The author's big Rainbow Trout
Alaska Sportsman's Lodge
July/August 2019
Species: Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Silver Salmon, Arctic Grayling, Pink Salmon, King Salmon, Chum Salmon
After a very successful trip a couple years ago to Aniak River Lodge, I decided to head back to Alaska this summer with my friend Gary. I did a lot of research and had a bigger budget than previously due to a strong 2018 at work, so I tried to find the best lodge that I could. Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge (www.fishasl.com) kept coming up in all the research I did, and the reviews on various sites were all glowing. It was a bit pricey, but it seemed like a lot of value for the money so I went ahead and booked. I will say up front that ASL exceeded my loftiest expectations with outstanding service and attention to detail that I have not seen anywhere else. Brian Kraft, the owner/operator, has built an exceptional operation from top to bottom that provides an incredible experience for guests who are fortunate enough to visit.
The service starts when you arrive in Anchorage, where ASL has a charter flight to Igiugig, the small village near the lodge. Having a dedicated charter is a great idea and enables ASL to better control the experience for guests. We took a DC-3, which was very comfortable and hearkened back to a time when flying was a luxury and not a hassle. When we arrived at the lodge, we received an orientation about what to expect while our bags were taken to our rooms. Our entire stay was outstanding from a comfort standpoint – beds and rooms were comfortable, food was plentiful and excellent, and there was even decent wifi although you couldn’t stream things. There were so many little touches, like free snacks always available at the main lodge and free waders, boots, and dry bags available for guests. All of those little things really add up to a great overall experience. I probably packed at least 20lbs of extra stuff that I didn’t end up needing because it was provided.
July/August 2019
Species: Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Silver Salmon, Arctic Grayling, Pink Salmon, King Salmon, Chum Salmon
After a very successful trip a couple years ago to Aniak River Lodge, I decided to head back to Alaska this summer with my friend Gary. I did a lot of research and had a bigger budget than previously due to a strong 2018 at work, so I tried to find the best lodge that I could. Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge (www.fishasl.com) kept coming up in all the research I did, and the reviews on various sites were all glowing. It was a bit pricey, but it seemed like a lot of value for the money so I went ahead and booked. I will say up front that ASL exceeded my loftiest expectations with outstanding service and attention to detail that I have not seen anywhere else. Brian Kraft, the owner/operator, has built an exceptional operation from top to bottom that provides an incredible experience for guests who are fortunate enough to visit.
The service starts when you arrive in Anchorage, where ASL has a charter flight to Igiugig, the small village near the lodge. Having a dedicated charter is a great idea and enables ASL to better control the experience for guests. We took a DC-3, which was very comfortable and hearkened back to a time when flying was a luxury and not a hassle. When we arrived at the lodge, we received an orientation about what to expect while our bags were taken to our rooms. Our entire stay was outstanding from a comfort standpoint – beds and rooms were comfortable, food was plentiful and excellent, and there was even decent wifi although you couldn’t stream things. There were so many little touches, like free snacks always available at the main lodge and free waders, boots, and dry bags available for guests. All of those little things really add up to a great overall experience. I probably packed at least 20lbs of extra stuff that I didn’t end up needing because it was provided.
DC-3 charter to the lodge
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Flying over the mountains
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The lodge has a very high staff to guest ratio, and every staff member was enthusiastic and friendly. That is true at many lodges, but these people take it to the next level. One of many examples – one woman lost her phone on a fly out trip on the last day we were there, and the pilot flew back out to the site and retraced part of the hike to try to find the phone (which ended up being found in the plane). That is insane; I can’t imagine there are many places where that would happen. The fuel for the extra roundtrip flight probably cost more than the phone. That is the level of service that ASL offers.
The fishing program is varied and flexible. The night before you are assigned a guide who goes over the options for the next day. Most people flew out to one of the many destinations available, although the home Kvichak River is also a good option, and during some parts of the year is the best option. We wanted to do a little of everything, and we got to experience a really good sampling. Our experiences are detailed below.
The fishing program is varied and flexible. The night before you are assigned a guide who goes over the options for the next day. Most people flew out to one of the many destinations available, although the home Kvichak River is also a good option, and during some parts of the year is the best option. We wanted to do a little of everything, and we got to experience a really good sampling. Our experiences are detailed below.
Alaska Sportsman's Lodge
Day 1
We flew out to the Alagnak River with our guide Jordan. We fortunately had beautiful weather and a very smooth 15 minute flight. The Alagnak is a very good-sized river for the area and was full of all types of salmon. We started out with some large Chum Salmon on pink streamer flies; these fought much harder than the ones I had caught previously. They were a good warm up. I think they were more recently arrived from the ocean. We saw our first of many grizzly bears, which walked towards us for a while without noticing us. It didn’t panic when it saw us; it just walked around us. We did a little fishing for King Salmon and I got 4 on beads. Three were small Jacks (two of them were about a pound, one was around 4lbs) and then a nicer one around 12lbs. I think I caught the smallest King Salmon in the whole river because all the ones we saw were bigger. We did a little fishing for Silver Salmon with spinners and Gary got a bright chrome hen. In the same spot I got about a 19 inch Rainbow Trout. We each got a couple smaller trout. We saw another bear on the way back. Throughout the day we saw many bald eagles. We did see a couple other anglers, but not many and they didn’t impact our fishing.
Total for me was around 12 chums landed (and many more long distance released; I was not trying to land them after the first few), 4 kings, and 3 Rainbows. Gary got maybe 8-10 chums, the silver, and some Rainbows.
1st bear of the trip
Big old Chum Salmon caught on fly
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King Salmon caught on a bead
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Day 2
Our plan was to fly to Little Gertrude Creek with our guide Brian but there was too much fog so we diverted to Little Ku Creek which was only a 15 minute flight. That is one of the really great things about this lodge; there are so many options and if one is not fishing well or not accessible you can go to another one. We landed on a little pond, tied up the plane, and hiked over to Little Ku. We saw a bear that paid no attention to us. Little Ku is a small creek and requires some casting in tight spaces. There was a lot of hooking of branches and trees, as Gary and I don’t fly fish much at home, but we did get some nice trout. We started fishing beads and it was a little slow, but when we switched to streamers the light switched on. I got a 24”, a 23.5”, and a 23” and Gary got a 23.5”. In total I probably landed around 20 trout of various sizes, 2 Dolly Varden, and several sockeye salmon which I wasn’t trying to fish for but which would sometimes bite our flies. I believe Gary got around 12 trout, a dolly, and some sockeye.
Our plan was to fly to Little Gertrude Creek with our guide Brian but there was too much fog so we diverted to Little Ku Creek which was only a 15 minute flight. That is one of the really great things about this lodge; there are so many options and if one is not fishing well or not accessible you can go to another one. We landed on a little pond, tied up the plane, and hiked over to Little Ku. We saw a bear that paid no attention to us. Little Ku is a small creek and requires some casting in tight spaces. There was a lot of hooking of branches and trees, as Gary and I don’t fly fish much at home, but we did get some nice trout. We started fishing beads and it was a little slow, but when we switched to streamers the light switched on. I got a 24”, a 23.5”, and a 23” and Gary got a 23.5”. In total I probably landed around 20 trout of various sizes, 2 Dolly Varden, and several sockeye salmon which I wasn’t trying to fish for but which would sometimes bite our flies. I believe Gary got around 12 trout, a dolly, and some sockeye.
Overlooking the Little Ku
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We had some bears charge out of the brush and dive into the water to try to catch salmon, which was cool to watch but a little unnerving. One rushed out behind me when we were trying to take a picture of one of my big trout. On the way back, a bear was hunting salmon in the middle of the creek and ran towards us. Thankfully it stopped before it got to us, but it wouldn’t move so our guide walked towards it and yelled at it to get it to move. None of us had a gun or bear spray, just fly fishing rods which I would guess are pretty ineffective against an angry bear. Luckily, it moved a bit off to the side and we walked by it; probably less than 20 yards away. It was not the biggest grizzly ever, but it was plenty big. You just have to trust that the guides know what they are doing with the bears. The hike out was a little bit of a pain but it was well worth the trip. We didn’t see anyone else all day.
A bear charging a salmon right in front of us
This bear didn't want to move
Day 3
ASL decided that we hadn’t had enough hiking, so they sent us to Gertrude Creek with Brian. It was about a 45 min flight to a small lake that we landed in, then about a mile or so hike into the creek. We saw a bear walking around the creek near where we were hiking, but when we got down there it had disappeared and we didn’t see another bear all day. We did see plenty of signs of them like scat and prints. After the prior day, I was ok not having a close bear encounter, especially in the close quarters of the creek. We started throwing a mouse and a streamer to no avail, so we switched to beads and threw those the rest of the day. I got around 8 Dolly Varden and a Rainbow in the morning on that, then we stopped for lunch. In the afternoon I got around 7-8 Dollys and two grayling, and lost quite a few fish. No giants, but a really nice Dolly that was stunningly colored. That was my second favorite fish of the trip. Gary did about the same. The hike out was rough; only two miles or so but none of it was flat hard ground. The first part was fighting through head-high brush with no trail (that stretch is informally called Mount Motherf@#$r, because apparently the first guy they took there said “Damn, that was a motherf@#$r!” when he got to the top), then some waist high grass, then some spongy tundra that had lots of holes in it. A lot of it was uphill. It was not fun, especially after having walked all day in the creek. There was another group there, which was strange because it is one of the most seldom fished spot that ASL offers due to the physical demands, but it wasn’t a big deal as we didn’t run into them much.
ASL decided that we hadn’t had enough hiking, so they sent us to Gertrude Creek with Brian. It was about a 45 min flight to a small lake that we landed in, then about a mile or so hike into the creek. We saw a bear walking around the creek near where we were hiking, but when we got down there it had disappeared and we didn’t see another bear all day. We did see plenty of signs of them like scat and prints. After the prior day, I was ok not having a close bear encounter, especially in the close quarters of the creek. We started throwing a mouse and a streamer to no avail, so we switched to beads and threw those the rest of the day. I got around 8 Dolly Varden and a Rainbow in the morning on that, then we stopped for lunch. In the afternoon I got around 7-8 Dollys and two grayling, and lost quite a few fish. No giants, but a really nice Dolly that was stunningly colored. That was my second favorite fish of the trip. Gary did about the same. The hike out was rough; only two miles or so but none of it was flat hard ground. The first part was fighting through head-high brush with no trail (that stretch is informally called Mount Motherf@#$r, because apparently the first guy they took there said “Damn, that was a motherf@#$r!” when he got to the top), then some waist high grass, then some spongy tundra that had lots of holes in it. A lot of it was uphill. It was not fun, especially after having walked all day in the creek. There was another group there, which was strange because it is one of the most seldom fished spot that ASL offers due to the physical demands, but it wasn’t a big deal as we didn’t run into them much.
The Dolly Varden of the trip for sure; well worth the trek
Day 4
After two strenuous hiking and wading days we got a break and fished the Kvichak River right out in front of the lodge with guide Joe. It was nice to wake up a little later (20 mins later anyway) and be able to fish out of a boat. We started hammering the Silver Salmon on spinning gear right off the bat; I got one on the first cast, lost one on the second cast, and Gary got one on his third cast. I had about 8 landed for the morning, along with some small trout and some pink and sockeye salmon. I also got a grayling in the morning, all on the pink spinner with a little plastic squid added. You can only keep two Silvers per day per person on the Kvichak, and they only keep males to not impact the spawn too much so we had to sort through some big fat females before getting some nice males. We came back to lodge for a hearty lunch and a quick nap, and then were back at it in the afternoon. We started out by drifting beads on fly gear for Rainbows, and landed about 8 each up to around 18”, although most were small. We then switched to Silvers on the spinners and picked away at them; I think I landed around 6-8 in the afternoon along with three pinks and a couple more grayling and an occasional wayward Rainbow. Gary did about the same; the morning was a little slow for him on the Silvers but he got them pretty good in the afternoon. The weather was overcast all day which definitely helped. It was very pleasant. I ended up with about 15 Silvers up to 10lbs or so, 4 or 5 Pink Salmon, a couple Sockeye, about 10 Rainbows, and three Grayling. Throughout the day we saw a few eagles, an osprey, some Sand Hill cranes, and many ducks.
After two strenuous hiking and wading days we got a break and fished the Kvichak River right out in front of the lodge with guide Joe. It was nice to wake up a little later (20 mins later anyway) and be able to fish out of a boat. We started hammering the Silver Salmon on spinning gear right off the bat; I got one on the first cast, lost one on the second cast, and Gary got one on his third cast. I had about 8 landed for the morning, along with some small trout and some pink and sockeye salmon. I also got a grayling in the morning, all on the pink spinner with a little plastic squid added. You can only keep two Silvers per day per person on the Kvichak, and they only keep males to not impact the spawn too much so we had to sort through some big fat females before getting some nice males. We came back to lodge for a hearty lunch and a quick nap, and then were back at it in the afternoon. We started out by drifting beads on fly gear for Rainbows, and landed about 8 each up to around 18”, although most were small. We then switched to Silvers on the spinners and picked away at them; I think I landed around 6-8 in the afternoon along with three pinks and a couple more grayling and an occasional wayward Rainbow. Gary did about the same; the morning was a little slow for him on the Silvers but he got them pretty good in the afternoon. The weather was overcast all day which definitely helped. It was very pleasant. I ended up with about 15 Silvers up to 10lbs or so, 4 or 5 Pink Salmon, a couple Sockeye, about 10 Rainbows, and three Grayling. Throughout the day we saw a few eagles, an osprey, some Sand Hill cranes, and many ducks.
A double of Silver Salmon on the Kvichak
Female Silver Salmon
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Male Silver Salmon
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Mr. Pink
Day 5
On this day we flew to Moraine Creek, which was about a 20 minute flight, with guide Brian. Once there, we unloaded a raft, hiked a short distance to the creek, and put the raft together. We saw 7 bears on the flight in, and knew we would get lots of opportunities to see them up close once there. There were a couple bears milling around right where we put the raft in. They seemed to pretty much ignore the people. A couple other planes had dropped off small groups of waders when we came in, but we floated right past them and never saw them again. We didn’t see anyone else for the vast majority of the day, which is always nice. We floated down the river in the raft, mostly drifting beads but occasionally stopping to cast.
The day started out tough – very few bites, even fewer fish, and it was windy and drizzly. By noon we had each jumped off a couple medium sized Rainbows and boated a couple of grayling. At least we were seeing bears; we saw a sow with her cubs and some single bears here and there. Our fishing luck changed right before lunch. While floating down and fishing from the raft, I hooked a very large Rainbow in a rocky section with a lot of current. It tore downstream and ripped line off my 8wt fly rod down into the backing. It jumped and I saw it was a big fish, and I was praying the whole time it would stay hooked. Four separate times we were about to net it and it took off again downstream. The bead-hooked fish generally come unhooked easier than streamer-hooked fish, and we were using single barbless hooks. However, everything held and we managed to get the fish in the net. It was beautifully colored and flawless physically. Great fish. After releasing it, we managed to hook about 10 more in that small area, landing about 8 of them. Mine were 12-18”, while Gary got a 22” and a 20” and an 18”. We also got some grayling out of there.
We continued drifting downstream, hooking more Rainbows and grayling here and there. As we got farther down river and the sun started to come out, we could see the fish a lot better and saw many large trout. We actually didn’t see many small trout; most were 20-24” fish. Unfortunately many of them were in spots were couldn’t fish effectively due to snags or lack of current and others were in spots we had to rush past in order to catch our plane. The fish weren’t biting that well other than in that one spot, but we picked away at them and Gary finished the day with a nice 23” fish. All the fish looked stunning and flawless, since they hadn’t started to get bit by the salmon while trying to raid nests.
On this day we flew to Moraine Creek, which was about a 20 minute flight, with guide Brian. Once there, we unloaded a raft, hiked a short distance to the creek, and put the raft together. We saw 7 bears on the flight in, and knew we would get lots of opportunities to see them up close once there. There were a couple bears milling around right where we put the raft in. They seemed to pretty much ignore the people. A couple other planes had dropped off small groups of waders when we came in, but we floated right past them and never saw them again. We didn’t see anyone else for the vast majority of the day, which is always nice. We floated down the river in the raft, mostly drifting beads but occasionally stopping to cast.
The day started out tough – very few bites, even fewer fish, and it was windy and drizzly. By noon we had each jumped off a couple medium sized Rainbows and boated a couple of grayling. At least we were seeing bears; we saw a sow with her cubs and some single bears here and there. Our fishing luck changed right before lunch. While floating down and fishing from the raft, I hooked a very large Rainbow in a rocky section with a lot of current. It tore downstream and ripped line off my 8wt fly rod down into the backing. It jumped and I saw it was a big fish, and I was praying the whole time it would stay hooked. Four separate times we were about to net it and it took off again downstream. The bead-hooked fish generally come unhooked easier than streamer-hooked fish, and we were using single barbless hooks. However, everything held and we managed to get the fish in the net. It was beautifully colored and flawless physically. Great fish. After releasing it, we managed to hook about 10 more in that small area, landing about 8 of them. Mine were 12-18”, while Gary got a 22” and a 20” and an 18”. We also got some grayling out of there.
We continued drifting downstream, hooking more Rainbows and grayling here and there. As we got farther down river and the sun started to come out, we could see the fish a lot better and saw many large trout. We actually didn’t see many small trout; most were 20-24” fish. Unfortunately many of them were in spots were couldn’t fish effectively due to snags or lack of current and others were in spots we had to rush past in order to catch our plane. The fish weren’t biting that well other than in that one spot, but we picked away at them and Gary finished the day with a nice 23” fish. All the fish looked stunning and flawless, since they hadn’t started to get bit by the salmon while trying to raid nests.
The fish of the trip for me - a giant and stunning Rainbow Trout
Gary's really nice Grayling
The river was full of sockeye, and we would occasionally hook one. Mostly we tried to avoid casting right over them because we didn’t want to spend time fighting them. You could see them take a swipe at the bead as it drifted by sometimes. It looked like sockeye were the only type of salmon in the river other than a few wayward pinks.
For the day I counted 19 bears, including the 7 we saw flying in and one we saw flying out. We ended up seeing two sows with cubs as well as a number of single bears, including one that appeared on the bank about 10 yards from where we were floating by. Knowing that we were not food and not a threat, they pretty much ignored us. We saw one catch a salmon, but for the most part they were just walking around. It’s pretty impressive how quietly they move; a couple times we had them appear quite close without a sound.
Our guide Brian worked extremely hard all day rowing the raft around rocks in the low water. Those guides earn their money.
For the day I counted 19 bears, including the 7 we saw flying in and one we saw flying out. We ended up seeing two sows with cubs as well as a number of single bears, including one that appeared on the bank about 10 yards from where we were floating by. Knowing that we were not food and not a threat, they pretty much ignored us. We saw one catch a salmon, but for the most part they were just walking around. It’s pretty impressive how quietly they move; a couple times we had them appear quite close without a sound.
Our guide Brian worked extremely hard all day rowing the raft around rocks in the low water. Those guides earn their money.
A mother bear and some older cubs
Fishing with bears
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Fishing with bears
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Day 6
On this day we flew out to the Nushagak River for Silver Salmon with guide Jordan. We saw a cow Moose on the flight in, which was cool. There were lots of bald eagles at this spot and we saw one bear across the river. We were told there are not many bears seen there. The day started out decent with lots of hits and misses on silvers; we got 6 in the box by lunch and let about that many go. We had a nice shore lunch of Silver Salmon and then headed back out. The afternoon was tough; not much action and then our boat motor broke and we had to swap boats out. Luckily they had a spare boat even at this remote location and we hardly lost any time. It was drizzly and windy so we didn’t bother with flies. We both lost a lot of fish in the afternoon; they just weren’t staying hooked. We had a flurry at the end where we landed several and filled out our 10 fish limit. On the way out we saw a big bull moose standing in a pond which was cool although we only saw it briefly. Both flights flew very low, which enabled us to see a lot more.
On this day we flew out to the Nushagak River for Silver Salmon with guide Jordan. We saw a cow Moose on the flight in, which was cool. There were lots of bald eagles at this spot and we saw one bear across the river. We were told there are not many bears seen there. The day started out decent with lots of hits and misses on silvers; we got 6 in the box by lunch and let about that many go. We had a nice shore lunch of Silver Salmon and then headed back out. The afternoon was tough; not much action and then our boat motor broke and we had to swap boats out. Luckily they had a spare boat even at this remote location and we hardly lost any time. It was drizzly and windy so we didn’t bother with flies. We both lost a lot of fish in the afternoon; they just weren’t staying hooked. We had a flurry at the end where we landed several and filled out our 10 fish limit. On the way out we saw a big bull moose standing in a pond which was cool although we only saw it briefly. Both flights flew very low, which enabled us to see a lot more.
A delicious salmon shore lunch
A Nushagak limit of male Silvers
Day 7
For our last day, we stayed close to the lodge and fished the Kvichak River with guide Tom. Tom is one of the most experienced guides and had a lot of good tips to help our fly casting. We started out casting streamers on fly gear to see if we could pick up some salmon. I got two nice Silvers and some Chum and Sockeye salmon (all hooked in the mouth) before I decided to switch to spinners to try to fill out a limit to bring home. Gary stayed a purist with the fly gear for most of the day. Getting a limit was surprisingly hard to do, as most of the fish we caught were either large females or small males, neither of which we wanted to keep. We tried a few different spots both in the Kvichak and also in nearby Lake Illiama, and got fish at every spot. I had a pig of a trout spit the hook on its third jump; that was the only fish I lost this trip that I was really upset about. We came back to the lodge for a hearty lunch and then went back out. Gary really wanted to finish off the day with another Silver on fly, but wasn’t having much luck. We ended up with only three Silvers in the box to take home, out of probably 12-14 landed and about 6 or 7 hooked but lost. There were a disproportionate number of females around. At the last spot I think I landed 5 Silvers and only one was male.
For our last day, we stayed close to the lodge and fished the Kvichak River with guide Tom. Tom is one of the most experienced guides and had a lot of good tips to help our fly casting. We started out casting streamers on fly gear to see if we could pick up some salmon. I got two nice Silvers and some Chum and Sockeye salmon (all hooked in the mouth) before I decided to switch to spinners to try to fill out a limit to bring home. Gary stayed a purist with the fly gear for most of the day. Getting a limit was surprisingly hard to do, as most of the fish we caught were either large females or small males, neither of which we wanted to keep. We tried a few different spots both in the Kvichak and also in nearby Lake Illiama, and got fish at every spot. I had a pig of a trout spit the hook on its third jump; that was the only fish I lost this trip that I was really upset about. We came back to the lodge for a hearty lunch and then went back out. Gary really wanted to finish off the day with another Silver on fly, but wasn’t having much luck. We ended up with only three Silvers in the box to take home, out of probably 12-14 landed and about 6 or 7 hooked but lost. There were a disproportionate number of females around. At the last spot I think I landed 5 Silvers and only one was male.
The trout in the lake were a lot more chrome colored than the ones in the rivers and creeks
The trip home was uneventful. ASL vacuum sealed and froze my Silver Salmon and packed it in a box to take home and it made it just fine. That was included in the fee. Pretty much everything you can think of is included except tips and massages.
I cannot recommend Alaska Sportsman's Lodge highly enough. They are the gold standard by which all other fishing lodges should be measured.
I cannot recommend Alaska Sportsman's Lodge highly enough. They are the gold standard by which all other fishing lodges should be measured.
