My Coast Guard son in law (GC academy), finished his "free" Masters in engineering at UW just now - and his reward is the whole family gets stationed at Kodiak base for 2.5-3 years!

I need to get him a Christmas gift.

He wants a real pole. River fishing mostly. But maybe he can take a boat out

Fishing pole suggestions???

Congratulations to him, that’s a very deserving accomplishment.
My son just retired from Kodiak, he was there for a year and a half and got into flyfishing, yes I called him an elitist snob.
He bought top name rods/reels all the way down to the hoity-toity Simms waders.
Quality costs big $$$$$$$$$ in Alaska, especially on Kodiak Island Since everything has to be shipped by air or sea.
Does your son fly fish or is he a bait/metal flinger? That will determine on the what type of rod he would need, and he will definitely need a good reel to go with that, (casting/spinning). Be forewarned that conditions in Alaska are very harsh and he will need quality gear like GLoomis or Lamaglas quality.
I would go with a minimum of a 9’+ rod with a minimum 10–20 pound test medium/heavy action. Tip sensitivity is a must along with a fast action (tough backbone) to fight bigger fish.

Good luck with your future fishing adventures.

Not fly fishing. I will look at Lamiglas. Thanks!

I fished up there just before COVID with my cheap old “Custom Made” 8’6–that I got for a Xmas present from the Olympia Yard Birds—and an Ambassadeur 6500.

Quite a lot of the locals are just running Ugly Sticks. Rods are a consumable up there for many.

The way I figure my priorities about fishing gear, especially a gift to my son. I don’t wanna give him a POS fishing rod. That way he knows what quality is and he either likes it or doesn’t, It’s up to him what he buys after that point.

Me personally I’ve fished with fiberglass rods and ugly sticks the majority of my life breaking many until graphite made it’s debut in the mid 80s. Yes I jumped on the bandwagon with a longer, thinner and lighter weight rod with a tip soooo sensitive it could detect a fish from 3 yards away from my terminal gear as it drifts softly through a gravel stream bed.

I was just referencing, not trying to argue sorry.



Agreed I like my nice rods too. Seen many break up there tho. Especially when seasons turn into winching sessions with trebles and snagging allowed.

I’m very happy the kid wants to fish! And if dad wants to spend the money for sure get something nice!