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Alaska Fly Fishing Trip
For the past several years, I've traveled to southwest Alaska in mid September to fly fish for rainbow trout, Arctic char, and grayling. There are usually about 8-12 of us and because we have so many people, we get a good discount on the trip - about ⅓ off. The trip is not cheap in the absolute sense but the discount is substantial.
We are planning the 2023 trip (spots fill quickly) and a few people who usually go cannot make it. The dates are September 9 - 16. So I have spots for at least 2 people if anybody is interested. I will not disclose the lodge name except to interested parties. Generally we fly out on a Saturday. We have enough people we charter a flight, which sounds really impressive but it's routine practice out here. There are a lot of 'airlines' that are one or two planes that fly between Anchorage and different parts of this state. The lodge has waders and gear if you don't want to bring your own or if you don't have your own gear. Our group generally brings their own gear but we've had guests in the past who have never fly fished before and used the lodge's gear and had a great time.
The stay is from Saturday to Saturday. The day's schedule is generally as follows: breakfast around 7:15. It's made fresh at the lodge. Past breakfasts have included waffles, bacon and eggs, biscuits and gravy, salmon hash, etc. Around 8:00-8:30 you depart for where you are scheduled. Some people go up local rivers accessed by boat. Some are flown out to remote Alaska rivers. Trips are guided and for the fly-outs, the guides are usually flown out first so they can inflate the self-bailing catarafts. It's a drift float down the river aiming for rainbows and sometimes char. Shore lunch is provided. Specialty fly-outs include a fly out for grayling or a fly out for silver (coho) salmon. Salmon are the only fish kept because of state regs. At the end of the day (around 4:00 or so), head back to the lodge, shower and get ready for dinner. Appetizers/snacks are usually put out for guests. Beer and wine is provided although most people will bring a bottle or two of bourbon so there are a lot of bottles on the bar. Dinner is about 6:30 and it is good. Past dinners include rack of lamb, prime rib, Alaska crab and shrimp broil, wood smoked salmon while desserts frequently utilize local berries picked by the chef from right around the lodge. Guides take pictures and they are posted on a TV behind the bar. After dinner people chill or watch some football or drink.
Price breakdown:
$6700 for the lodge for the week - includes guides, food, beer/wine, lodging, and at least 3 fly outs if the weather is good. One reason we keep getting invited back is because we don't bitch if the weather is bad and the pilot says, "Not flying today." There have been 2 days when the weather was bad enough we just did not go out at all. That is out of 7 years. I tell my wife that going out there for a week is cheaper than therapy and far more effective. I think she's just glad I'm out of the house for a week no matter the cost.
$575 flight from Anchorage to lodge and back
tip - usually 10% to the staff and any extra to a guide or staff member that went above and beyond the call of duty.
Waders are for rent. I think its $100 per week but the 2 people that have come with us who rented waders never discussed getting a bill so I don't know how that works. Rods and gear are available and I don't think there's a cost for them.
$45 - 1 week non-resident fishing license.
As I said, I know it's not cheap. But I also know what it costs to get all of the food and fuel and equipment transported out to these lodges and the cost to run those planes. For comparison, a do-it-yourself trip to Western Alaska, staying in a wall tent, is about $5000. Full price, this trip is about $10,000. But if you fly fish, you'll have the trip of a lifetime. You'll fish rivers like the Iliamna, the Copper, the Gibraltar, the Moraine, Battle Creek, the Kvichak (pronounced 'kwee-jack') and others. You can reasonably expect, depending on weather, numerous rainbow trout over 20" and likely over 25". Depending on where you can get to, you can have a shot at a rainbow over 30". You can spend a week outside of cell phone range, although there is WiFi at the lodge. You will see bears - about 20-50 per week is what we average. Sometimes you will see them quite, quite close, as in a few feet away. Guides and some guests (like yours truly) will have guns. I've never had to shoot at a bear but I have thought I might need to fire a round in the air to scare away an overly curious bear.
I keep saying this is a fly fishing trip because the regs for that area prohibit the use of any bait, alive or dead, and require a single-hook fly to catch fish and non-salmon must be released. So no, you won't eat any rainbow or grayling or char that you catch. And with the regs written as they are, spin casting or bait casting is really impractical. Hence a fly fishing trip.
If you're interested, drop me a DM and I can give you some more details or answer any other questions you might have. We have a group of regulars who in the past have invited guests and every person that has come on this trip has enjoyed it immensely.
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