Ultimate Rivers in King Salmon, Alaska

For those seeking the ultimate Alaska wilderness fishing adventure, we have the float trips. For these, we fly into the remote headwaters of some of the most productive salmon and trout rivers on the planet, in southwest Alaska (see Where We Fish link), hundreds of miles from real civilization, for exciting multiday float/fish/camp safaris down crystal-blue rivers filled with fish. Using SOTAR (State of the Art Raft) inflatable drift boats, we float silently through lonely alpine valleys, canyons, rolling tundra, and forested lowlands−sanctuaries of solitude, where man’s world is but a dream. Amazingly productive sight fishing for salmon, rainbow trout, charr and grayling is yours to enjoy at a leisurely pace as you serenely drift along, taking time to stop and fish secret holes, or stretch legs with a short hike to take pictures, view wildlife, pick berries or just admire the magnificent surroundings. The trips are done with small groups (4-6 average, 8 people max), led by the best river guides in the business (guide to client ratio of 1:2 usually on these trips), who will assist you any way they can to ensure your safety, comfort and enjoyment. You will make camp along the river each evening at a great fishing spot, allowing for maximum time to enjoy your sport (unlike at the fishing lodges where your day ends at the dinner call.) Meals on these trips are hearty and wholesome and include superb, grilled fish lunches and dinners, fresh from Alaska’s cold, clean waters. Floating silently in rafts through the heart of these wild rivers allows for a much more intimate experience of Alaska’s fabled backcountry than is possible staying in a lodge or permanent tent camp. Wildlife encounters−bears, moose, caribou, wolves and countless waterfowl− along these remote rivers are extraordinary, so be sure to bring a good camera and moderate telephoto lens. As you will be getting in and out of the rafts and wading and casting in moderate to swift flowing waters, you should be in good physical condition. The season for these float fishing expeditions runs from mid-June to mid-September. What We Provide: All necessary camping and rafting equipment (except your personal gear and fishing equipment), meals, guides, transportation from and back to point of departure in southwest Alaska (Aniak, Bethel or Dillingham). Accommodations: Deluxe tent camps along the river Not Included: You must bring your own personal gear and fishing equipment (we will send you a detailed list of our gear recommendations upon booking). You are responsible for flight arrangements from Anchorage to and from southwest Alaska (we will tell you the specific point of departure to book your flight to). Also not included are hotel and meal costs incurred by extended layovers due to weather or other factors beyond our control, fishing licenses, alcoholic beverages, and gratuities. Tour Length & Price: 7 days/6 nights, $4200/person, all-inclusive from POD. Sample Float Trip Itinerary: Arrive in Anchorage late afternoon or early evening the day before start of expedition; check into hotel, then meet with guides that evening to go over gear and any last minute instructions. Day 1: Depart Anchorage for Southwest Alaska early AM. Weather permitting, fly out to headwaters in late morning or early afternoon. Depending on time, either set up camp and spend leisurely late afternoon-evening fishing around camp or launch rafts and begin float fishing adventure. Day 1-6: Float, fish and camp, making your way down river, setting up final camp on evening of the 6th day. Day 7: Spend morning fishing around camp, while guides break down gear and prepare for pickup. Pick up and return to point of departure in early afternoon. Catch early evening flight back to Anchorage, then red-eye back home or spend night in Anchorage hotel with return to home the following morning. Read More

Katmai Trophy Lodge is located on the banks of the famed Naknek River, perfectly situated on the edge of tide water, giving us quick access to both ocean- fresh salmon and the trophy rainbow trout fishing that the Naknek is famous for. This is a full-service fishing lodge in the heart of Bristol Bay just two miles outside the boundary of the world- renowned Katmai National Park. You may have heard that the Bristol Bay watershed is home to the largest runs of salmon in the world. A lesser known fact is that it is also Alaska’s only designated “Trophy Rainbow Trout” area. The river system starts in the snow-capped mountains of Katmai National Park flowing down through our beautiful chain of lakes, through rolling tundra hills, ending with the Naknek flowing into the Bering Sea. This unspoiled nutrient rich environment enables the fish to grow to incredible size. With salmon runs that number in the millions, Trout and Char that grow well over 30”, and some of the best bear viewing in the world, this trip is a true outdoor enthusiast's paradise! Bristol Bay is home to some of the largest runs of salmon in the world; You'll get to target the giant Rainbow Trout, Char and the rare and beautiful Grayling that inhabit these fertile waters. The fishing portion of your trip will be spent on the water with your guide, which is why the guides at Katmai Trophy Lodge take great pride in providing their guests with some of the best fishing guides in Bristol Bay. All of their guides are expert fly fishermen in their own right, able to instruct you in the latest techniques, provide you with the best in tackle and flies and help you succeed in having the best fishing experience possible. Their boats and fishing gear are customized to give you the greatest chance for success and feature products from Orvis, Simms, StealthCraft and Koffler Boats, Scott and Temple Fork Fly Rods and Hatch fly reels. They consider the famous Brooks River and Falls a must-see attraction, which is why they have included a trip to Brooks in every one of the standard packages. The Brooks River offers world class trout fishing in a small stream setting, and a tremendous sockeye salmon run that feeds an entire ecosystem, including a few dozen of the world’s largest bears. So make sure to bring your camera! The guides at Katmai partner with Branch River Air and their meticulously maintained fleet of float planes to offer fly out packages to the other famous Bristol Bay destinations like the American, Alagnak, Nushagak, Moraine, Ugashik and Kulik as well as many of the small gems hidden around the more remote sections of southwest Alaska. **Tour Length & Price:** 7 day "Standard" package - $4,995 per person It includes 7 nights lodging and meals and 6 days of guided fishing, including 1 day of guided fishing/bear viewing on the famous Brooks River. 7 day "Best of Bristol Bay" package -$6,595 per person This package adds 3 guided float plane fly-outs (weather dependent) to our standard package. 7 day “Unlimited” Package - $6,995 per person. Includes 6 days of guided fishing anyplace your heart desires (weather dependent). River, fly-outs, day raft trips? We’ve got you coved. Minimum of 2 people needed to book this package. This package includes guided fishing anywhere you and your fishing partner(s) choose each day with the only limitation being to keep the float plane flight under 45 minutes one way. **Lodging:** This classic riverfront log lodge features two stories of glass looking out on the beautiful Naknek River. Dinner is prepared by a professional chef featuring Alaskan favorites like salmon, halibut, Alaskan clams and reindeer. Evenings can be spent tying flies and swapping fish stories in the comfortable great room or in your private room or cabin. The rooms feature amenities like full time electricity, a mini-fridge, individually controlled heat, log furniture and a private bathroom with shower. **Daily Routine:** Each evening at dinner your guides will discuss the fishing options available for the next day. You will then choose the option that sounds the best to you and, weather permitting, they will make it happen. One of the most challenging parts of your trip might very well be trying to decide whether to fly out to one of the many rivers across Bristol Bay or stay closer to home to chase giant rainbows, catch another limit of salmon, jet boat up one of the Naknek tributaries, or jump on one of our larger boats to explore Naknek Lake and the many small streams that feed into it or boat over to Brooks Falls. For those of you that believe in the old adage that variety is the spice of life, Katmai Trophy Lodge is the perfect destination. If you so choose, you can target a different fish on a new river with a different technique every day. Here is what your schedule will look like: Breakfast at 7am Fishing at 8am Lunch on the water around noon Dinner at 6:30pm Quiet time after 10pm **What's Included:** Pick up and drop off at King Salmon Airport US Coast Guard and ADF&G licensed guides Breakfast and Dinner at the main lodge Grilled or packed shore lunch All necessary flies and lures All terminal fishing gear, rods and reels Cleaning and Vacuum packing of salmon for flying home Linens, comforter, private bathroom with hot/cold water. Daily maid service Waders and wading boots are available but are limited in size. **Not Included:** Flights to and from King Salmon Fishing on Saturday Alcohol Taxes ($161 USD) Fishing License and King Stamp Tips for staff and guides Fish Box or Cooler (insulated fish boxes can be purchased at the lodge for $20) **What to Bring:** At Katmai Trophy Lodge they will do their best to provide everything you need, but they also recognize that catching a fish on your own rod with your own fly is a truly special experience. Throughout the Summer the selection of flies and lines do change but here is a list of essentials that are always going to be good to bring along: Breathable Waders with non felt sole wading boots. You will fish from boats quite a bit but waders are going to be required to fish most days in order to be the most effective. A good Wading Jacket or Rain Jacket. It rains most days in Bristol Bay and a good jacket will make those rainy days just as pleasant as the sunny days. Layers. Most days your guides start off with a fleece jacket or a puff coat and if it is June, July, or August they might take a couple layers off, but it is always better to be able to take a layer off than to need an extra layer and not have it. A Backpack to bring along everyday to keep your fly boxes and extra layers in or even to shed that rain jacket when the sun peaks out. **If You Bring Your Own Fly Rod and Equipment:** 5 or 6 weights for small streams and fly outs. They typically rig them with an indicator to nymph with or just a standard 9 ft leader and a small streamer or mouse. The Flies they use vary as the seasons change but they like to use traditional nymphs as well as dry flies for most of the summer until the eggs start flowing and then they replace the dry flies with Beads. The beads they use are in 6, 8, and 10mm sizes and they usually will stay in the more natural colors. With lighter rods they do like to throw streamers and mice. Medium size streamers with stinger hooks and cone or bead heads are very useful because they will sink with a floating line. 7 or 8 weights for the Naknek river or Larger rivers. You will fish these on the main river with Floating line or a 250 or 300 grain sink tip and streamers or floating line and indicator. Flies for the main river include a lot of streamers with love jointed and stinger hook streamers because these rainbows love to tail nip, but the Naknek river in a 1 hook river to remember to trim your front hook. Flies like Sex dungeons, string leeches, and dolly lamas are all must haves. 9 weights for salmon. If you are fishing for Kings they rig these up with 350 grain or heavy sink tips and big bright flies. If you are targeting Silvers or Chums then they run a floating line and bright flies as well. For Sockeye they nymph them with bottom bouncing rigs with either shooting line or floating line. Intruder style flies are the go to for them when targeting all of the salmon except sockeye. Pink, orange, chartreuse with weighted eyes and a stinger hook, and bright dolly lamas with the heaviest cone heads. When targeting Sockeye they use large nymphs with strong hooks, as these fish will bend hooks no problem. Pheasant tails, wooly buggers, egg flies, and all of the classic Salmon and Steelhead nymphs all work great. Spey rods; They love the 2 hand game at KTL and they like to run 7 or 8 weight spey rods for trout with a skagit head and a sink tip and sculpin or leech style flies almost all summer and fall. They also will run 8 or 9 weight spey rods for Kings with skagit heads and bright intruder flies. Read More

Katmai Trophy Lodge is located on the banks of the famed Naknek River, perfectly situated on the edge of tide water, giving us quick access to both ocean- fresh salmon and the trophy rainbow trout fishing that the Naknek is famous for. This is a full-service fishing lodge in the heart of Bristol Bay just two miles outside the boundary of the world- renowned Katmai National Park. You may have heard that the Bristol Bay watershed is home to the largest runs of salmon in the world. A lesser known fact is that it is also Alaska’s only designated “Trophy Rainbow Trout” area. The river system starts in the snow-capped mountains of Katmai National Park flowing down through our beautiful chain of lakes, through rolling tundra hills, ending with the Naknek flowing into the Bering Sea. This unspoiled nutrient rich environment enables the fish to grow to incredible size. With salmon runs that number in the millions, Trout and Char that grow well over 30”, and some of the best bear viewing in the world, this trip is a true outdoor enthusiast's paradise! Bristol Bay is home to some of the largest runs of salmon in the world; You'll get to target the giant Rainbow Trout, Char and the rare and beautiful Grayling that inhabit these fertile waters. The fishing portion of your trip will be spent on the water with your guide, which is why the guides at Katmai Trophy Lodge take great pride in providing their guests with some of the best fishing guides in Bristol Bay. All of their guides are expert fly fishermen in their own right, able to instruct you in the latest techniques, provide you with the best in tackle and flies and help you succeed in having the best fishing experience possible. Their boats and fishing gear are customized to give you the greatest chance for success and feature products from Orvis, Simms, StealthCraft and Koffler Boats, Scott and Temple Fork Fly Rods and Hatch fly reels. They consider the famous Brooks River and Falls a must-see attraction, which is why they have included a trip to Brooks in every one of the standard packages. The Brooks River offers world class trout fishing in a small stream setting, and a tremendous sockeye salmon run that feeds an entire ecosystem, including a few dozen of the world’s largest bears. So make sure to bring your camera! The guides at Katmai partner with Branch River Air and their meticulously maintained fleet of float planes to offer fly out packages to the other famous Bristol Bay destinations like the American, Alagnak, Nushagak, Moraine, Ugashik and Kulik as well as many of the small gems hidden around the more remote sections of southwest Alaska. **Tour Length & Price:** 7 day "Standard" package - $4,995 per person It includes 7 nights lodging and meals and 6 days of guided fishing, including 1 day of guided fishing/bear viewing on the famous Brooks River. 7 day "Best of Bristol Bay" package -$6,595 per person This package adds 3 guided float plane fly-outs (weather dependent) to our standard package. 7 day “Unlimited” Package - $6,995 per person. Includes 6 days of guided fishing anyplace your heart desires (weather dependent). River, fly-outs, day raft trips? We’ve got you coved. Minimum of 2 people needed to book this package. This package includes guided fishing anywhere you and your fishing partner(s) choose each day with the only limitation being to keep the float plane flight under 45 minutes one way. **Lodging:** This classic riverfront log lodge features two stories of glass looking out on the beautiful Naknek River. Dinner is prepared by a professional chef featuring Alaskan favorites like salmon, halibut, Alaskan clams and reindeer. Evenings can be spent tying flies and swapping fish stories in the comfortable great room or in your private room or cabin. The rooms feature amenities like full time electricity, a mini-fridge, individually controlled heat, log furniture and a private bathroom with shower. **Daily Routine:** Each evening at dinner your guides will discuss the fishing options available for the next day. You will then choose the option that sounds the best to you and, weather permitting, they will make it happen. One of the most challenging parts of your trip might very well be trying to decide whether to fly out to one of the many rivers across Bristol Bay or stay closer to home to chase giant rainbows, catch another limit of salmon, jet boat up one of the Naknek tributaries, or jump on one of our larger boats to explore Naknek Lake and the many small streams that feed into it or boat over to Brooks Falls. For those of you that believe in the old adage that variety is the spice of life, Katmai Trophy Lodge is the perfect destination. If you so choose, you can target a different fish on a new river with a different technique every day. Here is what your schedule will look like: Breakfast at 7am Fishing at 8am Lunch on the water around noon Dinner at 6:30pm Quiet time after 10pm **What's Included:** Pick up and drop off at King Salmon Airport US Coast Guard and ADF&G licensed guides Breakfast and Dinner at the main lodge Grilled or packed shore lunch All necessary flies and lures All terminal fishing gear, rods and reels Cleaning and Vacuum packing of salmon for flying home Linens, comforter, private bathroom with hot/cold water. Daily maid service Waders and wading boots are available but are limited in size. **Not Included:** Flights to and from King Salmon Fishing on Saturday Alcohol Taxes ($161 USD) Fishing License and King Stamp Tips for staff and guides Fish Box or Cooler (insulated fish boxes can be purchased at the lodge for $20) **What to Bring:** At Katmai Trophy Lodge they will do their best to provide everything you need, but they also recognize that catching a fish on your own rod with your own fly is a truly special experience. Throughout the Summer the selection of flies and lines do change but here is a list of essentials that are always going to be good to bring along: Breathable Waders with non felt sole wading boots. You will fish from boats quite a bit but waders are going to be required to fish most days in order to be the most effective. A good Wading Jacket or Rain Jacket. It rains most days in Bristol Bay and a good jacket will make those rainy days just as pleasant as the sunny days. Layers. Most days your guides start off with a fleece jacket or a puff coat and if it is June, July, or August they might take a couple layers off, but it is always better to be able to take a layer off than to need an extra layer and not have it. A Backpack to bring along everyday to keep your fly boxes and extra layers in or even to shed that rain jacket when the sun peaks out. **If You Bring Your Own Fly Rod and Equipment:** 5 or 6 weights for small streams and fly outs. They typically rig them with an indicator to nymph with or just a standard 9 ft leader and a small streamer or mouse. The Flies they use vary as the seasons change but they like to use traditional nymphs as well as dry flies for most of the summer until the eggs start flowing and then they replace the dry flies with Beads. The beads they use are in 6, 8, and 10mm sizes and they usually will stay in the more natural colors. With lighter rods they do like to throw streamers and mice. Medium size streamers with stinger hooks and cone or bead heads are very useful because they will sink with a floating line. 7 or 8 weights for the Naknek river or Larger rivers. You will fish these on the main river with Floating line or a 250 or 300 grain sink tip and streamers or floating line and indicator. Flies for the main river include a lot of streamers with love jointed and stinger hook streamers because these rainbows love to tail nip, but the Naknek river in a 1 hook river to remember to trim your front hook. Flies like Sex dungeons, string leeches, and dolly lamas are all must haves. 9 weights for salmon. If you are fishing for Kings they rig these up with 350 grain or heavy sink tips and big bright flies. If you are targeting Silvers or Chums then they run a floating line and bright flies as well. For Sockeye they nymph them with bottom bouncing rigs with either shooting line or floating line. Intruder style flies are the go to for them when targeting all of the salmon except sockeye. Pink, orange, chartreuse with weighted eyes and a stinger hook, and bright dolly lamas with the heaviest cone heads. When targeting Sockeye they use large nymphs with strong hooks, as these fish will bend hooks no problem. Pheasant tails, wooly buggers, egg flies, and all of the classic Salmon and Steelhead nymphs all work great. Spey rods; They love the 2 hand game at KTL and they like to run 7 or 8 weight spey rods for trout with a skagit head and a sink tip and sculpin or leech style flies almost all summer and fall. They also will run 8 or 9 weight spey rods for Kings with skagit heads and bright intruder flies. Read More