Three hundred miles southwest of Anchorage, beyond snow-capped mountains and thousands of acres of greenish-brown tundra, lakes, and streams, lies the Naknek River. It is home to some of the most outstanding trout and salmon fishing in the world. The Naknek cuts through remote wilderness but is uniquely accessible from a lodge that offers all the comforts of home.
An hour-long flight from Anchorage delivered me to the hub of King Salmon, Alaska in June. My destination was the Katmai Trophy Lodge, a custom log-built chalet on the bank of the Naknek. My mission was to fish rainbows, a spring and early-season favorite among fly fishermen, in the wild backcountry of western Alaska. However, I was soon pleasantly surprised by the contrast between the wilderness outdoors and the spacious and comfortable accommodations indoors.
The supporting cast of characters that comprised the lodge staff also provided some charming personality. First, there was Shannon, the lodge hostess, who greeted me at the airport and regaled me with stories of her life at the lodge while we waited for the baggage to roll off. She loaded my bag into the lodge van and shuttled me 10 to 15 miles down a gravel road to the lodge. I also found the lodge owners, Brad and Phil, to be quite welcoming and entirely accessible to answer some of my questions about the area. Then there were Tex, the camp hand; Mel, the Cook; and Ted, my fishing guide – each pleasant in their own right and eager to welcome me and converse.
Ted and I had a quick chat about where we would fish along the river and how we would target the infamous Naknek rainbows. Meanwhile, Mel put out some appetizers before heading back to the kitchen to check on some steaks, which smelled delightful. Ted explained that to target the rainbows we would be taking a jet boat up the river just a few miles to where the fish had been hitting in the last couple of days. They were accessible by foot just outside the lodge, but Ted knew of a few special places we could try. And besides, there is nothing like flying up a wild Alaskan river on a jet boat.
Ted explained that we would be using black wooly buggers with a bit of purple and silver flash on them to attract the trout. Tex looked up from his book and told me about how he’d caught a large pike the day before, about 30 inches long. He had the picture to back up his story, giving the first visual proof that there were large fish in this river. Mel soon served us our steaks while we continued to talk about the pristine fishery just outside the front door. The comforts were so nice that part of me didn’t want to leave the lodge. But soon after our meal, a call from Ted to put on my waders sobered me to the original purpose of the trip.
I had earlier asked Brad, the lodge owner, to provide me with a good frame of reference for the Naknek River, particularly whether it could be compared to a more familiar fishery in the state. He mentioned that there are actually some striking similarities between the runs of fish on the Naknek River in western Alaska and runs on the Kenai River on the Alaskan road system in southcentral Alaska. The exception, of course, is the lack of fishing pressure on the Naknek, due to its remote location. The Naknek and the Kenai each have steady runs of kings in the summer with early and a late-run pushes of fish arriving in June and continuing through the end of July. The population of kings on the Kenai, however, have been in jeopardy for the last decade, while Naknek kings continue to return in strong numbers.
Furthermore, both of these streams return 1-2 million sockeye each year, primarily in July; the Naknek River sockeye enter from Bristol Bay and travel upriver to spawn in Naknek Lake. Both streams also have aggressive Coho returning from late July through September that are fantastic to catch. Finally, both the Naknek and the Kenai feature trophy rainbow fishing in the shoulder seasons of spring and fall. I was hoping for a few of these early season rainbows, and was trusting in my guide, Ted, to put me in the right location.
Ted and I climbed into one of the lodge’s flat bottom 18-foot G3 jet boats and headed upriver from the lodge. The boat moved like a rocket, skipping over the water at a good pace. With low sides, the open air feel made for an exhilarating ride. After motoring a couple of miles upstream to one of Ted’s favored locations, he instructed me to cast slightly upriver, allowing the fly to sink down on the drift towards the smooth stones that comprised the riverbed. I mended the line and tried to improve the presentation of my fly in the water column. All my hopes now rested on the ability of my flashy wooly bugger to attract the fishes’ attention.
The first rainbow I hooked was actually kind of an accident. I had my line out about 30 feet or so, and was about to begin stripping it in. But Ted called to me to walk up river a bit to a better section of water. Leaving several feet of line out to drift downriver and toward shore, I began hiking upriver towards Ted. But after walking about 30 seconds and beginning to reel in my line, I felt a firm tug on the line. Even with zero effort into presentation or form, I had a fish strike my fly in the shallows of the river! It was a sign that this was going to be a good day for fishing.
As the day progressed, the sun peaked out of the clouds - and the trout kept pounding the fly. I began racking up the trout and releasing them one by one, averaging about three fish per hour. These rainbows were a beautiful bright silver color so early in the summer with the largest measuring about 24 inches in length. They seemed to inhabit all different sections of the stream reach, from the shallows, to mid-channel and everywhere in between. And why not? Wilderness, after all, knows no bounds.
Ted was always nearby, on the spot with his trusty net to unhook my catch and snap a photo or two. Hardly anyone else was in sight. It was so serene. The river picks up some traffic in salmon season, first with the kings and then with the sockeye and silvers mixed in. There is no shortage of good trout fishing on the Naknek River in early summer, and I was delighted to be partaking in it.
As the day progressed, the sun peaked out of the clouds - and the trout kept pounding the fly.
As the day came to a close, the rain started to fall. Ted and I cruised back down the river to the lodge, and I was ever grateful to have the staff greet me again, answering their questions about my day. Mel, the cook, provided a delightful snack, while Shannon fixed me a hot cup of loose-leaf tea to help warm me up from the rain. The lodge was cozy, a real Alaska gem, and it was quiet. Tex, now off-duty, sat quietly reading a C.S. Lewis book by the window before bed, and he was happy to chat with me about it for a few moments. He soon went back to reading, and there was hardly a sound but for the occasional eagle circling. No cars passing by and no distraction of a cell phone signal. I decided to turn in for the night, heading back to my spacious room, which provided a hot shower and a comfortable bed. It was a fantastic time on the river, and almost just as good an evening inside the lodge.
The Katmai Adventure Lodge can be found on the web at www.katmaitrophylodge.com. They cater to fly fisherman and spin fisherman, from novice to expert, and is located right on the edge of the wilderness on the banks of the Naknek River.
Three hundred miles southwest of Anchorage, beyond snow-capped mountains and thousands of acres of greenish-brown tundra, lakes, and streams, lies the Naknek River. It is home to some of the most outstanding trout and salmon fishing in the world. The Naknek cuts through remote wilderness but is uniquely accessible from a lodge that offers all the comforts of home.
An hour-long flight from Anchorage delivered me to the hub of King Salmon, Alaska in June. My destination was the Katmai Trophy Lodge, a custom log-built chalet on the bank of the Naknek. My mission was to fish rainbows, a spring and early-season favorite among fly fishermen, in the wild backcountry of western Alaska. However, I was soon pleasantly surprised by the contrast between the wilderness outdoors and the spacious and comfortable accommodations indoors.
The supporting cast of characters that comprised the lodge staff also provided some charming personality. First, there was Shannon, the lodge hostess, who greeted me at the airport and regaled me with stories of her life at the lodge while we waited for the baggage to roll off. She loaded my bag into the lodge van and shuttled me 10 to 15 miles down a gravel road to the lodge. I also found the lodge owners, Brad and Phil, to be quite welcoming and entirely accessible to answer some of my questions about the area. Then there were Tex, the camp hand; Mel, the Cook; and Ted, my fishing guide – each pleasant in their own right and eager to welcome me and converse.
Ted and I had a quick chat about where we would fish along the river and how we would target the infamous Naknek rainbows. Meanwhile, Mel put out some appetizers before heading back to the kitchen to check on some steaks, which smelled delightful. Ted explained that to target the rainbows we would be taking a jet boat up the river just a few miles to where the fish had been hitting in the last couple of days. They were accessible by foot just outside the lodge, but Ted knew of a few special places we could try. And besides, there is nothing like flying up a wild Alaskan river on a jet boat.
Ted explained that we would be using black wooly buggers with a bit of purple and silver flash on them to attract the trout. Tex looked up from his book and told me about how he’d caught a large pike the day before, about 30 inches long. He had the picture to back up his story, giving the first visual proof that there were large fish in this river. Mel soon served us our steaks while we continued to talk about the pristine fishery just outside the front door. The comforts were so nice that part of me didn’t want to leave the lodge. But soon after our meal, a call from Ted to put on my waders sobered me to the original purpose of the trip.
I had earlier asked Brad, the lodge owner, to provide me with a good frame of reference for the Naknek River, particularly whether it could be compared to a more familiar fishery in the state. He mentioned that there are actually some striking similarities between the runs of fish on the Naknek River in western Alaska and runs on the Kenai River on the Alaskan road system in southcentral Alaska. The exception, of course, is the lack of fishing pressure on the Naknek, due to its remote location. The Naknek and the Kenai each have steady runs of kings in the summer with early and a late-run pushes of fish arriving in June and continuing through the end of July. The population of kings on the Kenai, however, have been in jeopardy for the last decade, while Naknek kings continue to return in strong numbers.
Furthermore, both of these streams return 1-2 million sockeye each year, primarily in July; the Naknek River sockeye enter from Bristol Bay and travel upriver to spawn in Naknek Lake. Both streams also have aggressive Coho returning from late July through September that are fantastic to catch. Finally, both the Naknek and the Kenai feature trophy rainbow fishing in the shoulder seasons of spring and fall. I was hoping for a few of these early season rainbows, and was trusting in my guide, Ted, to put me in the right location.
Ted and I climbed into one of the lodge’s flat bottom 18-foot G3 jet boats and headed upriver from the lodge. The boat moved like a rocket, skipping over the water at a good pace. With low sides, the open air feel made for an exhilarating ride. After motoring a couple of miles upstream to one of Ted’s favored locations, he instructed me to cast slightly upriver, allowing the fly to sink down on the drift towards the smooth stones that comprised the riverbed. I mended the line and tried to improve the presentation of my fly in the water column. All my hopes now rested on the ability of my flashy wooly bugger to attract the fishes’ attention.
The first rainbow I hooked was actually kind of an accident. I had my line out about 30 feet or so, and was about to begin stripping it in. But Ted called to me to walk up river a bit to a better section of water. Leaving several feet of line out to drift downriver and toward shore, I began hiking upriver towards Ted. But after walking about 30 seconds and beginning to reel in my line, I felt a firm tug on the line. Even with zero effort into presentation or form, I had a fish strike my fly in the shallows of the river! It was a sign that this was going to be a good day for fishing.
As the day progressed, the sun peaked out of the clouds - and the trout kept pounding the fly. I began racking up the trout and releasing them one by one, averaging about three fish per hour. These rainbows were a beautiful bright silver color so early in the summer with the largest measuring about 24 inches in length. They seemed to inhabit all different sections of the stream reach, from the shallows, to mid-channel and everywhere in between. And why not? Wilderness, after all, knows no bounds.
Ted was always nearby, on the spot with his trusty net to unhook my catch and snap a photo or two. Hardly anyone else was in sight. It was so serene. The river picks up some traffic in salmon season, first with the kings and then with the sockeye and silvers mixed in. There is no shortage of good trout fishing on the Naknek River in early summer, and I was delighted to be partaking in it.
As the day progressed, the sun peaked out of the clouds - and the trout kept pounding the fly.
As the day came to a close, the rain started to fall. Ted and I cruised back down the river to the lodge, and I was ever grateful to have the staff greet me again, answering their questions about my day. Mel, the cook, provided a delightful snack, while Shannon fixed me a hot cup of loose-leaf tea to help warm me up from the rain. The lodge was cozy, a real Alaska gem, and it was quiet. Tex, now off-duty, sat quietly reading a C.S. Lewis book by the window before bed, and he was happy to chat with me about it for a few moments. He soon went back to reading, and there was hardly a sound but for the occasional eagle circling. No cars passing by and no distraction of a cell phone signal. I decided to turn in for the night, heading back to my spacious room, which provided a hot shower and a comfortable bed. It was a fantastic time on the river, and almost just as good an evening inside the lodge.
The Katmai Adventure Lodge can be found on the web at www.katmaitrophylodge.com. They cater to fly fisherman and spin fisherman, from novice to expert, and is located right on the edge of the wilderness on the banks of the Naknek River.
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Kalb Stevenson is an experienced biologist and fisherman and a long-time Alaskan. He is the owner of Axiom Environmental LLC., a consulting company based in Anchorage, Alaska. Dr. Stevenson has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, agency reports and popular press pieces in the areas of fish and wildlife ecology and environmental science. He enjoys spending time with family and friends and fishing around the state.
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