Naknek River and Bristol Bay

During June, shortly after the ice goes out, the sport fishing season in the Bristol Bay area opens. The first part of June is excellent for explosive rainbow Trout, Arctic Grayling, and Northern Pike.  There is plenty of excitement for anglers as the fish are aggressively feeding on migrating salmon smolt after a long winter with little food.  The mouth of the Naknek River acts like a funnel for the millions of baby salmon smolt that are migrating to Bristol Bay.  This provides an excellent feeding spot for the large rainbows of the Naknek River.

The mighty King salmon, the largest fish of the Pacific salmon family, begin to arrive in their native rivers about June 15.  Anglers visiting us at this time of the year will have a combination rainbow Trout and King salmon trip.  The Kings average between 20 and 30 pounds. We have three different rivers in which we fish for king salmon.  One of them is right in front of Alaska Sportsman’s Bear Trail Lodge on the Naknek River.  You will travel a short distance by boat from the lodge to fish for the kings or you can choose to fly out to fish one of our other rivers for kings if you wish.  The flights from the lodge are included in your package and your guides will help decide which river to go to.  King fishing stays good from June 15 through July 31.

During the end of June and through July, the Naknek River becomes the passageway for sockeye salmon to instinctively return to their spawning grounds.  Millions of sockeye pass right in front of the lodge, with as many as 20,000 fish per hour swimming by.  These fish are fresh in from the ocean, are dime bright, and put up a spectacular fight once hooked.  The bag limit for sockeye on the Naknek River is very generous.  Many people prefer the rich taste of the sockeye salmon’s deep red meat over any of the other salmon.

The next species to arrive to the Bristol Bay area streams are the silver, chum, and pink salmon.  These fish show up each summer around the last week of July.  Silver salmon fishing is very exciting and many anglers prefer silvers to all other salmon because of their hard strikes and many long runs with spectacular tail dances.  Chum salmon, although not prized like the kings, sockeye, and silvers, offer a very enjoyable sport fishing experience.  These fish average 15 pounds and put on a tremendous fight as they aggressively take a fly.  We generally catch and release these fish, but just as many anglers chase after bonefish for the pure excitement only to release the fish after landing it, these fish provide for a very exciting day of fishing.

By mid August and through October, rainbow Trout return to the Naknek to stock up for the long cold winter.  Although we have tremendous rainbow Trout fishing in many of the surrounding nearby streams of Katmai National Park throughout the entire summer, this is our “Trophy” time of the season on our home rivers.  The Naknek holds an abundance of 28 – 30 inch rainbows and each year we land quite a few fish in excess of 30”.  These prized fish will quicken your pulse as they make run after run as you try to land one.  They are pound for pound the best fighting sport fish in the world.  If you want to catch a true trophy rainbow Trout, you will want to be at our lodge in June or from mid-August through the end of October.

Fishing Program

Our goal at Alaska Sportsman’s Bear Trail Lodge is to provide each guest with a quality Alaska experience each day.  We fish by wading, drifting, casting, or plugging. You can fly fish or use conventional gear. There are streams that are fly fishing only areas and there are rivers that allow either fly fishing or conventional gear. The type of fishing you do while at our lodge is your choice. Your guide is there to help you and to educate you about the rivers we fish. They will fish you whichever way you enjoy the most. All of the methods are successful.  The location of the lodge, on a trophy class Naknek River, assures our guests that they will have the opportunity to fish every day during their stay at the lodge. Most lodges in this area have a program that is structured so that you must fly-out everyday because there is limited fishing where their lodge is located. It is very important to choose a lodge that is able to provide trophy fishing opportunities everyday of the season.

At the Alaska Sportsman’s Bear Trail Lodge, we have the best of both worlds. The fishing is excellent on our “Home” river and we are very close to many “Fly-out rivers.”  Many times throughout the season, especially when targeting big rainbow Trout, the Naknek is the river of choice to be on. But, throughout the Bristol Bay / Lake Iliamna area there are tremendous fishing opportunities and we want our guests to have the chance to see and experience the flavor of this great area. With that in mind, our program incorporates fly outs to take guests to different rivers throughout the area to fish for salmon, Arctic Char, and rainbow Trout. Our central location makes many of the remote streams very accessible and only a short flight away. We are near Katmai National Park and Preserve and have permits to operate on “limited access” rivers. The benefit of choosing to visit the Alaska Sportsman’s Bear Trail Lodge is that whether you decide to fly-out to fish a nearby stream or stay and experience the wonders that our home river offers, your fishing day will be filled with adventure and excitement. All of these fly-outs are included in the package price.

Daily Routine

Upon arrival at our lodge, our Fishing Program Manager will meet with you to discuss the type of fishing you would like to do and what options are available during your stay.  It is important to remember that weather controls our ability or lack there of, to accomplish the fly outs each day.  Each evening the Fishing Program Manager will discuss with our guide staff as to what rivers fished good and what rivers did not.  He will then also check with the pilots for a weather forecast for tomorrow, so he can put together the schedule for the next day.  It is important for you to give feedback to your guide as to the type of fishing you like and if you find that a specific river or type of fishing fits your desires more so than another.  The great thing is that because of our locations of the lodges, you have a tremendous variety of choices for each day.

If you choose to fish the Kvichak or Naknek, your guide will use boats to transport you within a seven-mile radius of the lodge.  Many times you will be able to see the lodge while you are landing your fish.  Your guide will have your boat ready and will be waiting for you on the dock each morning.

We allow guests to fish after diner in June and July if they wish, however, we have a 9:45 P.M. curfew on the guides at which time they need to have all guests back at the lodge.  We do have fixed times for aircraft departures and mealtimes at the lodges, but other than those you can you can work with your guide to plan out whatever fishing schedule you would like.  If you are on a fly-out for the day, you will depart the lodge after breakfast and be at a remote location for the day. You will return to the lodge before diner each day.

A typical day on the Naknek is as follows:

Breakfast made to order begins at 5:45 AM.

You will depart the lodge at 7:00 AM for a day of fishing on the Naknek River.

Lunches will be served riverside by your guide. You will then fish the river until approximately 5:00 PM.  Cocktails and appetizers are in the main lodge at 6:30 PM and dinner is at 7:30 PM each night.

A typical day with fly outs from the Naknek is as follows:

The first thing to keep in mind about any fly out program is that the weather controls everything that we do.  We are located in a remote part of the world and we are flying in a rugged wilderness where weather conditions change rapidly and sometimes unexpectedly.  We schedule fly outs the night before based upon weather predictions and also fishing conditions.  If you are scheduled to be on a fly out, we want you to have breakfast right at 5:45 AM so you have time to prepare for the excursion.  You will depart the lodge after breakfast and spend the day on a remote river.  Your guide will either prepare a shore lunch or have sandwiches for you.  You will return to the lodge sometime between 4:30 and 5:30 PM.

Food and Beverages

The lodge chef will prepare three hearty meals each day. All meals are served home style and are all-you-can-eat. Breakfast includes hot and cold cereals, muffins, breads, fruits, eggs, French toast, pancakes, bacon, sausage, reindeer sausage, juices, and coffee. The lunch usually consists of sandwiches and soups. A shore lunch can be arranged with your guide and adds a nice experience on a nice day.

Our dinners are the main non-fishing event of the day and also offers guest a time in which to exchange stories of their adventure from that day.  Menus include Alaskan style appetizers, NY Strips, prime rib, crab legs, fresh salmon, halibut, shrimp, chicken, and pork.  Complimentary beer and bottled wine is also served.  Delicious desserts complete these excellent dinners.

The kitchen is open 24 hours a day, so when we are not serving food guest are free to help themselves to anything in our kitchen.  The lodge has a soda pop dispenser and a commercial ice machine for your use.  We do not supply any hard liquor but do have most of the common mixers.

Naknek Alaska Map

The Alaska Sportsman’s Bear Trail Lodge is nestled on the bank of Naknek (NACK-neck) River fourteen miles downstream from Naknek Lake and Katmai National Park, and 280 miles southwest of Anchorage. The Naknek is the only connection between Bristol Bay and the massive Naknek Lake drainage.  Thus, each year millions of salmon that are returning to the drainage to spawn must swim right past the lodge. Millions of salmon must swim right past the lodge to access their spawning grounds.  With all of the salmon in this watershed, the native Rainbow Trout and Arctic Grayling grow to unbelievable size.

Pricing

All packages include airfare between Anchorage and the Lodge
(A $475 Value)

3 nights 3 full days of fishing		$4,200
4 nights 4 full days of fishing		$5,300
5 nights 5 full days of fishing		$6,375
7 nights 7 full days of fishing		$7,975

Packages also include:

• Fly-outs in float equipped aircraft to fish nearby streams
• One guide per two clients
• US Coast Guard and Alaska Dept. Fish & Game licensed guides
• All necessary fishing gear, rods, and reels
• Fully stocked fly tying bench
• Delicious meals, beverages, beer, and wine
• Professional vacuum sealing and preparation of salmon for shipment home.
• National Park Service use fees
• Bed taxes
• Use of hot tub that overlooks the river and Katmai National Park
• Linens, comforter, private bath with hot & cold running water
• Daily maid service for your cabin

Fishing Season:

Rainbow Trout
June 8 through Oct 15
Average size is 24” – 26” fish on many rivers throughout the region.

King Salmon
June 15 through July 31
Excellent fishing throughout the season for 25 – 30 pound fish on the Naknek

Sockeye Salmon
June 28 through July 20 World’s largest salmon run passes right in front of the lodge.

Silver Salmon
July 28 through September 25 Very exciting fish to catch; excellent combo with big rainbows.

Fall Rainbow
September 1 through October 15
Trophy fishing for the largest rainbows in Alaska right in front of the lodge on the Naknek River.

Chum Salmon
July 15 through August 20
Great fighting sport fish averaging 12 pounds; excellent for fly fishing.

Two-Handed Spey Casting
The NakNek River is tailor made for spey casting with long runs of great stretches of fishable water. The best times to fish for rainbows on the NakNek with a Spey rod are June 8 through June 28 and again September 1 through October 15.