There’s a lot to be said about the history of this area, from its mythical lore recorded by the visiting trappers and the native Tlingit people to its diverse amount of ocean and land life. Of interest to the modern angler, though, is a prolific run of spring steelhead. These are not big river systems with massive returns of fish, but what they lack in size, they make up for in the sheer number of tributaries that hold fish. Getting off the grid is not necessary, but what it does mean is a chance at proper exploration. Fish that have never seen a fly are a rare sight in the 21st century. There are a few rivers on the road system, but the gems for eager anglers demand a mothership and specialized jetboats. And the willingness to use one’s own two feet, of course.

When Tongass on the Fly owner Kevin Main reached out last minute for a week in April, there was only one answer: time to pack the bags and start tying. A trip on the famous Seattle to Anchorage multi-stop “milk run” found us in Petersburg to provision up, and we were soon off on Sally Girl, with a run of about 8 hours to our first spot.

We planned to fish a bit of new and old, starting with the unknown, which was fine by all involved. The size of the first stretch of water necessitated smaller rods. I switched between a 10’ 7wt NT11 Anadrome and a 11’ 7wt ULS throughout the trip. This is not the place for 14-footers. It’s intimate fishing for a switch rod at most. Lines were fairly simple too - floating on the single hander and a range of ULS heads on the switch. We never needed to fish heavier than I/2/4, in freshwater at least. For Skagit enthusiasts, this is where MOW tips were meant to be used in order to get down fast in a bucket rather than gradually work through a run.