Stan Fagerstrom
01-15-2004, 07:31 AM
Veteran Oregon Guide Offers Anglers Chance To “Live the life of Riley’
By Stan Fagerstrom
A long time friend and a cracking good veteran Oregon fishing guide is giving anglers a chance to do what he’s calling “Live the life of Riley.” They’ll do it while on board a boat travelling and fishing the wilderness of Alaska.
I’ve a hunch that’s news a whole lot of the country’s anglers, especially here in the Pacific Northwest but elsewhere as well, will be happy to hear about.
I say that because one of the most experienced and best liked guides here in the Beaver State is now offering guided trips in the Alaska wilderness north of Petersburg on his own boat. The guide I’m talking about is Denny Hannah. Denny has been guiding on Oregon Rivers for decades. For the past eight years he has worked in the summer for other operators in Alaskan waters, gaining experience and becoming familiar with the wondrous fishing available in that part of the world.
http://www.ifish.net/sfdhst.jpg
Denny Hannah has been guiding Oregon anglers for decades. Now he's launching his own operation in Alaska.
This June, and with 36 years of guiding experience to share with his clients, Hannah is launching his own Alaskan operation. And it’s not the usual land-based service so common in Alaska. Denny, you see, has purchased his own boat. Anglers who book trips with him will eat, sleep and fish and travel Alaskan waters right off Hannah’s 42-footer named the “Walk About.”
I had opportunity recently to visit with Denny about the Alaska adventure he is launching next spring. “We’ll be in operation from June to October,” Denny says. “All you have to do is get to Petersburg and we’ll take it from there. We’ll serve breakfast, lunch and dinner right on the boat. We’ll also provide all the necessary bait and tackle.”
If you sense I write with special enthusiasm where Denny Hannah is concerned---you’re right! I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been out with him. He has guided me for everything from Illinois River salmon and Umpqua stripers to Rogue River half-pounders and Umpqua smallmouth.
Hannah, in fact, was the guide who really introduced that tremendous smallmouth fishery on the Umpqua to the angling world. Denny was guiding on the Umpqua for steelhead at the time. One night while he was looking for crawdads to use for bait in his steelhead fishing he noticed fish feeding along the surface near by. He flipped a lure out there and---wham! Much to his surprise he wound up catching a smallmouth bass.
It wasn’t much later that Denny called me one evening. I was still living in Washington State at the time. ”Stan,” he said, “you’ve done a lot more bass fishing that I have. I’ve found some smallmouth down here in the Umpqua. How about coming down and drifting the river with me. I want to see if there are enough smallmouth to justify my running guided trips for them during the summer.”
Denny and I did indeed catch smallmouth on that first trip. The rest is history. Denny went on to offer the first guided trips for smallmouth on the Umpqua. Denny and his family set up summer camp right on the river. I treasure the time I spent there with him and his late wife, Carol, and son, Todd. Denny went right on offering Umpqua River smallmouth trips until he started going to Alaska eight years ago.
“I’ll meet the anglers who book with me at the airport in Petersburg,” Hannah says. “There are lots of islands along that part of the Alaskan coast. During the week you are with us we’ll travel about 150 miles. We’ll go out along one coastline of islands and come back along another.”
Anglers who book trips with Hannah won’t be restricted to just fishing. “We’re going to let our customers help decide what they want to do,” Hannah says. “We’ll have crab and shrimp pots for them to set and shovels if they want to try their hand at clam digging. I urge anyone who comes to carry a video camera as well as their regular cameras with lots of film. There’s just no way to detail the wondrous sights they’ll have opportunity to see and record in the remote area north of Petersburg.”
http://www.ifish.net/sfdhsalmon.jpg
Veteran Oregon guide Denny Hannah has put countless salmon in the net for his clients. That's what he's doing in this photo I shot of him on the Rogue River.
Due to limited freezer space, each client will be limited to one 50-pound box of fish to take home. I’ve seen photos of both the halibut and the salmon species that abound in the area Hannah’s clients will fish. Chances are good you might spot a whale while one of those whopping big halibut you just hooked is towing your boat around.
The charge for a seven-day trip with Denny is $2,500. Five-day trips are $2,000 per angler. You’ll also need a valid Alaskan fishing license and the necessary tags. Hannah will provide you with complete details in that regard.
All of those details are available by giving Denny a call. He’s at different locations depending on the time of year. From April 1 through June 1 call (907) 225-2992. From June 1 through Oct. 1 call (907) 723-8689 and from Oct. 1 through April 1 call
(541) 459-4774.
I mentioned in the beginning that Hannah was offering anglers a chance to live what he terms “The life of Riley” for a week on board his boat in the Alaskan wilderness. There’s a reason for that. Denny’s middle name, you see, really is “Riley.” My guess is that anglers who do get a chance to probe Alaskan wilderness waters with him will say this likeable little Irishman will provide a trip that comes pretty darn close to living up to his name.
By Stan Fagerstrom
A long time friend and a cracking good veteran Oregon fishing guide is giving anglers a chance to do what he’s calling “Live the life of Riley.” They’ll do it while on board a boat travelling and fishing the wilderness of Alaska.
I’ve a hunch that’s news a whole lot of the country’s anglers, especially here in the Pacific Northwest but elsewhere as well, will be happy to hear about.
I say that because one of the most experienced and best liked guides here in the Beaver State is now offering guided trips in the Alaska wilderness north of Petersburg on his own boat. The guide I’m talking about is Denny Hannah. Denny has been guiding on Oregon Rivers for decades. For the past eight years he has worked in the summer for other operators in Alaskan waters, gaining experience and becoming familiar with the wondrous fishing available in that part of the world.
http://www.ifish.net/sfdhst.jpg
Denny Hannah has been guiding Oregon anglers for decades. Now he's launching his own operation in Alaska.
This June, and with 36 years of guiding experience to share with his clients, Hannah is launching his own Alaskan operation. And it’s not the usual land-based service so common in Alaska. Denny, you see, has purchased his own boat. Anglers who book trips with him will eat, sleep and fish and travel Alaskan waters right off Hannah’s 42-footer named the “Walk About.”
I had opportunity recently to visit with Denny about the Alaska adventure he is launching next spring. “We’ll be in operation from June to October,” Denny says. “All you have to do is get to Petersburg and we’ll take it from there. We’ll serve breakfast, lunch and dinner right on the boat. We’ll also provide all the necessary bait and tackle.”
If you sense I write with special enthusiasm where Denny Hannah is concerned---you’re right! I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been out with him. He has guided me for everything from Illinois River salmon and Umpqua stripers to Rogue River half-pounders and Umpqua smallmouth.
Hannah, in fact, was the guide who really introduced that tremendous smallmouth fishery on the Umpqua to the angling world. Denny was guiding on the Umpqua for steelhead at the time. One night while he was looking for crawdads to use for bait in his steelhead fishing he noticed fish feeding along the surface near by. He flipped a lure out there and---wham! Much to his surprise he wound up catching a smallmouth bass.
It wasn’t much later that Denny called me one evening. I was still living in Washington State at the time. ”Stan,” he said, “you’ve done a lot more bass fishing that I have. I’ve found some smallmouth down here in the Umpqua. How about coming down and drifting the river with me. I want to see if there are enough smallmouth to justify my running guided trips for them during the summer.”
Denny and I did indeed catch smallmouth on that first trip. The rest is history. Denny went on to offer the first guided trips for smallmouth on the Umpqua. Denny and his family set up summer camp right on the river. I treasure the time I spent there with him and his late wife, Carol, and son, Todd. Denny went right on offering Umpqua River smallmouth trips until he started going to Alaska eight years ago.
“I’ll meet the anglers who book with me at the airport in Petersburg,” Hannah says. “There are lots of islands along that part of the Alaskan coast. During the week you are with us we’ll travel about 150 miles. We’ll go out along one coastline of islands and come back along another.”
Anglers who book trips with Hannah won’t be restricted to just fishing. “We’re going to let our customers help decide what they want to do,” Hannah says. “We’ll have crab and shrimp pots for them to set and shovels if they want to try their hand at clam digging. I urge anyone who comes to carry a video camera as well as their regular cameras with lots of film. There’s just no way to detail the wondrous sights they’ll have opportunity to see and record in the remote area north of Petersburg.”
http://www.ifish.net/sfdhsalmon.jpg
Veteran Oregon guide Denny Hannah has put countless salmon in the net for his clients. That's what he's doing in this photo I shot of him on the Rogue River.
Due to limited freezer space, each client will be limited to one 50-pound box of fish to take home. I’ve seen photos of both the halibut and the salmon species that abound in the area Hannah’s clients will fish. Chances are good you might spot a whale while one of those whopping big halibut you just hooked is towing your boat around.
The charge for a seven-day trip with Denny is $2,500. Five-day trips are $2,000 per angler. You’ll also need a valid Alaskan fishing license and the necessary tags. Hannah will provide you with complete details in that regard.
All of those details are available by giving Denny a call. He’s at different locations depending on the time of year. From April 1 through June 1 call (907) 225-2992. From June 1 through Oct. 1 call (907) 723-8689 and from Oct. 1 through April 1 call
(541) 459-4774.
I mentioned in the beginning that Hannah was offering anglers a chance to live what he terms “The life of Riley” for a week on board his boat in the Alaskan wilderness. There’s a reason for that. Denny’s middle name, you see, really is “Riley.” My guess is that anglers who do get a chance to probe Alaskan wilderness waters with him will say this likeable little Irishman will provide a trip that comes pretty darn close to living up to his name.