SW Alaska lodge/rafting suggestions

[RaffiB]

Going on a two week family cruise and land tour to Alaska at end of July. Want to stay after family trip at a lodge or raft trip, starting the second week of August, for 5-7 days. Will be ending land tour in Fairbanks, so looking for lodges or raft trips to get to out of Fairbanks or Anchorage.

Hoping to get some recommendations for a lodge/tent camp or rafting trip in SW Alaska. Seems like all my research comes up with lodges that are more high class in terms of food or a accommodations than my taste.

I would love to find nice remote place or rafting outfit with good guides, good variety of river/creeks and hopefully reasonable price.

Will be hitting ISE show this weekend as well as fly fishing show in Feb too, but thought I'd see if anyone had some good recommendations

Thanks

Rafdawg34

[FISHEYE]

I have been to both Intricate Bay Lodge and Rainbow River Lodge on the Copper near Iliamna. I floated the Copper with Rainbow River Lodge twice and they supplied food, camping gear and 1 guide. That is a great trip and by the second week of August the egg drop should be going strong.. I also fish the Copper with Intricate Bay Lodge often. This is a less expensive option because they do not offer fly outs as part of the basic package. Another excellent option on the Kvichak River is Blueberry Island Lodge which is more of a DIY thing. George supplies a place to sleep, a boat and gas and you do your own cooking and fishing. Finally, the are several tent lodges on the Nushagak River. Where ever you go in SW Alaska, I suspect prices will be higher than you expect.

[RaffiB]

Thanks for the tips FishEye. I will check those out

Rafdawg_34

[Tfisher]

Going on a two week family cruise and land tour to Alaska at end of July. Want to stay after family trip at a lodge or raft trip, starting the second week of August, for 5-7 days. Will be ending land tour in Fairbanks, so looking for lodges or raft trips to get to out of Fairbanks or Anchorage.

Hoping to get some recommendations for a lodge/tent camp or rafting trip in SW Alaska. Seems like all my research comes up with lodges that are more high class in terms of food or a accommodations than my taste.

I would love to find nice remote place or rafting outfit with good guides, good variety of river/creeks and hopefully reasonable price.

Will be hitting ISE show this weekend as well as fly fishing show in Feb too, but thought I'd see if anyone had some good recommendations

Thanks

Rafdawg34

First, you really ought to define "reasonable" in terms of $ willing to spend. At a minimum you are looking at $3000+ for a bare bones camping excursion on some river in SW Alaska. (Cost Breakdown Flight to Dilllingham, Bethel, King Salmon, or Lake Iliamna +/- $500 round trip from Anchorage, + cost of any additional flight to destination which may or may not be included in package, + cost of an inexpensive DIY camp is around $2000, with guide for a week it runs around $2500 + tip = $3000+) The problem with camps and/or "remote" (there is no such thing in AK as all the known streams are VERY popular and crowded) camping trips are: weather (can be completely weathered out without other options); remoteness =/- better fishing. There is a reason all the lodges go to the same rivers over and over and skip the others. Now generally this holds for trout, and if your emphasis is on other species such as Coho, which would be running during that timeframe then that opens up a wider range of options.

To be clear, that second week in August is going to prime time for trout on most rivers in SW Alaska as the rainbows and char feed on salmon eggs. Don't think about bringing anything other than egg patterns. I would not recommend the Kvichak, that run of salmon has not returned in significant numbers to warrant good trout fishing, despite its former reputation.

Lodges will run you $5000 and more. Don't skimp here, go with a reputable full service lodge. You'll eventually end up paying more anyways. The best IMO is likely: Kulik Lodge (your mileage may vary). Strong fishing program, flight to lodge is included in package from Anchorage, professional service, and access to all the known named streams in the area, plus a fabulous home water. Prices I believe are around $5500+.

Like Fisheye, I've been to the Copper and Intricate Bay/Gibraltar/Kamishak/Naknek in that region. Your best bet is going to be a lodge or reputable tent camp (however I cannot recommend one at that time.)

Although in general I believe the trout fishing has significantly declined in SW Alaska (does not constitute value IMO), one can expect a decent amount of fish in the 20-24 inch range on most of the good trout rivers.

For a similar price or half the cost of a lodge, there are significantly better options available IMO. It really depends on your primary target species, and desires.

Good luck.

[johnsquires]

Raf, I agree with TFisher as far as defining "reasonable" because that's a pretty subjective term. I live Concord, but I take people on wilderness fly fishing trips in AK in the summertime. I can tell you it is not a money-making proposition; I just do it because I love the wilderness and I love fly fishing. But when you look at the price of getting from Anchorage to your float plane base, guide and business licenses, liability insurance, getting gear from Anchorage to your float plane base, satellite phone costs, food, raft rental -- well, you get the idea. A wilderness trip is certainly less expensive than a lodge. I've done the lodges and I enjoyed it, but I like fishing where I don't see other people, other boats, other guides - and I don't like the regimentation of most lodges. The first question most people ask themselves is what species they want to catch. SW AK rivers are pulsing systems for various salmon runs - and the trout follow the runs. Kings, sockeyes in June and July, silvers in mid-August into Sept. Most rivers run between 40 to 100 miles in length between float plane pickup points, so you will need time to float that distance as well as fish - you won't want to be rushed. As far as picking an outfitter/guide, please be very careful. I find it best to go with companies where the owners are also the guides. An acquaintance of mine in the Stockton club picked a company at The Fly Fishing Show a couple of years back and it was a total disaster, top to bottom, and almost deadly. There are a few very, very good wilderness guides up there and then there are a lot of folks who just run the business and hire youngsters to do the guiding, often without a ton of wilderness experience. As far as do it yourself, AK wilderness is, in my opinion, for those with a lot of wilderness experience and a lot of quality gear. There are a lot of things out there that can hurt you - and help is hours, if not days away, depending on weather (which is a whole 'nother subject). As far as flies, people tend to bring too many, in my opinion. Timing has a lot to do with fly patterns, of course. I'll tell you, though, if it were a one-fly contest, I'd be using a purple egg-sucking leach. I caught grayling, dollies, rainbows, char, and silvers on that pattern last year. Another pattern that gets overlooked is the gurglers. Lots of fun with grayling and silvers on the surface. I can talk for hours on this subject (and I often do when I give presentations to fly clubs and fly shops), so I'm sure I've left out a lot. Let me know if you have any questions I didn't cover - and please, please be careful when you select an outfitter.

[FISHEYE]

I pretty much agree with what the other guys have said. I have lived here for going on 38 years, and I am pretty selective about who I fish with or in whose hands I put my life (both the flying and the fishing). There is nothing inexpensive about fishing here and if you go in prime time you won't be alone. However, there are deals to be had but also some pretty shady operations and of course the devil is in the details about what you are buying. That being said, I have floated / camped on the Copper 3 or 4 times. It is hard to beat, and it never really gets blown out. When I floated it was with Rainbow River and we had the option of getting moved to another river mid week but we never wanted to leave the Copper. Both IBL and Rainbow River are very reliable and at least talk to them. There are some other outfits that fish the Copper and do floats and I would not send anyone with them. There are also plenty that I know nothing about. Another option that might be less expensive is to just go fish the Kenai with a guide or go north with a rental car and fish some of the Parks Highway streams. Both of those should be considerably less expensive but you will see plenty of other people. However, you will also catch plenty of fish.

[johnsquires]

I agree that it is a challenge to get away from people on the famous rivers, the Goodnews, Kanetok, Alagnak, etc. I will tell you, though, that I floated the Nayorurun in the Togiak Wildlife Refuge and we never saw another person, I floated the Chili from Twin Lakes to the Stuyahok River confluence with the Mulchatna and saw one other group (from Sweeden) at the very end of the long trip, I've floated the Koktuli four times and saw one father and son on one trip and one group from Maryland on another. Did two trips on the Koktuli where we saw no one. The Koktuli and the Nayorurun require an initial portage, so I suspect that keeps most people away.

[johnsquires]

For those of you with the experience, gear, and inclination to do a self-guided AK trip, I would recommend the book Floating Alaska, Planning Self-Guided Fishing Trips by Don Crane, available on Amazon.
For those of you looking to do a guided wilderness float trip in AK, send me a personal message and I'll give you my recommendations for the area you wish to fish.
As I said previously, please don't assume just because someone has a booth at a sportsmen's show that they will be great guides.

[RaffiB]

Thanks all for the great thoughts and comments. Very informative. I see I didn't define,reasonable as I was thinking in my mind. What I meant was I understand running a lodge or rafting operation in the wilderness, with guides, has many expenses. I am trying to maximize the number of days I can stay and fish within my desired budget. So, I was hoping to find a place that maybe offered less of the amenities, ie burgers vs filet mignon, tent and cot vs higher end accommodation, $10 bottle wine vs $50 bottle. Guess in summary, I am more interested in good fishing and guides vs amenities. Just my style

That being said, thanks for the recommendations provided. This helps. I am trying to get real life recommendations to confirm the hundreds of lodges and outfitters I have found on line and will see at the shows.

If anyone else has additional recommendations, please send them my way

Thanks again for the thoughtful and insightful replies.

Rafdawg_34

[johnsquires]

Raffi, I sent you a personal message. It was long (of course), so I'm hoping it worked and reached you.