PORT ALSWORTH, Alaska – Pristine wilderness, majestic scenery and abundant wildlife are part of every Alaska vacation. But Alaska has another legendary attraction – fishing. During a family trip last August, we experienced the best of both.
Our destination was Alaska’s Wilderness Lodge, 145 air miles southwest of Anchorage, near the tiny town of Port Alsworth, population 80. Located on Lake Clark, a national park and preserve, the small lodge caters to those who seek the finest fishing in the world – and can afford to spare no expense.
There are no roads to Lake Clark. Our adventure began in Anchorage, where we boarded an eight-seat puddle-jumper. The hour-long flight, the first of many memorable small-airplane rides that week, gave us our first preview into the stunning Alaska Mountain Range and endless tundra that occupy the landscape in this part of Alaska. Arriving on a dirt airstrip in Port Alsworth, we were welcomed by the staff who whisked us and our luggage into boats for the short trip to the lodge.
Alaska’s Wilderness Lodge is in the heart of breathtaking and rugged beauty complete with glaciers, mountains, rivers and waterfalls. But that’s just a bonus for most guests, because people choose this place for the unbelievable fishing – big, big, BIG fish, and lots of them. Rainbow trout that test everything you know about fly fishing. Salmon that stretch your arm muscles until they ache.
Guests choose their arrival date based on the particular runs of the area’s 11 species of game fish. Rainbow trout fishing peaks in June and again in September and October. Salmon season starts in mid-June, beginning with kings, followed by sockeyes, chums, pinks and cohos. At any time during the 17-week season, you can catch Dolly Varden, arctic char, arctic grayling, lake trout and northern pike.
Each day’s activities began at 5 a.m. with a knock on the door and a cheerful “good morning” from the kitchen staff, who left the steaming hot beverage of your choice. After gearing up in fleece, long underwear and chest waders, guests met in the main lodge for a cooked-to-order breakfast. By 6 a.m., everyone was on one of the three float planes headed for various fishing destinations – a series of rivers with names such as the Moraine, the Funnel, the Little Ku and the American.
Trips to the river generally involved an hour flight in restored DeHavilland Beavers. Because these older aircraft aren’t equipped with fancy navigation gadgets, the pilots rely mainly on sightand fly at relatively low altitudes. Passengers had amazing views of the Alaska you read about. Multihued sunrises peered over the mosaic of mountains and water in every form below, all harmonized by the deep-throated hum of the plane’s engine. The flights also gave a unique bird’s-eye perspective on wildlife. During the course of the week, I saw moose, caribou, a wolf and a bald eagle from the relative comfort of the Beaver’s window seat.
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| Post / Rebecca Risch |
| A grizzly bear walks the river banks in southwestern Alaska. |
From above, rivers appeared to be pink. In reality, the cold gray water was heavily populated by thousands of bright-red spawning sockeye salmon. The sockeye and their eggs are truly the lifeblood of the ecosystem in this area of Alaska. The trout eat the eggs, the bears eat the fish, and the fish carcasses, which line the river bottom and banks, help sustain the health of the river itself.
On the river, four guests are paired with a guide and a pilot, who is also an experienced guide. Guides wear many hats in the bush, including fish finder, fly-tier, casting teacher, pep-talker, dirty-joke teller, trout netter and hot-lunch maker. Beyond the basics of putting lures on your line and helping net your fish, the guides are invaluable for spotting trout in the water and instructing the best way to catch them. Beginners are patiently shown casting techniques and what to look for in case of a strike.
While anglers in Colorado would likely be overjoyed to pull in 16-to18-inch trout, the rainbows in this part of Alaska routinely are well over 25 inches. Some mutants can grow to more than 30 inches. Alan Rider, the lodge’s manager and host, explained that this is because the rainbows are able to live on the salmon eggs that are spawned, the fry that hatch and the salmon smolt that live in local lakes for a year before they migrate to the ocean to live and return as adults to repeat the cycle.
Fish this large take special care to bring in, and the thrill of the fight truly gets the adrenaline rushing. More often than not, the rainbow has the last laugh and finds a way to escape the hook. Either way, though, the fish is carefully returned to its habitat because all rainbow are protected under catch-and-release laws.
By the end of the first day, with the guide’s direction I proudly landed four trophy rainbows, including one beauty that was 28 inches. For all the effort and exhilaration – it often took 30 minutes just to net the fish after hooking it – I was all smiles. Fortunately, the guides also serve as photographers to document these priceless moments.
Perhaps the most important guide role, however, is protecting guests from the grizzlies.
Before our first fishing outing, we were given precautionary information on how to handle bears when – not if – we encountered them. And sure enough, on our first flyout day as we approached the bank of the river, a mother bear and her two cubs were feasting on the spawning sockeyes. I couldn’t keep my eyes off these adorable creatures.
Soon, bear sightings became so commonplace, about 8-10 per day, that we stopped getting out the camera. But they never failed to fascinate, and because we were invading their habitat, we gave them plenty of space. Our guides carried weapons as a precautionary measure, but no one ever needed to fire a shot.
After a day of fishing, guests and guides assembled in the lodge’s poolroom for happy hour, which included appetizers, beverages and some serious fish stories.
Dinner, like all meals at the lodge, was a hearty affair. This is country that makes you hungry, and the food, if not gourmet, was satisfying. Halibut, salmon and king crab legs were common menu items. And because guests and lodge staff all shared one large table for meals, there was an enhanced feeling of camaraderie.
With a guest limit of 12 and a 1-to-1 staff-guest ratio, it was easy to feel pampered, even in such a remote place. By the end of day one, the kitchen staff, guides, pilots and host all knew your name. By day two, they knew you liked red wine, decaf coffee and your eggs over-medium.
Accommodations were in two-person cabins that were comfortable, but not fancy. Each had two beds, one bathroom and typical fishing lodge decor – plaid comforters, wood paneling and fish knickknacks. Front porches, which were difficult to enjoy because of the mosquitoes, offered elevated views of Lake Clark.
Because the days were full and the wakeup call early, guests generally went to sleep long before the sun fully set. But in Alaska in August, the skies are light until well past 11 p.m.
On our final day, we headed toward the coast for what I imagine will be the highlight of my fishing career until the day I die. On a river near Bristol Bay, silver coho salmon were making their way from the ocean into the fresh water to spawn. There were so many salmon in the water that the river looked dark. The 15-pound fish would fight each other for the lure, and every cast was a winner. We each caught our five-fish limit in the first 30 minutes, and we spent the rest of the day casting to specific, extra-large fish and testing different kinds of lures. It was fishing that anglers only dream about.
Such fishing and pampering doesn’t come cheap. Per-person rates are just under $1,000 a day, and when you add staff gratuities and flights from Denver, a couple can easily pay $13,000 for the week.
To swallow the expense, it helps to consider this experience the fishing trip of a lifetime – truly the best fishing money can buy.
Rebecca Risch is an editor with the Denver Post’s website, denverpost.com
If you go
Cost: A seven-day, seven-night deluxe flyout package at Alaska’s Wilderness Lodge costs $5,950 per angler. That includes seven days of fishing; round-trip charter from Anchorage; Alaska fishing license; daily guided flyout; rods, reels and tackle; fish processing and packaging; daily cabin maid service; and all meals and lodging. The lodge also offers a nonflyout package for $3,000 per person.
When: The 2003 season opens June 14 and runs through Oct. 4.
Weather: Summer weather in southwest Alaska varies greatly. While we had a couple of warm, sunny days, the majority of them were overcast, cool and damp. Be prepared for rain.
Contact: Alaska’s Wilderness Lodge, P.O. Box 700, Sumner, WA 98390; 800-835-8032 or 360-897-6667;
