What to Pack for an Alaska Fishing Trip: Complete Checklist

For an Alaska fishing trip, you need layers of wool or synthetic clothing rather than cotton, waterproof outer gear, rubber boots, a warm hat, twice as many socks as you think, polarized sunglasses, sunscreen, and seasickness medication that you start taking before you get on the boat. Most lodges and charters supply the outer rain gear, boots, and all the fishing tackle, so the bag you pack is mostly clothing.

I spent a week fishing in Southeast Alaska at Steamboat Bay Fishing Club, out on Noyes Island near Prince of Wales Island, at the end of June and the beginning of July. I caught a king salmon. I also made a handful of packing mistakes that I am still thinking about years later, which is really why this post exists.

Wait, what? Have you not read about the trip yet? Go and read about Steamboat Bay Fishing Club first, then come back here and pack properly.

Below is everything I would put in the bag now, organized so you can work through it rather than read it like a story. If you only want the list, skip straight to the quick reference checklist near the bottom.

What Your Lodge or Charter Probably Provides

Before you buy a single thing, find out what is already waiting for you. This is the biggest variable in what you pack, and it's what most packing lists get wrong because they assume you are bringing everything yourself.

At Steamboat Bay, every bit of the fishing gear was provided. That meant fishing suits with bib overalls and hooded jackets built for serious weather, XtraTuf neoprene boots, and all the rods, reels, tackle, and bait. The lodge also cleaned, vacuum-sealed, and flash-froze the catch before we flew home.

A day charter out of Ketchikan or Homer might hand you a rod and nothing else. A remote river camp may expect you to turn up with your own waders. Send an email and ask. It takes two minutes, and it can save you a few hundred dollars on gear you don't need.

Item	Usually provided at a lodge	Usually yours to bring
Rods, reels, tackle, bait	Yes	No
Waterproof jacket and bibs	Usually	On day charters
Rubber boots	Usually	On day charters
Base and mid layers	No	Yes
Socks, hat, gloves	No	Yes
Polarized sunglasses	No	Yes
Sunscreen and lip balm	Sometimes	Yes
Seasickness medication	Sometimes	Yes
Fishing license	Help buying it	Yes
Fish cleaning and freezing	Yes	No

Before You Go: License, Luggage and Paperwork

Do You Need an Alaska Fishing License?

Yes. Every nonresident aged 16 and older needs an Alaska sport fishing license, and if you are going after king salmon, you need a separate king salmon stamp on top of it. Licenses run from a single day up to a full year. At the time of writing, a nonresident pays around $15 for one day and $100 for the year, and the king stamp is priced the same way. You can buy both online from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game store and save a copy to your phone.

Plenty of lodges will help you sort this out before you arrive, mine included, but do not assume yours will. Check current prices and regulations before you travel, because both change, and a license does not override a closure or a bag limit.

Pack Soft, Not Hard

Bring a duffel rather than a rolling suitcase. Float planes and small boats have awkward storage, and a soft bag squashes into it in a way a hard case simply will not. Mine went from a jet to a smaller plane to a boat, and each transfer was easier because the bag had some give.

Leave room, or pack a spare collapsible bag, because you have a decent chance of flying home with a box of frozen fish.

Clothing and Layers: The System That Actually Works

This is where I made most of my mistakes.

Here is what I actually packed: two pairs of jeans, two sweaters, six tees, two thermal silk shirts (one with long sleeves, one a short-sleeve tank), a Patagonia Ultralight down vest, and a Petit Bateau rain jacket I had bought in Paris (looks like this; I have the adult version!). It got me through the week, but it was not the right system. Here is the version I would pack now.

Your Base Layer

Wool or synthetic, never cotton. This is the one rule everyone in Alaska repeats, and for good reason. Cotton soaks up water, holds it against your skin, and then pulls the heat straight out of you, and there is no drying it out on a boat. My two thermal silk shirts were the smartest things in my bag. Merino wool does the same job and has the added benefit of not smelling after several days of wear.

Your Mid Layer

Fleece or a light down layer that traps warmth and comes off easily the moment the sun appears. My Patagonia down vest earned its place, and I would take it again. A vest is a smart call here because it keeps your core warm without adding bulk around your shoulders, and you will be casting and reeling all day.

Your Outer Layer

If your lodge supplies the rain gear, wear theirs. It is built for commercial fishing conditions, and it is almost certainly better than anything you own. If you are on a day charter and nothing is supplied, you need a genuinely waterproof shell and waterproof trousers, not a water-resistant jacket. Southeast Alaska sees rain on roughly 12 or 13 days a month in June and July. My Petit Bateau rain jacket was charming, but nowhere near enough on its own.

Leave the Jeans at Home

I packed two pairs of jeans and regretted both. Wet denim is heavy, cold, and takes forever to dry, and it bunches up miserably under fishing bibs. Pack yoga pants or exercise pants instead. They go under the fishing gear without bulk, dry quickly, and are what you actually want to wear in the evening anyway.

What to Wear at Dinner

Dinner at the lodge is casual, and nobody is dressing up, but I did wish I had brought one simple dress. Something you can pull on without thinking after a long day on the water. One is plenty.

A Warm Hat: Why a Ski Hat Beats a Baseball Cap

Pack a ski hat, not a baseball cap. I brought one baseball hat and two ski hats, and I wore the ski hats almost every single day.

Highs on my trip ran around 65 to 70 degrees, which sounds perfectly mild until you are sitting on open water with the wind on you for eight hours. For reference, typical summer highs in Southeast Alaska sit in the upper 50s to low 60s, so plan for colder than you are expecting rather than warmer. The ski hat had a second job too: it stopped the rain running down my neck when I pulled my jacket hood up over it.

Extra Socks: Pack Twice as Many as You Think

Two pairs a day, not one. I brought a single pair per day and wished I had doubled it.

Those neoprene boots keep your feet warm, but they were damp by the end of a long day, whether that was the weather or my own sweat, and pulling on dry socks before dinner is a small luxury that feels enormous. Wool, again, not cotton.

Shoes You Can Put On Without Thinking

This is the mistake I most want you to avoid.

I brought exactly one pair of shoes, black Ecco Gora GTX hiking boots (similar), and then wore the lodge XtraTuf boots for roughly 70 percent of every day anyway. Which left me padding around the lodge in my socks at dinner, because lacing those hiking boots back up was more effort than it was worth. It is a small thing, and it bothered me all week.

Bring something you can simply step into. Slides, clogs, moccasins, anything without laces. You will wear them every single evening of the trip.

On the Water: The Small Things That Save the Day

None of these are expensive, and all of them are easy to forget.

Polarized Sunglasses

Not optional. Glare coming off the water is brutal even on a grey day, and polarized lenses let you see into the water rather than just at it. Bring a retainer strap unless you want to donate a pair to the Pacific.

Sunscreen and Lip Balm

You will burn. The light bounces off the water and comes at you from underneath, and the cool air hides it completely until you get back to the lodge and catch sight of yourself. Bring lip balm (my go-to is La Roche-Posay; I've been using it for years, and it is perfect for this trip) with sun protection (my go-to is La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios Invisible Fluid SPF50+), too, because the wind and salt will finish off whatever the sun starts.

Gloves

A pair of fishing gloves saves your hands from line cuts, cold water, and handling fish. Fingerless or convertible ones let you still tie knots and work properly.

A Dry Bag or Waterproof Phone Case

Your phone is your camera, and it will get wet. A cheap waterproof pouch on a lanyard is enough. A small dry bag for the camera, the spare battery, and anything else you would hate to lose is well worth the space it takes.

Insect Repellent

Less critical out on open saltwater, where the wind keeps everything at bay, but the moment you step back onto land in June or July you will be very glad you packed it.

Seasickness Aids: The Most Important Thing You Will Pack

This is probably the most important thing to pack.

I tried the gentle options first. I wore a PSI band, an acupressure wristband, and it did not do much for me. I ate Gem Gem ginger candies, which are lovely, but not enough on their own. What actually worked was Dramamine.

The part people get wrong is the timing. Do not take it on the morning of your first trip out. Start one or two days before you fish, and keep taking it day and night throughout the trip. I do not like taking medicine if I can avoid it, but out on open ocean I think there is no way to avoid this one.

Worth a quick word with your doctor about what suits you, particularly if you take anything else regularly.

When You Go Changes What You Pack

May and early June are the coolest part of the season, with highs around the mid-50s, and June is actually the driest month of the summer. Pack a heavier mid-layer than you think you need.

Late June through July is peak season and the warmest stretch, with highs in the low 60s. This is when I went, and it is when you have the best shot at a king salmon, which run from roughly mid-May through the end of July.

August and September belong to the silver salmon, and they also bring noticeably more rain. August is the wettest summer month. Take the waterproof layers seriously and add an extra base layer.

Whatever month you choose, the daylight is enormous. Southeast Alaska gets around 17 hours of it in June. Pack a sleep mask, and you will thank yourself.

Getting Your Fish Home

If you are fishing seriously, then you are coming home with fish, and that takes a little planning.

Most lodges do the hard part for you. Steamboat Bay cleaned, vacuum-sealed, flash-frozen, and boxed our catch, and most guests then simply check it as ordinary airline luggage, frozen solid in a wax box.

What you need to sort out: check your airline baggage allowance and what an extra checked bag costs, because a full box of salmon is heavy. Ask your lodge whether shipping is an option instead if you have connections or a long trip home. And make sure freezer space is waiting at the other end before you land with 40 pounds of fish.

What I Would Pack Differently Now

Looking back at that bag, three things would change.

I'd leave the jeans behind and swap them for two pairs of exercise pants. I would add a pair of slides, which would have fixed the single most irritating part of the trip. And I would double the socks and start the Dramamine two full days out instead of learning that lesson the hard way on the water.

I'd pack everything else again.

The Quick Reference Alaska Fishing Packing Checklist

Everything above, in the order you will pack it.

Clothing and Layers

• Base layers in merino wool or synthetic fabric, two or three
• Fleece or light down mid layer
• Down vest
• Waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers, if your trip does not supply them
• Exercise or yoga pants, two pairs
• Sweaters, two
• Tees, four to six
• One casual dress or shirt for dinner
• Sleepwear

Head, Hands and Feet

• Ski hat
• Baseball cap for bright days
• Polarized sunglasses with a retainer strap
• Fishing gloves
• Wool socks, two pairs for every day you will fish
• Shoes you can step into without laces
• Hiking boots or trainers for travel days

On the Water

• Seasickness medication, started one or two days early
• Ginger candies
• Sunscreen
• Lip balm with sun protection
• Waterproof phone pouch
• Small dry bag
• Insect repellent

Documents and Admin

• Alaska sport fishing license
• King salmon stamp if you are targeting kings
• Photo identification
• Travel insurance details
• Airline baggage allowance and excess bag costs

Electronics

• Phone and camera
• Spare battery and power bank
• Charging cables
• Spare memory card

Nice to Have

• Sleep mask for the long daylight
• A book for the evenings
• Binoculars
• Reusable water bottle
• Small daypack
• Collapsible spare bag for bringing fish home

Alaska Fishing Trip Packing Questions

One Last Thing

Alaska rewards the people who prepare, and it quietly punishes the ones who wing it. Pack the layers, double the socks, start the seasickness medication early, and bring something you can slide your feet into at the end of the day. Then go and catch something worth the flight.

If you have fished in Alaska, tell me in the comments what you wish you had packed. I am still adding to this list.

And if you want something to read on the plane, Tip of the Iceberg: My 3,000-Mile Journey Around Wild Alaska by Mark Adams is the one I took with me.

How about you? Have you fished in Alaska? Do you have other packing or gear suggestions? Do share!

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