Below is the program directory for our Alaska Float Fishing Trips on the Goodnews and Kanektok Rivers.
Space is limited and the season is short so make your reservations as early as possible. A 50% deposit is required within a year of the booking, and the balance is due 90 days before departure. Monies received are nonrefundable if we cannot rebook your vacancy.
Alaskan Fishing License Requirements
Guests must have a valid Alaska Sport Fishing License issued before their trip. They can be purchased online at www.adfg.alaska.gov
Arrival
1
Travel
Arrangements
Our guests need to book their flights to Bethel, Alaska via Anchorage International, one day prior to Trip Date.
For instance, for a trip taking place July 14th – July 20th, you would need to arrive in Bethel no later than July 13th.
There are 3 flights daily to Bethel to connect with.
2
Overnight
Requirements
All guests must plan on an overnight stay in Bethel the night before the launch date; lodging before and after the float trip is the guests’ responsibility.
We provide your flight information to Papa Bear Lodge (our float plane service) and they will pick you up from the airport and provide lodging.
There are not many other accommodations in Bethel, but they can provide some ideas.
3
Arrival information
and Lodge Transfers
Transport will be provided for you by Papa Bear Adventures to and from the airport and to float planes the following morning.
Charter Information
Your float plane flights will leave Bethel with Papa Bear Adventures on the morning of your start date. If we encounter any marginal flying weather, the flight may be delayed. It will take two flights to transport our 6 guests and gear to the headwaters of the Chosen River.
Alaska Fly Fishing Program
Our float trips are a unique and unforgettable fishing experience. We will take you on a safari into the cream of Alaska’s outback rivers.
We expose our guests to some of the finest fishing on planet Earth. The fishery is alive with giant king salmon, trophy rainbow trout, Arctic Char, two runs of Dolly Varden, Arctic Grayling, pink salmon, chum salmon, one of the largest runs of sockeye salmon in the world, and red hot Coho salmon fishing.
By day you will fish out of rafts with custom-built frames. These are the largest rafts on the market – creating a comfortable and safe fishing platform.
Two anglers to a boat with a guide rowing and positioning you for casts to banks and pockets. Our guides know each and every turn in the river – allowing for some wade fishing opportunities in certain areas to fish breaks, pourovers, pockets, and other productive backwaters.
In the evenings we select camps based on experience and protection, most of which are in prime fish habitats allowing for wading from camp in spots. Guests are welcome to fish from camp both in the evenings and mornings and in July this can mean 20 hours a day if desired!
Optional Activities
Many photographic and hiking opportunities abound on the river. Depending on desire there are amazing vistas within a short distance of the river. In the upper river – the Taiga biome – one can see for miles on a clear day and have a true scope of the river’s journey.
Possible wildlife encounters and observations are truly around every corner. For bird watchers the chance for seeing various raptors including Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, Merlin, etc. Togiak National Wildlife Refuge provides a birders checklist and all guides are encouraged to engage in educational opportunities with wildlife viewing as much as possible.
Our Alaska Fly Fishing Guides
All guides are fully certified, licensed, highly skilled, and well-seasoned in the Alaskan bush. They all work for the love of this river – the fishing and the community that it creates in Alaska – and to share this cherished resource with others.
We rotate guests every day so each guest has an opportunity to fish and engage with each guide. All guides are well rehearsed in all rigging procedures for the tackle.
Highly trained in handling the raft and rigs – this includes rigging the boat to its safest and most comfortable standards, and full comprehension of navigating the 100-mile float. Guides spend the entire trip engaged with the guests and after our evening meals we are all available for tips on casting, the various techniques we use in a day’s float, and other words of wisdom.
We begin each day with a well-thought-out plan with meeting times and locations and camp has already been pre-established. We pride ourselves in knowing this river with over 30 years of combined experience in Alaska.
Alaskan Bush Accommodations and Facility Description
We have committed to use only the highest quality equipment available, from the most durable rafts to the spacious tents custom-built for the Alaskan bush. Guest tents are roomy 6-person rated outfitter tents for every 2 guests.
Within these 3 tents are cots and comfortable camp mattresses. Our spacious 16’x16’ custom-built kitchen “yurt style” tent is one of a kind and easily recognizable mainstay of our camp. Within is our custom-created kitchen environment and a dining table complete with real kitchenware and utensils. This is the choicest habitat to swap fish tales, connect with the camp environment, break bread, and share beverages protected from any outside elements. Other camp comforts include a separate bathroom tent complete with a hot propane shower, hand-ground coffee delivered to your tent every morning, along with Dutch Oven creations including desserts with every fine dinner.
Alaskan Fishing Trips Meals
Our trips have been referred to as “great fishing between fantastic meals.” We spare no cost to make our guests feel noble even in the most remote settings.
Our menu has been passed down through generations of outfitters on The Kanektok and the fare certainly matches the fertile river! Our hearty gourmet-style meals combining our inside and outside kitchens are all accompanied by wine, beer, water, fruit juice, AND a Dutch Oven cooked dessert every night in the comfort of our custom cook tent. (Ask for our dinner and dessert menu!)
Liquor
Please transfer all liquor and spirits from glass bottles into plastic (Nalgene type) or stainless steel containers. They need to have sealing lids so they can travel in various states ie; in your bag, in the float plane, in the raft, and around camp. We carry wine and beer for guests, along with assorted juice for all 3 meals.
Departure Information
On the final day of the Alaska float fishing trip, you will be picked up at the takeout in the native village of Quinhagak. The village has a company that comes and picks us up via vans and trucks which transport us to the Airport.
We then load a charter flight back to Bethel. Guests will need to have their return flights to Anchorage booked on the evening flight departing from Bethel after 6 PM.
Tipping Your Guide
While simple math suggests tipping amounts such as 10%, we strive for even beyond that because we do feel our guides are the very best and will make all efforts to make your Alaskan fishing experience a memorable one. These guides are engaged in such a variety of activities on this trip including the general fishing guiding, camping, cooking, cleaning, and the logistics of an expedition that covers 100 miles in 7 days. Due to these reasons, we feel that it is tough to base a tip solely on prior “guided experiences” and regular tipping standards, as we continually strive to go above and beyond for our anglers.
While cash is the preferred method for tipping, we will gladly work with whatever method best fits your needs.
Book your Alaskan fly fishing Trip
Interested in learning more about our Alaskan Fly Fishing Trips? Fill out this form, and we’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have!
