I was on an Alaskan cruise with my wife and this was one of the shore excursions. From my cruise ship we had one Polish veterinarian who spoke very little English (Mr. 'M'), myself and from another cruise ship we had Chris, a professional fishing guide from NJ and Greg, another veterinarian from NY. Our guide was a college student named Dan who had been guiding four years. Dan is from Bear Creek Outfitters, located in Juneau. We used Ward Air to fly out about 30 minutes from Juneau to reach the Limestone River. The outfitter furnished all the equipment - waders, rods, reels, line/leaders and flies. All equipment was first class and in very good working order. We used Sage 6 weight rods, Ross reels, floating tip line and Cabella waders.

We received our first surprise of the day when we arrived at our destination. To mimic Jeff Foxworthy, the red-neck comic, "you know you are in bear country when -- the first thing the guide does when you get off the plane is load the 12 gauge shotgun." Yes, this was the very first thing he did because we were in brown bear country (aka 'grizzly') and that was our deterrent if a bear came too close. Later in the morning we actually did see a brown bear who was about ¼ mile away and across the river.

We arrived on the stream about 10 a.m. and the weather was overcast. The water temperature was 42 degrees and it at first shocked you, but you became somewhat accustomed to it. The Limestone River feeds directly into the Pacific Ocean and at high tide the water becomes brackish. The water was clear and the river was at high tide. Dan warned us that the Dolly Vardens are most active at low tide when it is easier for them to chase and catch the salmon minnows.

The fishing on the Limestone River was very good that day for my group. We were fishing for Dolly Vardens, also called Arctic Char. These are the brook trout that head to the sea to fatten up. At this time of the year, the Salmon are hatching in the Limestone River and attempting to make a run for the open sea. The Dolly Vardens see these salmon minnows as a very good meal. Initially, we waded out about knee deep and were casting either green or pink Clousers with size 8/10 hooks. (Later, we stood and cast from the edge of the water.) Both colors seemed to work equally well. We were casting the Clousers and then stripping them in with short strips. The Dolly Vardens were fairly easy to catch on this fly. I caught and landed the first fish of the day and in total caught 12 DVs in three hours. In total, my group caught about 50 fish in three hours. Most of the fish we landed were in the 12 to 14 inch category. (Another group of four also flew out at the same time to a different location and they caught only five in during the same time).

The total cost of the fly out fishing trip was $429, plus $20 for a one-day fishing license. The outfitter and guide have everything you need.