".... I had dreamed about floating an Alaskan wilderness river all my life and had high expectations of the adventure. I can truly say that the trip down the Aniak River exceeded all my expectations...."
Larry A., Ph.D. President and Associate Director AIDS Vaccine Program Maryland
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| Lake Creek | Talachulitna River | Aniak River | Map |
Lake Creek is host to a run of very large King Salmon, running up into the 60lb. range each year, with lots of 40 lb. fish to flex your 10 weight fly rod to its limit. There is also terrific Rainbow and Grayling fishing throughout the entire fifty or so miles of the river that we float. A very rocky river in its character, there are numerous braids and side channels for fish to hide. Lots of side creeks flow in forming awesome fish-filled holes. Have you ever seen a fish over three feet long swim by? You will here. This river has awesome dry fly fishing for Rainbows in June and Grayling the rest of the year. We have even taken numerous jack Kings on dry flies on one of our secret patterns known as "the 100 fish a day fly." There are also a couple of short stretches of whitewater on Lake Creek that we carefully scout before running. The hardest one rates at Class III+. This one, too, can be bypassed on foot. Finally, the river converges with the Yentna River where we meet our pickup plane. Fly in and out on float plane. |
The Talachulitna River is THE classic fly fisher's river. Fifty+ miles of crystal clear dry fly fishing water adds nicely to your chance at all those Rainbows and Dolly Varden. This is also a great river for flyrodding for Kings. We begin by floating the first 20 miles on Talachulitna Creek, out of Judd Lake and then join with the Talachulitna River proper for the last thirty or so miles. The smooth gravel covered bottom of "the Tal" makes for easy wading to access the numerous cut banks where the wary Kings lay. Along the way, there is a short section of spirited whitewater (class III & IV) that we run with adventure in mind. More great fishing for King, Silver, Chum and Pink Salmon & Rainbows and Dolly Varden continues the rest of the way down. Eventually, the river joins with the glacial Skwentna River where we meet our pickup plane. Fly in and out on float plane. |
The outstanding Aniak River has some of the best fly fishing anywhere in Alaska. Add to that it's incredible wilderness character and you have a hundred miles of the best fly fishing float trip imaginable. We begin high in the tundra of southwestern Alaska, where the caribou and grizzly bears roam free. The first half of the river is filled with hard to believe quantities of a wide variety of fish. The primary interests here are dry fly fishing for large Arctic Grayling and fishing subsurface for powerhouse Arctic Char. Depending on where we are in the season, we also run into all five species of Pacific Salmon found in the river. The river is creek-sized for the first two or three days. The lower half of the river affords us opportunities to catch and release large quantities of Leopard Rainbows. Here they average 18"-25" in size. Every trip there is usually a fish or two in the 27"-28" range. These fish often weigh in at 6-10 lbs. We rarely seem to catch fish smaller than 18". This is where we start using our mouse patterns, among many others. The lower stretch of river also holds huge numbers of Grayling, Char, and Salmon to go along with the abundant population of Rainbows. Here the river grows as it joins other similarly sized rivers to form a river of true Alaskan proportions. In the deeper holes of this section is where the biggest fish hide. The numerous side sloughs provide excellent opportunity for dry fly fishing with Pollywogs for Silver Salmon (watch video) After the trip we are picked up on the lower section and returned to the nearest connecting village for the return to Anchorage. All in all, this is the best river we have ever fished, and we encourage you to join us for this fantastic wilderness river option. Fly in on wheeled plane. Fly out on float plane. |