Alaskan experiences and thoughts, suggestions wanted

[Acristickid]

Dear fellow anglers-

I am looking for information and personal experiences on these two areas of Alaska- Kanektok River system and or the Naknek River.
I have never been to Alaska and have started to do some research.

Dont necessarily need fly out or a fancy lodge as long as boat transportation would allow me to catch the three species of salmon that I have not caught yet which are pink, chum and sockeye also would like to catch arctic char and Dolly Varden. Less interested in Kings and Silvers since I’ve caught them before.

I’d prefer a lodge room vs a wall tent and see the benefits. Also could imagine boat transportation more reliable than flying with bad weather.

I plan on speaking to the AK wildlife biologists who I hope to be able to get areas , species and times for the fishing- hope this jives with what the outfitters say.

One fellow fly angler told me one place he went flat out lied about a few things so I’m trying to vet those in advance as much as possible- that experience was not on the two named areas above.


Any additional thoughts or insights are welcome. Thank you for thoughts. Merry Christmas, Paul.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Person opinion: Kenai Peninsula would cover those bases just by driving there. Kenai has all 3 species. plus Dollies and Grayling? I think. Pinks are an every other year run. Sockeyes are a Kenai River staple. Chums? I'll ask a friend about them. GG

 

[allthingsfishing]

Go to this website under General Discussion and ask about Alaska. One of the administrators is from PA and he guides in Alaska. His name is Ard Stitts.

https://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/

 

[ryanh]

Lived in Alaska for a while and fished the highway system. Kenai ad Russian rivers were gold. Grayling is a blast as is float tube fishing lakes for big rainbows. Alaska flyfishers was a really active group. Maybe look them up.

 

[Acristickid]

Thanks for the info- keep it coming.

Ryan- any more specifics?

 

[Millsertime]

I've visited/fished Alaska approximately 15 times and have never stayed in a lodge or hired a float plane. This is due to me not looking to pay a lot of money.

I've caught all species of salmon, halibut, grayling, and arctic char. I've flown into Anchorage and Fairbanks. Anchorage (Kenai Pen) has the best fishing but also the most crowds. The past several years I've flown into Fairbanks and concentrated on Tannana Drainage for grayling and Copper drainage for reds. No shoulder to shoulder fishing!

Although flossing reds is fun and they taste amazing....catching a 20" grayling on an adams dry is far better.

If it's your first visit, I would fly there and rent a car. If you visit June-early Sep ---> you'll find fish.

 

[beeber2]

Naknek River Camp. Go after Labor Day for a price break. Lodging was great, guides were great, location was great. There are huge rainbows, grayling, and silvers/kings there. I caught a 26 inch rainbow off the dock in front of the lodge on the first day there.

Food was seriously lacking in fiber/healthy choices, and fresh fruit is scarce.

 

[ponner1us]

I went to the Kanektok & caught all 5 species of salmon in 1 day, + dolly garden, grayling, and rainbows, it was quite amazing. Reel Action has a tent camp there. It was a bit expensive but worth every penny. Reel Action is at the fly show every year. You want to target salmon by which week you choose on the Kanektok, with some overlap to be expected. Pm me withany ?s if you want.

 

[D-nymph]

I had a trip planned to the Kenai peninsula but had to cancel 2 days before flying in because of a 500 year storm event that had flooded Rte. 1 on the Peninsula, September 2012. Still haven't made it. Reason for the post is: We had rented a cabin/house off of VRBO & were going to fish out of there with a local friend not a guide. In case you're looking for lodging options that aren't a "fishing lodge" nor camping. I have friends who have fished the Kenai peninsula via an RV rental also.

 

[poopdeck]

I've yet to go to Alaska but like you I have been researching options for my first trip. I've settled on renting an RV for a couple weeks. RV rentals are about 200 bucks a day with unlimited miles. One thing somewhat unique to Alaska is you can park an RV on public land any where you want. My trip will be more geared as a vacation with my non fishing wife with times of fishing thrown in. I've determined that Alaska offers so much it's hard to confine yourself to one area so why not travel about it a bit.

 

[Acristickid]

ponner- yes, I am looking at that. For some reason your name doesn’t show up in my drop down to PM you.

Maybe you can PM me?? How were the bugs? How were the bears? Catching what you did would be thrilling to me. When is best time salmon overlap? Maybe late July or early August?

Thanks all for your suggestions.

Only have a week and I will be by myself so I prefer to go with an outfit. In the future , if I was to go with a few other anglers I would be ok with driving and doing DIY trip. Also, I’d be willing to pay a little more if I can catch all species- that way I wouldn’t need to come back. Got a few other places to check off.

Thanks again to all and keep them coming. Love hearing everyone ideas.