Alaska 2018 - OAF Trip!

[Phil Lilley]

I thought it would be nice if we put a group of OAF'ers together and go to Alaska for a week.  

This is the place I go.

http://naknekrivercamp.com

It's not the ritz and the rate reflects it.  But it's not that bad either.  In the past, I'd call it a "guys" camp but with all the improvements the Johnson's have done in the past few years, a lot of wives and family groups have gone and had a great time.

Food - very good!

Fishing - world class.

And it's ALASKA!

I tell people you're going to spend about $5,500.  $3,500 on lodging/food/guides, $1,200 on flights, about $500 on tips (estimate) and the rest of incidentals like new tackle.  Weeks run Saturday to Saturday.  I'm looking at arriving on Saturday, June 23. 

What's biting?

That's about the first of the sockeye and king salmon run and rainbows are in full attack mode on smolt.  There's also rainbows and grayling on dries in the slack water on the river and optional fly outs to remote rivers in the area.

The week includes a trip to Brooks Camp to fish the Brooks River and view brown bears at the falls and on the river.

Big Creek is a major feeder creek running into the Naknek. The last couple of years, the king run has been awesome, so there you'll get a shot at a 15-40 pound king on a fly.  Check out their Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/alaskas.naknekrivercamp

They need a deposit of $1,750 by the end of the year to hold a spot.

There are a handful of guys who have gone to NRC in the past years from this area and are members of OAF.  I can have them give reviews of the place and fishing.

Questions?  I'll follow this initial post with details on how we fish for salmon and rainbows.  We use both spin and fly gear.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Phil,

If it's its saturday to saturday up there when we would leave and return from here?  I'm assuming fly out of st louis?

SIO3

[Phil Lilley]

11 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Phil,

If it's its saturday to saturday up there when we would leave and return from here?  I'm assuming fly out of st louis?

SIO3

You should be able to get to Anchorage in time to catch the flight to King Salmon via Pen Air.  The last flight is usually about 7 p.m..  Otherwise, you can fly into Anchorage on Friday and catch a morning flight to K.S..

Almost all flights out of Anchorage (return) leave late at night/overnight flights.  There are exceptions.

Some people add a couple of days ahead or at the end of their trip to travel and see some sights if it's the first time in AK.

Regardless of when you arrive and leave, you'll fish 6 full days, Sunday - Friday.  Saturday is work day (change over) for staff and rest day for guides.  Meals will be served, though, for those who are at camp.

There are some considerations for arriving and departing... ideally, they like you to arrive mid day and later, and leave on a morning flight.  That's so they don't have double the guests at camp during the middle of the day.  It gets crowded.

[Phil Lilley]

Logistics:  You fly into King Salmon (retired US Air Force Base and full runway).  It's a 10 mile drive to NRC.

[Gavin]

Very interested. Have been up a few times. Can you book some fly outs, or boat only?

[Phil Lilley]

Yes they have quite a few options for fly outs. 

This is the flight service we use most of the time.  I flew with them to Brooks in July.

http://skytrekkingalaska.com/day-trips-charters/charter-flights

[Gavin]

Cool beans! Thanks

 

 

[Gavin]

Would book a room in advance in Anchorage on the to and fro maybe a couple days to drive around. Anchorage is not a big town at all plus, it's usually crowded with Europeans on death march tour bus trips to Denali. Driving down to Cooper or Soldatna,, renting a cabin, booking your own guides and fly outs is slightly cheaper but it takes a ton of planning. Halibut charter if you want some meat for the freezer in addition to your Salmon.

 

[Phil Lilley]

There's not much fishing that early driving north but it's pretty (Denali).  Best to drive south toward Soldatna Like Gavin said.  There's decent wade fishing on the Kenai if you know what you're doing.  If you take your extra trip after your Naknek trip, you'll have a better idea what to do.

I help guide a couple of groups there 12 years ago.  We used the chuck and duck method and caught plenty of fish wading.

There is inexpensive freezer storage at the airport in Anchorage for any fish you'd bring back from Naknek if you do tour for a couple of days afterward.

[Gavin]

Used Alaskan Seafood in Soldatna last time we did our own thing up there. Had 8 people up there, 6 fishing, one from England so we got to eat his fish. Shipped 150lbs of halibut, and 80lbs of salmon home for about $4 a pound. Arrived air freight, vac packed in portion sizes, packed in coolers. Was rock solid frozen upon delivery. Would just drop them by every day, paid the last day before we left and gave them a delivery date.