Howdy, I am wanting to plan a fishing trip to Alaska in the summer of 2024 for my wife and I. I'm looking for suggestions for location and guide/lodging. I am thinking maybe 1 day for salmon, 1 day for trout and 1-2 days for other stuff to do in the area. Not certain about trying to do halibut, fresh water would be the priority. If anyone has any recommendations for a good guide/lodging/area I would appreciate it!

Chadwick's treated us right
Would certainly use him again
Kenai River near Soldotna

Budget?

Man, budget is sort of open ended right now. I'm a cheap ass by nature, but completely willing to pay for good service and a good experience. I have no idea what I'm looking at for cost, but I'm thinking about $2K-3K per person for the whole trip, including flights from Houston or Austin. But if I need to plan for more, I have a little time to save up. I guess I should also be asking what a typical trip like this would cost....

Man, that flight is probably going to run $1k or close to it and I would bet fishing is going to be close to a grand a day, depending on what you do. I think you're going to need to up your budget… substantially

J&Js smart charters.


And my username checks out.

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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Man, that flight is probably going to run $1k or close to it and I would bet fishing is going to be close to a grand a day, depending on what you do. I think you're going to need to up your budget… substantially

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Lol, as I said I have no idea what to expect, but it is on the "bucket list" for the wife and I, so I'm willing to make it happen. The more I know now, the better I can prepare. I'm welcome to multiple perspectives/experiences.

What methods of fishing are you looking to do for the salmon day(s)?

Trolling for salmon in Alaska is about the most boring thing I have ever done outdoors. No doubt, it was beautiful though. On the other hand, was hiking and stopped to watch a guy fly fish for pink salmon in a small river. That looked way more fun and was regretting not doing that.

Another consideration is keeping your catch and shipping home. Since it's bucket list, cost probably isn't the main thing but something else to plan for.

Good luck!

Flights, fish processing and shipping will add up quick.

We did a trip to kodiak and did 2 days of ocean fishing and one day up the river for salmon.

We did an airbnb and rented a car.

I think your minimum for that type of trip will be $4k per person. You will also be challenged with a smaller group. We were able to book whole boats and fly guides with 5 people.

It was a great trip. If you want any recommendations in kodiak let me know.

These are the two places my group were looking at.

https://naknekrivercamp.com/

http://www.towerrocklodge.com/

Did very similar on Kodiak too! We had fish from charter trip processed and packed at the facility there (forgot name). Several of us checked ice chests as bags and we just flew back with them frozen. I didn't need to go the dry ice route.

I would strongly recommend into looking at checking a cooler, even if it is a zipper cooler, for returning home with meat. Just make sure you read up on the airline policy about ice chests.

Go for coho (silver) season. We've always gone to Soldotna and Kenai on the shoulder seasons. Coho offer more active fishing methods than trolling (spinner baits, egg loops, fly gear) if that's what you're into. Fly outs are well worth it for the scenery alone. They're spendy but the really remote trips cannot be beat - lifelong memories from some of these.

Dolly and rainbows are easily accessible on the rivers. We've usually fly fished for those on drift charters. For drift charters we have used Angle 45 Adventures multiple years and were always impressed. Hooking a silver on a fly rod is really cool.

Never done halibut. I always imagine reeling in an anchor and elect to do something else. Have fun. It's like no where else!

Done an Alaska trip the last several years to Ketchikan. We DIY fish, airbnb, etc. has been sub $2k per person all in every time.

Purely from an eating standpoint I'd take halibut 10:1 over salmon.

https://www.kvichaklodge.com/


Went this summer. Great lodge and host. I agree that I had more fly fishing and ptarmigan hunting than trolling for silvers but a lot of guys disagree. Flight was around $800 from DFW. Spent a night or two in Anchorage at the Captain Cook. Was about $1k a day for the lodge plus tips.

Beautiful place.

By far my favorite day of fishing in Alaska was a float plane day trip out of soldotna across the Cook Inlet to some lakes on the other side. The fishing was great and we saw grizzlies and tons of eagles. Really cool scenery too and the flight is fun.

https://www.talonair.com/sockeyesalmonfishing

Boo Kandas runs Tall Tale Charters out of Homer (offshore) and Soldotna (river trips). Great guy and always puts us on fish.

We're booked with Boo for next summer and he's filling up fast.

Gotsandy said:

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Dolly and rainbows are easily accessible on the rivers. We've usually fly fished for those on drift charters. For drift charters we have used Angle 45 Adventures multiple years and were always impressed. Hooking a silver on a fly rod is really cool.

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My experiences were all as a kid in the late 70s, but my recollection was taking road trips from Anchorage to other areas of the state. We would just see a section of river that looked good, dad would say something like "that looks trouty" and we would stop on the side of the road, hike down to the river, and fish for an hour or two and catch rainbows and dollies nearly non-stop throwing mepps spinners. We occasionally caught salmon and grayling too, but the trout were everywhere and not hard to find.

Fishing for halibut is boring AF. But damn they are tasty.

Many moons ago, Dad (bush pilot at the time) flew grandpa over to the Nushagak River in SW Alaska for an afternoon of fishing. Literally wore grandad out reeling in all those reds, and ruined him on fishing.

We ran a subsistence net in the summer to stock the freezer with red salmon. In August the silvers would run up the Naknek river. We usually fish the river between King salmon and rapids camp. Catching silver salmon on a rod was a lot of fun. They would fight pretty hard, usually jumping out of the water as part of the fight.

While up there, see Katmai National Park. So many neat things to see, bears fishing brooks falls, and the valley of 10,000 smokes to make a couple.

Thanks for all the great suggestions, there is a lot of good info here. Sounds like it should be a blast!

Bump this thread for any suggestions for an all included trip (lodging, meals, guides, tackle, fish packing, etc) at nice lodge or cabins for 3 or 4 days fishing. Doesn't need to be fancy but does need to be quality. Open to fly in or floating lodge as well.

I'm thinking $1000 - $1500 / day / pp for 3 people but this is flexible for a very nice or remote setup. Looking to fish June or July for halibut & salmon with a possible trip fly fishing for trout as a bonus. Would like to pack at least 1 or possibly 2 fifty pound boxes to take home per person.

txags92 said:

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Gotsandy said:

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Dolly and rainbows are easily accessible on the rivers. We've usually fly fished for those on drift charters. For drift charters we have used Angle 45 Adventures multiple years and were always impressed. Hooking a silver on a fly rod is really cool.

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My experiences were all as a kid in the late 70s, but my recollection was taking road trips from Anchorage to other areas of the state. We would just see a section of river that looked good, dad would say something like "that looks trouty" and we would stop on the side of the road, hike down to the river, and fish for an hour or two and catch rainbows and dollies nearly non-stop throwing mepps spinners. We occasionally caught salmon and grayling too, but the trout were everywhere and not hard to find.

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I have a buddy who did exactly that. Took off for AK for a couple of weeks with a pack and fly rod. Awesome photos and stories.

https://cloverpassresort.com/?_ga=2.125354570.1189694241.1706534372-1945990709.1706534371

You can do this and be pretty close to your budget. These are the "self guided" rates which means you take the boat out and run it yourself…no guides. You'll catch salmon till you're sick of it. Salmon are easy.

There are better places to do self guided trips and have better luck at Halibut and other bottom fish but if you're just wanting a budget friendly way to get to Alaska this is it. They will pick you up and drop you off from Ketchikan airport. You get 3 meals a day.

I had them drop me off by myself at a lake outside of Ketchikan one day and I fished my way from the lake down stream to the ocean. I caught probably 30-40 salmon on a 4000 series reel I brought and it was a friggin blast. I had more fun doing that than I did trolling.

Just returned from 4 days of fishing in King Salmon, AK and Katmai National Park. We fished for salmon in the Naknek River and rainbow trout in tributary streams to the Naknek Lake. Yesterday, we fished for trout at Brooks Falls while dodging bears walking up the creek. Amazing, memorable trip.

Great pictures! Are you fishing with one of the lodges?

Yes, we stayed at Bear Trail Lodge.

Starting to work on my plan to fish Alaska next summer. Thanks to all who posted so far. Lots of great options to consider.

I head up that way in 8 days, but who's counting?

I head up in 11 days . Never been. Not sure what to expect. Staying near Willow

We are staying in Soldotna. I expect rain and a ****load of fish! And some drinking and bs'ing. First trip for me as well. Super freaking excited.

I just bought some waterproof sneakers and some water repellent hiking pants. Seems like a good idea and I can still use them at home.

dcbowers said:

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Yes, we stayed at Bear Trail Lodge.

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This is a picture that a friend of my folks painted when we lived up there. The lodge you see is King Salmon Lodge. Bear Trail Lodge would be just out of the bottom of the picture.


You can see King Salmon in the background, and the F15s taking off from the air force base. The Dehaviland Beaver on floats is a plane Dad flew during his time as a bush pilot. The owner of the flying service bought it in Arkansas on wheels and had Dad fly it up there and switch it over to floats. I caught my first silver salmon just down the river a bit to the west of this picture.