Bristol Bay Watershed
Angler’s Alibi is located in the heart of breathtaking Bristol Bay on the Alagnak River - one of the 5 major rivers that create this world renowned fishery. It is here in Bristol Bay (about 280 miles south of Anchorage and at the top of the Aleutian island chain), where all 5 species of Pacific salmon and rainbow trout numbers reside and FAR outnumber any other region in the state! Also noteworthy is that where we are located on the Alagnak River, we not only have the most rainbow trout - but also the LARGEST rainbow trout in the entire state! This eastern side of Bristol Bay also has huge freshwater lakes like Lake Illiamna, Kukaklek, Nonvianuk, and Naknek. It is these ultra-fertile lakes that facilitate the rapid growth of behemoth trout. While sockeye salmon are their main food source while growing, the 4 other salmon species also play a roll in creating the huge biomass of protein to sustain such large quantities and size of these trout.
Switching gears, the Alagnak River also has what biologist claim is the largest diversity of salmon that use any river system and major lakes. Above the Nonvianuk and Kukaklek lakes are an array of mountain streams and creeks that play host to millions of spawning sockeye salmon each summer. It is here in theses rivers that thousands of rainbow trout gorge on the eggs and carcasses of the dying salmon. The Alagnak River also has its own resident population of rainbow trout that that depend on the return of the king, chum, pink, and silver salmon each year to provide their food source. The incredible number of returning salmon coupled with so many rainbow trout makes the Alagnak River the undisputed gem of the Bristol Bay region. Better yet, this rich environment is spread out over 60 miles of fishable water until it finally reaches a fork and splits into the Kukaklek and Nonvianuk rivers.
The diversity of fish, landscape, and fauna along the Alagnak River system provides a lot more than just salmon, trout, char, and grayling! The Alagnak river is home to such a wide array of brown bears, moose, eagles, waterfowl, and a plethora of birds - that every year it draws wildlife viewers and photographers from all over the world.
Switching gears, the Alagnak River also has what biologist claim is the largest diversity of salmon that use any river system and major lakes. Above the Nonvianuk and Kukaklek lakes are an array of mountain streams and creeks that play host to millions of spawning sockeye salmon each summer. It is here in theses rivers that thousands of rainbow trout gorge on the eggs and carcasses of the dying salmon. The Alagnak River also has its own resident population of rainbow trout that that depend on the return of the king, chum, pink, and silver salmon each year to provide their food source. The incredible number of returning salmon coupled with so many rainbow trout makes the Alagnak River the undisputed gem of the Bristol Bay region. Better yet, this rich environment is spread out over 60 miles of fishable water until it finally reaches a fork and splits into the Kukaklek and Nonvianuk rivers.
The diversity of fish, landscape, and fauna along the Alagnak River system provides a lot more than just salmon, trout, char, and grayling! The Alagnak river is home to such a wide array of brown bears, moose, eagles, waterfowl, and a plethora of birds - that every year it draws wildlife viewers and photographers from all over the world.
Alagnak River
The Alagnak River is one of the 5 major rivers that make up Bristol Bay. It has one of the largest and most diverse systems in the state and supports the highest combined numbers of salmon and trout of any of the major drainages. The Angler's Alibi fishing camp is located just 6 miles up river from where the Alagnak River meets the Bristol Bay. Our location is right in the center of the tidewater which dictates that you can really only fish from mile marker 3 and upstream due to the sandy, murky bottom which severely limits visibility downstream. Our tides come twice daily and can affect the river as high as mile marker 9 in the river. Milemarker 6 is the ideal location to target salmon daily and is exactly where Anglers Alibi is located! While the main thing we focus on are fresh, bright, chrome salmon. We typically send at least one boat daily upriver 20 miles or so to target trout, grayling, and char in skinnier water, an area called “the braids”.
With a short boat ride daily to target fresh sea-run salmon, we fish the waters right in front of camp, rarely traveling more than 3 miles downstream or upriver so fishing time is maximized! There are times when we may go higher in the river system to target migrating salmon, but most of our fishing is very close to the lodge. This proximity makes it easy to head back for a hot lunch and/or the use of one our flush toilets. As in real estate, location is everything, and we know we have the best location on the Alagnak river for both salmon and trout!
With a short boat ride daily to target fresh sea-run salmon, we fish the waters right in front of camp, rarely traveling more than 3 miles downstream or upriver so fishing time is maximized! There are times when we may go higher in the river system to target migrating salmon, but most of our fishing is very close to the lodge. This proximity makes it easy to head back for a hot lunch and/or the use of one our flush toilets. As in real estate, location is everything, and we know we have the best location on the Alagnak river for both salmon and trout!
Nushagak River
The Nushagak River is the main river entering Bristol Bay from the west. It is the largest river system in the bay and feeds many of the other rivers and streams along its path. The Nushagak has runs of all 5 species of salmon, but it is notorious for its run of king salmon. The Nushagak is the last river in Alaska where king salmon are commercially harvested, however this commercial fishing is highly regulated by the State of Alaska. Bristol Bay itself it noted as having the largest sockeye salmon run in the world, with 50 to 60 million sockeye salmon harvested annually. As noted above, the Nushagak River does have one own small fleet of commercial fisherman that are allowed to target king salmon – but only after the escapement goal is reached. The Nushagak has a sonar system that takes a count of all salmon entering the river. In 2018 there were 97,239 king salmon that came through the sonar station and continued their journey upriver! This king salmon run is by far the largest in the world.
Our location on the Nushagak river is at mile marker 38, just above the fork of the West and East Branch. The camp is situated on an island where the heavy tides clearly affect the river height. This location allows us to stay very close to camp and take advantage of this huge king run during the peak of the season. This year, camp opens on June 18 and the short king season only runs through July 4. While other camps open earlier and close later - we only want to be there during the king run, in the peak of the fishing season. We look forward to maintaining our policy of a 2:1 guest-to-guide ratio, where most other operations in the area have a 6:4 guest-to-guide ratio. This allows us to more easily accommodate fly fisherman trying to swing for kings on streamers, and create a more attentive environment on the boat -- regardless of the method being used to catch and release or harvest king salmon.
Our location on the Nushagak river is at mile marker 38, just above the fork of the West and East Branch. The camp is situated on an island where the heavy tides clearly affect the river height. This location allows us to stay very close to camp and take advantage of this huge king run during the peak of the season. This year, camp opens on June 18 and the short king season only runs through July 4. While other camps open earlier and close later - we only want to be there during the king run, in the peak of the fishing season. We look forward to maintaining our policy of a 2:1 guest-to-guide ratio, where most other operations in the area have a 6:4 guest-to-guide ratio. This allows us to more easily accommodate fly fisherman trying to swing for kings on streamers, and create a more attentive environment on the boat -- regardless of the method being used to catch and release or harvest king salmon.