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Just got back from a bucket list trip to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
Stayed with Butch and Kathy King at their Wildman Lake Lodge, on the Ocean River. http://www.wildmanlodge.com/Alaska-Fish ... -Lodge.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Fished for Silver Salmon, Char, Rainbows, and bird hunted for Ptarmigan.
9 Weight rod, sinking tip line, Purple Leach and Pink Pollywog Poppers.
It really was a blast Rik, and I’m very thankful I was able to do it. It was a last minute invitation and I spent a week thinking of all the reasons not to but then thought about never having this chance again.
I'll put together some details to post later.
Thanks guys.
My fishing buddy Boss Hog and I met in Anchorage, and then flew three hours in a bush plane to the lodge.
It was a clear day so we flew down the passes between the mountains over glaciers, mountain goats, and active volcanoes. We landed on the Wildman Lodge air strip around noon, unpacked our waders and gear and headed out. Three fishermen per guide in an aluminum john boat and Yami jet drive out board. The Ocean River is an artesian river with the spring and waterfall about 2 miles upstream from the lodge. We headed out toward the falls to fish for Char and caught a half dozen each in the 3 to 4 lb range, using the five weight rods and black woolly buggers. We waded and cast while the guide watched the rise behind us for brown bears.
That night we all met in the lodge for cocktails and appetizers before dinner and met our new neighbors. The lodge held 15 people and most of them are regulars that come every year or so. The chef announced the dinner of moose tenderloin, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh salad from the garden, and desert with espresso. The food at this place was outstanding. Bacon wrapped poached eggs, pancakes with blue berry’s, sausage and gravy, omelets, for breakfast. Mexican night, steak night, and fresh salmon for dinners. Moose chili and sandwiches or fresh fish and clam chowder for hot lunches on the river bank.
The more I got to see the inner workings of running a lodge in this extreme climate, hundreds of miles from nowhere, the more I understood why the trip cost what it did. This was the only lodge on the river so we never saw another fisherman. Everything has to be flown in, food, supplies, fuel, and equipment. They have two big diesel generators that provide power for the camp and they run 24/7 from May to October. The diesel is flown in by a bush plane with a belly tank. The cost of the diesel including the gas to get it out there is $22 per gallon. LP gas for the stoves and heaters are brought in the same way. There was a plywood closet added onto the generator room to hang your waders, jackets, and boots in at night. The heat from the generators was ventilated into the closet which had everything dry and toasty by morning. The drinking water is pumped from the Chrystal clear river, then run through a sediment filter and treated with chlorine. Instead of flying heavy cases of sodas and mixers out there, they carbonate the filtered river water and then add cola or lemon lime flavors. Rum and Coke tasted pretty good after 3 or 4 of them. They had a tractor that they took apart and reassembled after flying it in a piece at a time. They used it to dig holes 6-8 feet through the tundra to get to the black gravel, and spread it to build a run way. All of the leftover food is separated from the garbage that is burned to keep from attracting bears. Two pigs are flown out at the beginning of the season and put in an electric fence. The pigs eat all the food scraps and the last week of the season the guest enjoys smoked ham.
We had 5 and ½ days of fishing total and in spite of some rain and 20+ mph winds we were able to fish or hunt every day. The ½ day we went up river toward the headwaters for Char and then three days we ran boats down the river from the lodge toward the mouth of the Bering Sea, about 7 miles downstream. You could almost see Russia from our front door;) With only 4 boats on the whole river there was plenty of room to stretch out but still be close enough to meet for lunch.
The river averaged waist deep with a steady current and hard gravel bottom, very few pot holes and perfect for wading. This was the height of the salmon run and we averaged catching 10 to 15 a day on the fly. They averaged 15 to 22 lbs. and we lost more than we landed so the action was just unbelievable. Some of them would jump 4 or 5 times and some would take you into your backing while running by your buddy downstream. At the end of the day we were flat worn out, ready for a hot shower and a cold drink.
The third day we got up and the wind was blowing so we decided to sleep in and go ptarmigan (grouse) hunting that afternoon. Boss and I grabbed our 410s and started walking the edge of the river with a dog a few hundred yards from camp. The terrain was pretty tough on two overweight Florida boys. The ground was like 4 ft wide mushrooms laid side by side, and covered with slippery moss. If you stepped on the side of one you could easily turn an ankle, and it was a long crawl back to camp. The dog was still a pup, and he jumped the birds too far ahead to get a shot most of the time. But it was fun and we did manage to knock down 3 that the chef prepared that night for appetizers.
We saw about 10 bears altogether. They obviously know the run is on this time of the year and where the best fishing spots are. We had one walk by the fenced area in camp that they hang moose in, and saw another feeding on fish across the river from camp. We also surprised one coming around a turn in the river that looked to be the size of a 58 Buick. He ran from the water when he saw us and stopped at the bank to look back and check us out. The guide had slowed down when he saw the bear and now the foot of the motor is bottoming out and looked like we were going to be sitting there dead in the water. The guide hit the throttle and me and other guy in the front seat jumped to the bow and the boat got back on a plane. No time for pictures.
One morning our group flew out from camp to an even more remote river to fish for salmon and rainbows. We landed the plane on the ocean beach and walked 100 yards over a rise to the river. In this river the salmon traveled in schools of 10 to 30 near the top cutting wakes like giant red fish. When you saw them surface you went down the bank, got in the water and tried to get the floating popper in front of them. After a couple green horn miscues I finally got the bulky fly in position, and watched three huge wakes break from the school and attack the fly at the same time. We didn’t catch as many fish that day but they sure were fun.
The take off in a little Super Cub on a beach next to a 50’ cliff, is an adventure in itself. As we are bouncing down the beach I just kept telling myself that he’s done this before, and surely he wouldn’t endanger his own life. We saw two moose and a bear on the way back to the lodge, plenty of stories to tell at the Trappers Inn tonight.
The little Inn is next to the dining room overlooking the river. I heard some great stories here from men that have fished and hunted all over the world. We celebrated Mexican night with frozen Margaritas, and one of the guides broke out his guitar and led the group in singing Margaretville and then every other Jimmy Buffet song that 12 drunken fishermen could remember, till it was time to go to bed.
The last night we were there Butch came in after dinner and read poetry to us from book of poems called “The Spell of the Yukon” by Robert Service. At first it seemed a little strange sitting out there in the middle of nowhere, sipping on rum and flavored river water, and listening to a man that has guided grizzly hunts for over 30 years, reading poetry to a group of fishermen. But I gotta admit it was pretty cool, and I hope to hear it again someday.
DaveR wrote:Fuck the cost. Bacon wrapped poached eggs?
Zackly right Dave, I would have been happy just hanging at the cabin, eating three squares a day and watching old Bill Dance shows.
It was seriously good chow.
John, I was fortunate to sign on at the last minute to fill a cancellation but the rates are listed here on their web site. http://www.wildmanlodge.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
