To=toy-lon River Lodge

[jrib]

Has anyone ever been to the To-toy-lon River Lodge in Alaska? Any feedback?

[Senior]

Hi: I'm 66 years old and have NEVER experienced worse customer service in my life than at To-toy-lon. Very limited fishable waters, inexperienced guides, and an owner that could care less once he gets your money!

[Mike O]

From a 2009 post on kiene's


http://www.kiene.com/forums/showthread.php?p=71329

[Tiger]

Spent a week at the Clearwater (same owner) recently. Got an excellent deal. I think it was 3 for the price of one. The place was a dump and the manager could care less (total idiot). Somehow I don't think they do to well on return customers. The cook however was excellent. If the food had sucked it really would have been miserable. The guides were inexperienced so we used them mainly as chauffeurs.

On a positive note the fishing was fantastic. Lots of clean, chrome rainbows. Mostly indo bead peggin up there. I opted to swing leeches and flesh flies on both a 6119 and 7119 TCX switch and had a blast. Never seen so many fish.

If the fishing is excellent I can deal with almost anything

[FISHEYE]

Is the Clearwater operation out on the Kvichak?

[Tiger]

Yes it is....

[FISHEYE]

I never fished with them but I saw them morons in action. There are some great outfits on the Kvichak but not them.

[BPhelps]

Visited this place in late July of this year. We had always talked of going on an Alaskan fishing trip and stumbled on the 3 for 1 deal. We jumped at the opportunity and planned our trip for a year. We opted for To Toy Lon because we preferred the rustic approach to our trip to get more of the Alaska experience. We are all fairly accomplished fisherman and have spent most of our lives planning the next hunting or fishing expedition. We got about what we expected when we got off the prop plane, very rustic cabins, outhouses and a ton of mosquitoes. It all suited us just fine. We met our guide, who was young and a bit inexperienced but very helpful and friendly. Immediately, we put our waders on and hurried our guide to get us to some fish. We took a 15-20 minute ride on the camp Ranger (4 wheeler/golf cart mix), and got on the water. We were a bit disappointed when we weren't able to walk accross the river on the backs of the fish as we had always dreamed, but resigned ourselves to more realistic goals. However, our expectations were again lowered when we went four hours with no fish, not even a bite. Expectations were further dashed when we realized that there were only four holes on the river, and that was what we had to work with during our week's stay. I was starting to feel a bit depressed about the trip. The next three days went the same way. In total, we caught four fish during our 3 1/2 day stay. We maintained our spirits, and actually had a pretty good time, but our fishing trip had turned into a camping trip. Not to mention our alcohol supply was running out quickly. We asked to be transported back to Anchorage early so that we could salvage the rest of the time that we had in Alaska by booking some last minute charters on the Kenai, or finding some opportunities to actually catch some fish. They told us that in order to get out of there early, we would have to pay $900 for the plane to take us out. We were essentially being held hostage. We paid our ransom and departed. Interestingly, the group that was at the camp with us had departed the day before. We had an excellent time on the Kenai, and eventually made our way to Homer for some Halibut fishing. If you are planning an Alaskan camping trip, To Toy Lon is a great place. The staff is friendly and the food is great. If it is fishing (and catching) that you are after, look elsewhere. I would not recommend To Toy Lon to anyone. Jim McCormick guided us for Sockeye and Rainbow on the Kenai one day, and it was one of the best fishing experiences I have had in my life. Look him up if you go (907-398-8927), you won't be disappointed. Lucky Pierre's in Homer was also excellent.