Waters We Fish

Most of our Alaska salmon fishing is accessed within a few minutes walk, and some of the most productive water is, literally, right in front of camp. After the entire tidal flat has drained down to a narrow, wadeable river, the incoming tide pushes waves of sea-bright salmon past anglers standing in ankle to waist deep water (plus, the flat has a firm sand bottom and clear water). Under these conditions, anglers battle salmon during the first moments out of their ocean habitat and will immediately notice the superior quality of these ocean-fresh fish.

And then… when the wind has calmed and the sun is bright, anglers may stalk pods of cruising salmon in the back part of the flat as if bonefishing in the Bahamas. This experience is the last thing you may expect while fly fishing in Alaska, but when the conditions are right, it is available at our camp and will absolutely blow your mind!

Our beach fishing may be the coolest, most unique way to fly fish for salmon in Alaska, or anywhere for that matter… not many people have ever heard of this tactic, even fewer have experienced it.

Let’s put it this way, few Alaskan anglers ever get the opportunity to spot pods to large schools of salmon from a sand dune lookout, then race down the shoreline to cast at fish swimming in the ocean swells. This can be fast-paced, run, cast, strip, strip, run some more, cast, strip, strip… BAM! kind of action.

The salmon are generally still covered in sea lice, which is a sure sign that you are catching fresh-from-the-ocean fish! These fresh salmon are completely different from the salmon most anglers catch further up river where the fish are far less aggressive, beat up and worn out.

From the snowfields of the nearby Aleutian Mountain Range emerge some of the most untouched streams and rivers found anywhere on the planet. These waters are unspoiled, unexploited, and reward light tackle fisherman with an endless selection of poetic rifles, runs, deep pools, and tail-outs. A flat, easy 30 minute walk from camp (or boat shuttle) allows fisherman to access the lower stretches of our no-name freestone stream, but for the more adventurous fisherman, 1.5+ hour long hikes up the valley usually results in an unbelievable day of fishing, plus the opportunity to witness some amazing scenery.

We generally target sea-run Dolly Varden up the river valley, but there are several good runs that hold large numbers of salmon as well.

And if the above options aren’t enough to satisfy your appetite you can take an afternoon off on a calm day to chase halibut, cod or rockfish out in the bay. You might even catch a glimpse of a pod of whales or see a puffin, seal or sea otter.

We only target halibut in 10 – 40 foot of water on light conventional tackle, and you will see these shallow water fish completely blow the stereotype out of the water (these guys really fight HARD). And, yes, given the right conditions we can even catch a halibut on a fly. Plus, you never know what you might catch – there’s about a dozen different species we see in the salt.

Just when you think the week cannot get any better, at the end of the week we fly out in a meticulously maintained Bell Jet Ranger III helicopter to access other areas of the Alaska Peninsula rarely seen by human eyes! We have 6 or 7 different helicopter fly-out destinations, depending on the time of season, and each is uniquely different than the rest.

Without question, the helicopter fly-out fishing will likely be the most exciting part of your week! We’ll fly past heart-throbbing Alaska Peninsula scenery and may access remote coastlines, nameless streams, and hike into secret lakes. During late August thru September we will fish Yantarni Bay, Alaska, well known for its incredibly prolific run of silver salmon.

(By the way, the creek we heli-fish in Yantarni Bay does not have any other fishing camps or regular fishermen there. In fact, we’ve seen other people, usually do-it-yourself moose hunters, on that particular drainage only 2 or 3 times in 20+years.)

As of 2013 we split our season into 2 parts, each with a different standard rate: Mid Season (mid July thru 3rd week of August) and Late Season (4th week of August thru September). Mid Season has 0 days of helicopter fishing, Late Season has 2 days of helicopter fishing. Please note: You have the option to add additional helicopter fly-out days. Advance notice is required; inquire for more details.