# DIY trips...where and what?



## 7WT (Feb 12, 2016)

Sure, Here are two:
Four of us flew into Cancun took our prearranged SUV rental down to Xcalak and stayed at Casa Paraiso for a week. We ate at different places almost each night like Costa de Cocos and Pesca Maya and others. Breakfast came with the hotel rate and was spectacular. We arranged guides through the Paraiso- caught all the bones we wanted and some 9 and 10 lb way back hiking and permit including over 25 lb. It was perfect and for about $1500 each- not bad
Also twice arranged on our own Exuma- stay at Peace and Plenty for 5 or 6 days- fish some on our own and also know guides and use a few- food where ever we want etc.- love it- and very economical- lots of big bones.


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## bryson (Jun 22, 2015)

Man, all of those sound incredible.

My buddies and I drag skiffs to the Keys trying to DIY for the last 6 years. We absolutely do not do well. Can't wait to go back.


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## fatman (Nov 23, 2012)

buddy and I drove my camper to the Gaspe' peninsula in 2018 to fish for Atlantic salmon. Drew time on restricted water 3 out of 5 days, fished open water the other two. We fished from 6a.m. to 10p.m. every day, then ate freezed dried food in our waders before turning in, within earshot of the river. Had moose grunting some evenings while we were eating dinner. Coffee and granola bars before hitting the river. We saw lots of fish in crystal clear water, buddy hooked a single salmon on the first pass of the last day. Cost us each about $1500, fuel included, We will be going back...


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

In grad school my buddy, brother and I drug a john boat to Islamorada. Stayed at the star of the sea and ate at the Hungry Tarpon every morning. I ate biscuits and gravy every day. I think we fished 4 days.

Day 1 we fished Rodriguez. Hooked a tarpon.
Day 2 we ran way out back and opened a crack between two rivets about 6 inches long. Ran over a huge school of bones. That run back from panhandle in small craft advisories and the navigation my buddy did with a water proof chart was masterful. Run to Ace for JB Weld for the crack and a shelf bracket to be the foot for the wood dowel push pole we were using. Found tailers that evening.
Day 3 Long Key and saw the biggest bonefish I've still ever seen. Caught some huge cuda and a double header. Tailers were still out back and we broke one off.
Day 4 the crack was opened back up and we fished out back and had to crank up every 30 minutes to pull the plug and drain the boat. Push pole got stuck and I jumped in to get it with a giant shark near by. Then saw the biggest damn permit that tailed in 4 feet of water. I know how deep it was because that's where the pole for stuck. Hooked a permit that afternoon during the last hour that fried the reel we didn't catch him.

Drove back to Tampa that night. There were some other details like my brother getting sun poisoning because he was on acutane and it made him really suspectable to the sun. I think he went to the Dr but we went fishing.

That john leaked like crazy after that trip but we patched it with an aluminum plate and drilled the rivets out and replaced them and 5200-ed them. It was a great boat after that.


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

About 5 years after the trip above the same buddy and I bought a used Silver King and pulled it to Flamingo. It was March and if course the first night a cold front came in and blew the water out and cooled it off. This was when the lodge was still there so we stayed and ate at the lodge.

We fished snake bight, the flats out front the first day but it was unfishable the next couple days because of the wind. So we fished the back the next couple days and caught some snook. We never made it to Hell's Bay because we didn't have a GPS up to the task and had never been there. 

My buddy fell off the platform in the back in about a foot of water. He was covered in mud. It was so bad that it was in his underwear and he had to take them off because the smell was so bad.

We did fish the mouth of shark and some creeks and caught some snook. 

The last day we went back out front and found a bunch of fish grouped up. We watched all the guys running up from Islamorada pass by us which way cool.


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## DBBLHaulin'ShotCallin' (Feb 12, 2018)

I spent a long summer living in Southern Colorado (rio grande National Forrest) right after college. Man what a time.. worked Maintanence at a small ranch/resort for a few bucks an hour, & fished like my hair was on fire every second I wasn’t working or sleeping. Made a few great friends that i still keep in touch with regularly & lost count of the trout that I fooled into sipping a dry fly. That was a 5 month DIY trip that I still day dream about regularly, especially while sitting in my office 😂


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## Frequent Flyer (Jul 23, 2019)

My teenage son and I have done multiple DIY fly fishing trips to NC over the past couple of years. Sometimes it’s nice to leave the boat behind and wade in a cold stream instead. We had two great trips to Cherokee and Brevard, fishing both private and public waters. We opted to fish unguided on both trips and still caught our share of Rainbows.

In Brevard, we spent one morning tying flys at Davidson River Outfitters and then caught some beautiful fish the next day on their private water. The majority of our fishing was done on public streams with recommendations from the local fly shops. We brought our mountain bikes with us and on our “off days” we hit the trails.

We took our camper on both trips and cooked on the grill each night. For some reason, dinners always taste better when you’re camping. To add some variety, we hit the local BBQ joints and Waffle Houses when we weren’t packing a stream side lunch. We just recently decided to sell the camper and I’m sure we are going to miss it. But, we still have a flats skiff and I’m pretty sure there are some tents in the garage somewhere...


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Me and 2 friends went to Alaska 3 times on diy. Fly fishing only. We stayed in a cabin on the Iliamna River. Then we stayed in the town of Nondalton on lake Clark and fish the Tazimna River. We targeted Leopard RainBows, Char and Grayling
Then there’s the Tarpon trip with a non fly fisher


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## mro (Jan 24, 2018)

I've got family in Alaska
(and on both coasts of the 48)

the catching in AK can be insane.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

jackson man said:


> I think that we'd all be interested in hearing about that Tarpon trip?😉


Couldn't find a fly fished to got so I took my friend the bait chunker. Went to Carabelle, posted up on Turkey Point, guide was 200 yrs below me. After a while here come the guide telling me I'm in his string to go below him. So I apologized and went below him. The water was dingy so seeing fish was hard. The only thing I could do was cast to where I thought the poons where coming from as I was casting my friend had a 2' black lure on and was chunking it up where I was casting. As I was stripping the line in and picked it up I saw a Tarpon following it. Latter I saw a 200 lb. Fish go under my boat


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

jackson man said:


> That's not bad! I thought there'd be more drama?


Didn't catch a Tarpon so that's some drama for me


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Spent a week in Banff and Jasper last summer...kept a rod handy anywhere we could pull off and take a few shots...










Got 'er done...wild brookie...


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## mro (Jan 24, 2018)

permitchaser said:


> Didn't catch a Tarpon so that's some drama for me


Could be why it's called fishing instead of catching


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## Pending (Jan 27, 2016)

jackson man said:


> I think that we'd all be interested in hearing about that Tarpon trip?😉
> [/QUOTE
> Agree.


 NM. I see now.


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## Pending (Jan 27, 2016)

Would love to do a DIY Alaska trip.


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## mro (Jan 24, 2018)

There is some sorta DIY in Alaska for the experienced camper.
You can charter a float plane to drop you off on a river, lake or an Island along the coast. With the right company it's a blast and you just need to give the bears their space and of course bring your own bottle.

Ultimate trip is going to one of the lodges though.
If the winters weren't so bad I'd live there.
My mother lived in Anchorage and a half brother in an out laying town.
How they stay sane with the snow up there is beyond me.


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## 7WT (Feb 12, 2016)

We did a DIY Alaska. Flew onto Anchorage. Arranged fly out to two Cabins. First on pond for pike. Mildly successful but then flew to neat cabin on small pond near Talachulitna river. Take Jon boat across pond walk a couple miles to river. First nite buddy landed a 60 lb king. We hooked probably 5 in 3 days landed two. Lots of grayling and rainbows about 18 to 20". Last day back in Anchorage flew to Illiama and caught a bunch of sockeye. Great trip. Though next time I would rather hit a more remote area. Probably go to lodge. If you don't know anything about Alaska tough. Really need to arrange flights. Road access will be crowded I feel. We carried rifle, magnum pistol, pepper spray. We saw bears two days.


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## TidewateR (Nov 11, 2009)

The wife and I did a DIY non touristy Bahamas island in 2018. We rented a car for a few days of our stay, and only got to see a portion of the island. What we saw was really neat though, although rustic from several Hurricanes. You basically had 80% of the beaches to yourself. The VRBO was on the windward side and too deep.. not too conducive to bonefishing, so we ventured out some days. I'd just find a spot on Google Earth, fill up an ice chest (we made sure to bring our own plus our own ice packs) and head out! The wife would sip champagne, read her book while I waded around swatting horseflies. After a day on the water, we'd go back to the VRBO, clean up, then hit the local bar for happy hour / dinner. Many of the patrons were bonefish guides just getting off the water and had some good stories of their sports for the day. The more obscure Islands arent for everyone, but we really enjoyed the locals in town and the isolation back at the VRBO. We will definitely go back.


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## reedriley8 (Sep 3, 2020)

Pending said:


> Would love to do a DIY Alaska trip.


This passed August, myself and 6 other buddies rented an RV and drove down the Kenai peninsula in Alaska. Lived out of the RV, ate a bunch of ramen noodles, and had a blast. Fished the Kenai River for most of the trip but fished some smaller rivers as well, deep creek, ship creek, russian river. Alaska is very forgiving, no guides the whole trip, and we caught a bunch of Silver salmon, sockeye and rainbow trout. Saw a bunch of bears and a moose. We were there for 8 days and the trip cost us each around 1400 a person. RV is the best way to do alaska on a budget. Covid definitely helped on the trip cost. Theres plenty of information online about the different fisheries/techniques.


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## FlyBy (Jul 12, 2013)

IRL for redfish and other species (don't go there any more), Flamingo and Choko for mixed bag, Pine Island Sound area for mixed bag, Va. Beach for stripers (one time gig), Cape Lookout many times for Albies, Isle of Palms for reds (SC off my list now), Hatteras for offshore. DIY Oak Island/Holden Beach inshore/offshore every week or two.


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## reedriley8 (Sep 3, 2020)

jackson man said:


> I'll bet that documenting a trip like that would make for a really great show for the Outdoor Channel.


absolutely. A lot of interesting moments.. close calls with bears (you can see one in the background of that picture), broken fly rods, RV sliding down gravel roads, feeding bald eagles salmon carcasses..my favorite trip to date. Definitely an adventure and DIY just makes it a little better. If anybody is thinking about Alaska, just go.


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## Pending (Jan 27, 2016)

reedriley8 said:


> This passed August, myself and 6 other buddies rented an RV and drove down the Kenai peninsula in Alaska. Lived out of the RV, ate a bunch of ramen noodles, and had a blast. Fished the Kenai River for most of the trip but fished some smaller rivers as well, deep creek, ship creek, russian river. Alaska is very forgiving, no guides the whole trip, and we caught a bunch of Silver salmon, sockeye and rainbow trout. Saw a bunch of bears and a moose. We were there for 8 days and the trip cost us each around 1400 a person. RV is the best way to do alaska on a budget. Covid definitely helped on the trip cost. Theres plenty of information online about the different fisheries/techniques.
> 
> View attachment 157783
> View attachment 157782
> ...


This would be a blast. I’m going to start researching.


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## mro (Jan 24, 2018)

reedriley8 said:


> If anybody is thinking about Alaska, just go.


If you travel to the "off the beaten path" places be aware.
You might be able to call 911, but doesn't mean it will be of help.
But that's no excuse for not going,

BTW,
All my trips (including Florida) were DIY before the mid 80's.
It just never crossed my mind to hire someone to take me fishing.
My dad was an outdoorsman. There still around but not as many fit that description as there use to be.


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## reedriley8 (Sep 3, 2020)

mro said:


> If you travel to the "off the beaten path" places be aware.
> You might be able to call 911, but doesn't mean it will be of help.
> But that's no excuse for not going,
> 
> ...


Agreed. I kept a sat phone, life straw, bear protection, fire starter and small first aid kit in my backpack at all times. Better to be prepared and not need it.


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## mro (Jan 24, 2018)

yesterday, a DIY trip out in SF Bay 

the bridge on the left is the Bay Bridge where it goes to Treasure Island, then to the city.
All the tall buildings are downtown San Francisco. The two doohickies sticking up on the right are the Golden Gate Bridges towers.

My Sea Nymph is a "fair weather" boat and it don't get any fairer weather than that in the bay.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Loved those Alaska photos.

While not a DIY trip, I was lucky enough to score a "guide's day off experience" on the Nenana River back in 2017. Just me and one of the locals who lives there.

It was an epic day and I would go back for an RV trip in a heart beat!


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

We have traveled with our slide in truck camper for the past 7 years, to as far away as Newfoundland (6 our ferry ride from Nova Scotia) to the western US. Most of the trips have been along the Rocky Mountains. When I first starting hitting new destinations I would stop into a fly shop and see what flies they recommended, buy a few, and then in the evening tie up a handful in the RV. By far my favorite times have been seeking out small streams that have little to no pressure and fishing dry flies. It is a nice change of pace from saltwater fishing and the summers are a lot cooler too!


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## 7WT (Feb 12, 2016)

Did a DIY to Alaska with two buddies. .Flew into Anchorage spent a night and then went to a flight center and arranged for two flights. First to a lake for pike. Stayed a couple nights in cabin. Skeeters walked us away whenever you had to use the privy. Fishing was ok not great. Then off to a pond near the Talachulitna river. Great.We took a small skiff across the pond then walk 2 miles to the river. First night my older buddy lands on fly a 50 lb King at 11 PM. I net it while falling in as the fish circles me and I take a backward leap to keep from losing her. Talk about cold water!! Fresh salmon at 3 am melts in your mouth. Over 3 more days we caught two more kings a bunch of rainbows and grayling. Bears kept us company, including clawing at the cabin door. We had a rifle, a 44 magnum pistol and pepper spray with us. Last day we took a flight to Lake Illiama and caught some reds. The flight was incredible scenery. There is nothing like Alaska! Go there!!


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## Loogie (Jul 24, 2019)

A good friend of mine and I schemed an annual Yellowstone trip while we were deployed to the middle east. We have been going for the last 7 years, except 2020. Its all DIY fly fishing only. We have always fished new waters and we stay in a campground in tents. Fishing has always been great, we normally go in early September or late August. We have only one rule: no flies below the surface.


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