Ed Dessain and I first met Mark Emery in 2004 at a fly fishing club meeting in Ocala, FL. He made an impressive presentation about fishing in Alaska, but what really impressed us was his knowledge of Alaska. He has spent 23 years as a guide and photographer in the King Salmon area -- and it shows when talks about the area.
Mark spends May - September of each year in King Salmon. Some years he acts as a guide for people like Ed and me. Other years he creates videos of the area for National Geographic, the National Park Service, and PBS. During the winters he creates the music that goes with fishing shows you see on OLN. One of the shows is One More Cast with Shaw Grigsby.
Mark likes for people to enjoy Alaska without emptying their wallet. He works with inns in King Salmon to create inexpensive packages for anglers. The prices range from $2,000 for four days and a fly-out to $3,500 for five days, two fly-outs and a good motel. Ed and I took the low cost package, and stayed in the King Ko Inn. We ate breakfast and dinner across the road at a bar/restaurant. If we did the trip again, we would probably take the same package. The fishing is so good by boat from King Salmon that you don't need to do a lot of flying out to other rivers...and the fly-outs are expensive.
In addition to taking great photographs of your fishing, Mark puts you on some great fish. He likes to do one day of Salmon fishing and a combination of Trout and Grayling on other days...but you get to chose your poison. Ed and I fished for King Salmon the first day. We caught six fish that averaged 20 lbs each. We quit when our arms got too tired to reel more in....we almost got bored catching the monsters! Mark had a client catch a King the week before that weighed 47 pounds!
Ed and I wanted to do a lot of Trout fishing...by boat and wading. On the second day, we did a fly-out to Katmai National Park & Preserve to see Brown Bears and fly fish. We saw a lot of bears...some up close and personal. Mark put us in the middle of Rainbow Trout that were navigating between spawning Salmon. We caught many Trout and Ed caught a big Salmon...what a ride. Mark kept a sharp eye for the bears as Ed and I reeled in fish. We had several bears come down the river banks...but Mark helped us steer clear. They look playful as they fish for Salmon, but they are HUGE...and you don't want to get between one and food or cubs in the case of a female.
On the third and fourth day, Ed and I fished for Trout...spinning reels and fly rods. Again, Mark put us in the right places at the right times of day. We wore ourselves out...with Rainbows that ranged up to 10 pounds. The big ones took us down to the backing in a flash! We waded into one area during a caddis hatch and caught more fish than we could count. Mark taught us some new dry fly fishing techniques that we will use on the East Coast and out West.
You can contact Mark as follows:
Wet Waders
246 NE 59th Street
Ocala, FL 34479
(352)-622-3412
e-mail: memerym@aol.com
