7 Wt for Alaska bows, etc - suggestions?

[Jim Speaker]

Hi all.   I’m taking my first trip to Alaska this summer from July 24-31 fishing the Alganak River with Charlie Summerlin’s outfit/lodge.� He told me that I really need to get myself a 7 wt for fishing this river to deal with not only the wind and large bows, but to double as a salmon rod.� The sockeyes will be in the system at that time so it makes a lot of sense.   To date I’ve been purely a trout fisherman, my heaviest rod is an 8 1/2’ 5 wt St. Croix with medium action.� I don’t want to spend a lot of money on a rod, but at the same time want something I’ll be happy with for a good long time.� The way I figure it, now that I’m finally going to have a heavier rod, I’ll be forced <grin> to fish the salmon and steelhead runs around here…� So, a few questions: a)       Considering that I’m used to medium action rods and prefer the open loop that can be thrown with these, is there a St Croix or some similar quality 7 wt that fits the bill? b)       Am I going down the wrong path thinking I should stick to medium action for this kind of fishing or should I get used to fishing a faster action rod? c)       I’m figuring I should go with a 9’ rod since I’m used to fishing 8 �’ to 9’ rods in the 5 wt class, do you agree? d)       I like my Redington GD 5/6 large-arbor reel a lot, and figure I’ll go with the 7/8 model.� Is there a better option in the $100-150 range? e)       I want to spend around $300-400 tops for the rod/reel and line. f)         Has anyone on the list fished the Alganak?� And, if not, general tips for fishing Alaska bows when they’re hunkered down during a big salmon run would be appreciated.� I’ll have guides with me, but I’m pretty independent and would like to know what I’m doing rather than depending on someone. g)       I also have a couple species on my list that I’ve never caught that will be an option there:� arctic char and grayling.� Any specific tips for grayling in particular would be awesome – I’ve always wanted to catch one – my few times on the Big Hole I was really hoping but never connected with one.   Any help will be much appreciated.   Cheers Jim