Alaska: Where To Go

This can be a very difficult decision especially for someone looking to make their first trip. Alaska is big, to say the least. Twice the size of Texas and as much coastline as all of the lower 48 combined! When trying to narrow it down there are a few crucial factors you might want to consider. First and foremost is what you are most interested in catching. If rainbow trout are your quarry than Bristol Bay and the Kenai Peninsula are your best bets. For steelhead south-central, Kodiak and southeast Alaska are where it’s at. Salmon are all over the state and to break down the top spots for each species would take a whole book in itself. Really though, your best bets for any of the salmon species are in Bristol Bay, South-Central or South East Alaska. Basically, the southern part of the state is where much of the salmon fishing is done. Another factor to take into consideration is what type of fishing you would like to do. This can seem straightforward but it’s an important aspect people often overlook. If you are looking to swing big flies with the spey rod, look into bigger rivers with good runs of king salmon, silver salmon or big rainbow trout. The Kenai River or several large Bristol Bay rivers like the Naknek or Kvichiak are good bets. Some areas, such as Kodiak Alaska or Southeast Alaska, will lend themselves more to flats type saltwater fishing. I think it’s very important to fish the way you like to fish. So make sure your trip offers a type of fishing you are comfortable with. Budget also can narrow down your options of where to go. As a general rule of thumb the more remote the location the more expensive it is to get and stay there. One can make a surprisingly well valued trip by flying into anchorage and then driving around and fishing the Mat Su Valley or Kenai Peninsula. Yes, the fishing will be more crowded and a little less scenic but the fishing is still world class and some of my best fishing memories come from the less remote areas of Alaska. Another option to look into is a do it yourself lodge, there are several around the state and two I can personally vouch for on the Naknek and Kvchiak Rivers. These lodges provide lodging, boats, fuel and sometimes food and maybe one day with a guide included in the trip – but the rest is unguided. I wouldn’t recommend this to a novice fisherman on their first trip to Alaska but to a seasoned angler who does his research this can be a very affordable and successful trip. Most of these lodges run from 1500 to 2000 dollars per week per person which is much cheaper than a fly out lodge which can run from 4000 to 7000 per week. That being said, there is nothing like a good fly out lodge in terms of fishing and accommodations. They can offer several advantages for fishing with the most important being the availability of float planes. Having access to a float plane enables you to fish many different rivers which in turn means you will be fishing the hot rivers and not stuck on one with a lousy run or blown out conditions. The fly out lodges also offer top notch guides that know the area and can teach you how to catch more fish and improve your fishing techniques. If you can afford a fly out lodge and Alaska is your once and a lifetime trip it is worth considering because a good fly out lodge is the pinnacle of an Alaskan fly fishing experience.