win "remotely" for those of us not able to attend?

This trip looks amazing.

Jeff

[John Dunkle]

Hi Jeff.!

I don't think so (that you have to be present), as long as you have purchased your ticket before the drawing.. You might want to call Allan to check, but - I'm pretty certain I'm right..??

Anyway - if you do enter - good luck!!! And remember, if you do win and need a fishing partner - "I'm your man for the job" ;)

Best to you!

John

[Dean Romig]

It is indeed, for most, a trip of a lifetime. The chance to fly-fish for those big Alaska leopard rainbows is a "must do" at least once in your life!
I was there in the last week of June and the first week of July and that is PRIME TIME for those big "Bows" to be gorging on salmon eggs so you'll likely be fishing various egg patterns.

Take a chance - it is definitely worth it!

[Dean Romig]

Tickets must be purchased before April 10th and there is nothing in the notice about having to be present at the drawing to win.

[Jean Swanson]

You do NOT have to be present at the drawing on April 25th 2014.

Allan Swanson

[Richard Flanders]

Could be a trip of a lifetime. I did a fly fishing trip to a place like that with friends last September. We fished the Kvichak River that drains Lk Iliamna and the trip dates are already set for this coming September. My first fish was a 27" rainbow. We spent 4 days on the river and caught a lot of incredible trout. It was mostly drift fishing or from the bank using 9-10+ ft Spey rods that were capable of reaching wayyyy out there with large sometimes weighted purple and orange streamers. Drifting a single orange bead that looks like a salmon egg along the bottom was the most effective. The trout hang out in the current below the salmon beds waiting for the current to excavate an egg that will drift into their face. They really hammer them. Big big fun I can tell you. Alaska has some of the finest rainbow trout waters in the world.

There is a lot of information on the web about this lodge. Great pics. Looks like an incredible place. Just google the lodge name.

[Dean Romig]

Richard, what lodge did you stay at on the Kvichak? I stayed at Ole Creek Lodge right where the river exits Lake Illiamna. I took an 18" Grayling on a size 18 Adams too. I know September is best for the monster Bows as they drop from the lake into the river for the good eats then but late June and early July was fantastic in its own right. We took lots of Bows to about six+ pounds and saw bigger ones on the gravelly bottom. Awesome river!!

[John Havard]

Back in the day several of my buddies would fly to Lake Iliamna in late September and early October and fish the tributaries. They didn't count a rainbow unless it was over 30", and they caught a lot of them. Orgasmic fishing is the best way to describe it.

I still haven't received my Parker Pages yet but will definitely be down for at least one chance.

[Richard Flanders]

John: a 30" fish now is very rare and the holy grail. I heard stories of 36" rainbows from them. The fellow who I fished with every day, Greg Heister (see his show on NBC sports, "Season on the Fly") has fished every inch over every river down there and I think said he has not gotten a 30" fish yet. The lodge owner came out one day and got a 29" in Sept but not a 30". The river is hammered to death by guides these days.

Dean: we stayed at Blueberry Island. 3? or 5? miles down river from the lake. Small lodge, one man operation. Good deal though. We take all our own food and do our own cooking. George supplies us with lodging + boats and gas we do it all ourselves and save a lot of money that way. They guys I went with go every year and know the river very well so don't need a guide.

BTW: THIS is a fish. Kenai river salmon a Fedex pilot friend caught this past fall or summer.

[Dean Romig]

We flew into Igugig and crossed the river to Ole Creek Lodge. After seeing "Huggie" I'm glad we didn't stay at "Huggie's Fish Camps" :shock:


Anyway - whoever wins this "Trip of a Lifetime" is going to have a GREAT experience.... first class all the way in every respect!

[Daren Erickson]

Rare, but we still get a few...here's a 32 1/2 inch Rainbow from Last August at the lodge.

It will be a great trip for a great cause!

Daren Erickson
Alaska's Enchanted Lake Lodge

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

It will get in your psyche once you fish Alaska. I took people fishing when I lived there that had never been to Alaska that went home and sold everything they owned and moved to Alaska and never left. Thomas

[Dean Romig]

Nice one Daren!

What fly?

[Daren Erickson]

Actually caught on a small flesh fly. The best part is that it was only his 3rd day of fly fishing!

[Dean Romig]

I love those flesh flies. We called them Bunnies and got our tying instructions from Tony Route's first book on Alaska fly patterns. We used them on kings and silvers too.

[Daren Erickson]

The Adams of Alaska!

[Larry Frey]

I would like to publicly thank Mr. Erickson for his amazing generosity. Darren has only been a PGCA member for a very short time yet felt he wanted to contribute to the organization in some way. This "Trip of a Lifetime" that is being raffled at our upcoming Hall of Fame Dinner is a donation from Mr. Erickson and the PGCA and the Parker Gun Foundation can not thank him enough. I know I have said it before but the generosity of our members never ceases to amaze me. Good luck to all those who participate in this raffle and thank you Darren for making this very special raffle possible.:bowdown:

[Daren Erickson]

Larry,

The amount of work that all of you have put into this cause is unbelievable! I have learned so much that I could never repay the debt. Hopefully we can make this an annual event to support the Foundation and the PGCA!

Best,

Daren:bowdown:

[Dean Romig]

What an incredibly generous suggestion!

[Daren Erickson]

Dean,

I got stopped on the street today by a guy that I know. He is sitting on a pile of guns (Parkers, Bakers, Fox, LC's, you name it) and just had a BIG health scare. We started pulling slips of paper out of barrels that were "first dibs" on the guns...most were dead...good news is that replaced many! Getting people involved in the guns and their history is huge, and I thank you all. For me its not about profiting from them its about shooting them. I spend 100+ days on the plains and in the canyons of the west shooting wild birds with Parker Guns. Nothing like looking down at the beautiful gun in your hands and wondering about the people that spent so much time crafting it. For me it wouldn't be the same looking down at a stamped out auto...

Best,

Daren

[Dean Romig]

You've sure joined the right group Daren. Most of the people in the PGCA are of a like mind... it's a culture really - a culture of appreciation and respect for those times and for the fine guns that came out of those times.

[Daren Erickson]

Special people and special times for sure!

[John Dunkle]

I'm going to stick this at the top of the forum for a bit... And to Daren..??

Thank you!!!

:cheers:

John

[Jean Swanson]

To those that purchased tickets for this fantastic trip , I am sorry to report that the 50 ticket minimum was not reached; therefore, I have today returned of your checks via USPS.

Hopefully, there will be another opportunity to do this again with a better turnout.

The Parker Gun Foundation thanks you for your support
Allan Swanson