Comfortable accommodations, chef prepared gourmet meals twice daily and mouth watering shore lunches will satisfy all appetites, both in the main River Lodge in Aniak Alaska and at the out camp set up on a large gravel shore on one of the magnificent bends facing the tundra on the Aniak River is where we called home for 7 nights (3@lodge & 4@river camp) to an Alaskan Fly Fishing Experience . This lodge and fishing, which I will host and guide for '05 July, is made up young energetic fishing enthusiasts who are well trained in all aspects of the operation required to insure a great and memorable stay for all guests.
Unbelievable fishing opportunities are here in the Aniak River Region with the many sloughs, a few other smaller rivers flowing into and not forget about the main river itself.Jet boat rides running at about twenty minutes each to hit prime holding areas. Further up river is where the rainbows, dollies, char, grayling and pinks are found in larger numbers. Sheefish and four-foot pike are swimming the lower stretches of the Aniak River, again good numbers.Even though it is a week or two early for the silvers to arrive in numbers, hundreds of thousands plus, we were able to spot a few making their way up river for the migratory spawning run. Throughout the length of the Aniak, all species are available but better concentrations of salmonoids are found up river near their spawning beds. We saw unbelievable fish numbers and fished over an estimated twelve-hundred fish daily, salmon pods that were fished were from fifty to five-hundred, and that's not counting what we saw during our jet boat travelings. As I gather my weekly thoughts; Kings, sporting their radiant red colors numbered in the tens of thousands, Chum, with the camouflage type vertical markings in the hundreds of thousands, Sockeye in the thousands, Pinks in limited numbers, and the Silvers (Cohos) arriving at the end of July and gaining in numbers into early August in the hundreds of thousands. Leopard Rainbows cruise mostly all the mid to upper sloughs and tributaries of the Aniak and finding them was not as difficult as it may seem. Fishing surface / dry flies(large) and a customized mouse patterns along the cut banks worked excitedly well, especially on the clear bright days. Drifting egg patterns and flesh flies also produced many of these magnificent bows all ranging twenty-two to twenty-eight inches and weighing in at four to seven pounds.
Thinking about having a salmon take a surface fly or popper, it happens here!
Equipment is easy, 5 and 6 weights for the smaller fish (to 10 lbs.) and 8 weights in lower water conditions for the larger pike and salmon. A 9 or 10 wt for higher water salmon. Nine footers will definitely serve the purpose, but for those of you able to handle 9 1/2' or 10' rod that would be my personal choice. Not to worry about long casts because this river allows for a ten to twenty foot presentation which will keep you into fish all day, and they are long days up here! For those who like long distance casts and hook ups, it's all available here in the Aniak River, Alaska.
Did I forget to tell you that you'll probably loose count of fish after the first day. That I hooked up and landed eight fish on eight consecutive presentations. A slow time is twenty minutes without a solid hook up. Landed salmon taken on surface flies. Had an estimated fifty pound King Salmon toy with me for more than twenty minutes before nearly spooling then breaking me off on it's way back to the Bearing Sea. All this can happen in a day of fishing here.
This is Alaska Fly Fishing, the way it was meant to be!
Nobody else but our group spread out over sixty miles of river, with eagles soaring, bears roaming and meandering moose spotted daily, oh and maybe rafting tour or two going by. Seeing only our river guide, your fishing companion and me, your host, while you're targeting Alaskan Trophy Fish in the countless gravel bars and holding areas is a true wilderness experience in itself.
Join me and the Aniak River Lodge Staff for an unforgetable Alaskan Fly Fishing Adventure!
For booking and more information about a hosted / guided trip to the Aniak Alaska River Lodge and River Camp, call me. The July 2005 schedule 2-9 and 9-16 ready for reservations. There are limited spots available. The lodge will host and guide 10 guests, two per guide. While fishing, my guests will be learning presentations needed to take these wild and native fish from me and a river lodge guide, my time will be split evenly between my guests. The Aniak River Lodge is available for reservations from mid June to early September, so give me a call and allow me to assist you in your planning.
See my Photo Page for recent trip pictures with more to be added shortly.
"World Class Waters"
Carry a camera and a cloth measuring tape then use the formula, which is fairly accurate, if you'd like to have the weight, (length X girth X girth / 800 = lb.) and this should give all the info needed for bragging rights without over stressing the fish. Once you land that trophy fish of a lifetime, it's your choice to kill and have mounted and no one should condemn you for your decision to do so. You can also send a good photo and measurements to a professional taxidermist where they can make a reproduction of the fish that you released.