To my way of thinking, a fishing trip to Alaska should be on every angler’s bucket list. It is truly the Last Frontier for fishing in North America. Wild Pacific salmon return to their natal river to spawn, aggressive sea-run dolly varden follow in anticipation of fallen eggs, and rainbow trout live to prehistoric ages.
There are countless options to choose from when booking an Alaskan fishing trip. To determine which option is best for you, consider a handful of questions. Do you want to combine fishing with sightseeing? Are you bringing a non-fishing companion and if so, what are his/her interests? Is your goal to fill the freezer with tasty halibut and salmon? Do you want to stay in the comforts of a 5-star fly-out lodge where a float plane takes you to a new river each day? Or do you want to experience an Alaskan adventure, a float trip down a remote river that rarely sees a human being? Yes, that’s where this is going.
Having fished Alaska many times, including top rivers while staying in some of the finest lodges in the state, I had yet to experience a true Alaskan wilderness fishing adventure: fly-fishing a river from its headwaters to tidewater, camping along the way, and fishing until I couldn’t fish anymore!
This all started nearly two years ago when a few of my WTA customers contacted me wanting to do something special. They had yet to see Alaska, let alone fish it. I asked if they’d be up for an adventure. “Sign me up,” they replied. I already had the river in mind. Just to add a little mystery, we’ll refer to it as River X. First, let me say that we didn’t do this alone. A top-of-the-line outfitter and guide team was chosen to handle all the heavy lifting. All we had to do was fish! I’d fished this river twice before, but that was years ago. However, I had not seen its extreme upper reaches, which begin in the scenic mountains of interior Alaska and flow for miles through a National Wildlife Refuge. Here, you share the river with Alaska’s wildlife, not other anglers.
I handpicked the last week in July hoping for a shot at the Alaska Grand Slam, all five species of Pacific salmon. This is a great time to showcase the best of Alaskan fishing and experience the variety here. No other river in Alaska sees such a prolific run of all five Pacific salmon species. The king salmon begin to run in mid-June, followed by the sockeye and chum in early to mid-July. This being an even-numbered year, we’d also see pink salmon or humpys, and maybe get into a few silvers toward the end of the float. Besides the multitude of salmon, the upper river is loaded with arctic grayling and aggressive dolly varden. This salmonid splits its time between salt water and fresh water, following salmon upriver every year to gorge on their fallen eggs. Then, there’re the rainbows, which are what most fly-anglers travel all this way for. The trout, like the dollys, often wait in anticipation of the salmon dropping their eggs. When you find salmon, you’ll find a rainbow (or two) sitting behind them. These particular rainbow trout are referred to as leopard rainbows because of their distinct markings and coloration. They are only found in this part of Alaska. The trout focus on salmon eggs early on, but streamers and flesh flies (imitating decaying salmon) are very effective later in the season. But, the highlight of targeting these leopard ’bows is mousing for them. Yes, they eat rodents, too! Skating a mouse fly across the river and watching a 25″ rainbow crush it is one of the most exciting top-water actions you can experience!
The jumping-off point for this adventure was a small town in extreme western Alaska. From there, we loaded into float planes for a one-hour flight to a remote mountain lake and the headwaters of our river. Our final destination was a tiny village nearly 90 miles away. Our party consisted of eight anglers and four guides. Camp was already set when we landed. It consisted of four large guest tents (two anglers per tent), a larger Arctic Oven tent which served as the cooking/dining tent with chairs and collapsible tables, and even a portable outhouse and shower tent! All of this was broken down each morning and strategically packed onto the rafts. These rafts, once loaded, weighed about 2,500 pounds! Every piece of equipment had its place. We spent a few hours fishing around camp that first evening, but mostly we just relaxed and took in the incredible scenery. We enjoyed an incredible riverside prime rib dinner and eventually settled in, anticipating our first morning on the river.
Our daily routine over the course of the next week was to wake up early and pack gear (duffle bag, sleeping bag, etc.) into the large dry bags provided. The guide crew was already hard at work cooking breakfast and breaking camp. Despite the remoteness, the food was excellent and plentiful. The guides joked about how we should clean our plates so there was less to pack in the rafts. It was amazing to see this crew at work every day. They had the process down to a science and left no trace. After all, they run six of these floats (back to back) each summer. They worked tirelessly, up early each morning preparing breakfast, breaking camp, loading rafts, rowing miles and miles of river each day, guiding, and releasing the dozens (if not hundreds) of fish we caught every day…always with a smile on their faces and a few stories to tell.
This adventure was about so much more than catching fish. It was about experiencing this awe-inspiring wilderness with great people who share a common love for and bond with the outdoors. When we reached our take-out point, there was a sense of sadness that our voyage had come to an end. It was an incredible week of fishing and experiencing the “real Alaska.” That is a huge understatement, but it is difficult to relate in mere words.
I encourage you to learn more about this extraordinary Alaska fly-fishing trip.
