World Class Alaska Fly Fishing
The Alagnak River is one of the most diverse fly-fishing rivers in the state of Alaska. The Alagnak River runs from Kvichak Bay up to two major lakes, Nonvianuk Lake and Kukaklek Lake. The total length of the river is about 64 miles in length. The whole corridor has rainbow trout in it with the largest concentrations in the area called the braids. The braids are located in the middle of the Alagnak River system and are called so due to the many different channels the river splits into for about a 20 mile section. It is here where a lot of the salmon spawn creating a nutrient rich biomass for arctic grayling, rainbow trout, and char to thrive in. We are so fortunate to call this our home base of operations for flying out to nearby Katmai National Park OR other rivers like the Kvichak or Naknek Rivers for some of the largest trout in the state every year!
The Alagnak River has huge runs of all five species of Pacific salmon, numbering in the millions annually. The majority of the chum, king, pink, and silver salmon spawn here in the braids. The sockeye salmon run up through the lakes with the majority of the sockeye spawning in rivers and creeks above the lakes with pockets of sockeye salmon that spawn in the lakes.
A huge benefit of the Alagnak River as our home water is that it is ideal for wade fishing for silver, chum, pink, and sockeye salmon. Fly fishing for salmon on the Alagnak River is such a pleasure with very firm sand bars in the lower river...these very shallow sand bars stack up with thousands upon thousands of salmon from mid-July through the end of August. These easy-to-wade bars offer both the novice fly angler and the expert angler a vast array of opportunities and locations to target salmon on the fly. We have had guests in their 90’s safely wade the firm bottom sand bars of the Alagnak River with great success.
Fly-fishing for rainbow trout is another specialty we have at Angler's Alibi. We fish not only our home waters on the Alagnak River but also many rivers and streams in nearby Katmai National Park. Starting in June, we can target rainbow trout all season long. We are fortunate to have 3 types of rainbows in our river system, resident rainbows, migratory rainbows, and highly migratory rainbows. All three types have a certain look for sure. Our resident rainbows have that “leopard” bow look with more spots than most rainbows, even on their eyelids, with a darker color and dark pink/red line along the flank. The migratory rainbows appear more silver and have way less spots than a resident rainbow. These rainbows migrate in and out of the lakes and rivers within the Alagnak River. The highly migratory rainbows can travel from one river to another. It is not uncommon to land a few rainbows annually with sea lice on them as they have made the trek from possibly the Kvichak River to the Alagnak River. They are all Alaska Rainbow, native to the core, and have a fight that far exceeds any in the lower forty eight states.
Dolly Varden are common in the Alagnak River as well, and some seasons we have more in the braids than others. It is hard to tell as they really move around from one spot to another chasing the best food source they can. The Dollies as they are often called, look very similar to their cousin in the lower 48 called a Brook Trout. A brook trout is actually a member of the same char family the dollies come from. In August, they start to really color up in spawning colors and just look incredible! They are no doubt my favorite looking fish, as they appear hand painted at times!
The Alagnak River has huge runs of all five species of Pacific salmon, numbering in the millions annually. The majority of the chum, king, pink, and silver salmon spawn here in the braids. The sockeye salmon run up through the lakes with the majority of the sockeye spawning in rivers and creeks above the lakes with pockets of sockeye salmon that spawn in the lakes.
A huge benefit of the Alagnak River as our home water is that it is ideal for wade fishing for silver, chum, pink, and sockeye salmon. Fly fishing for salmon on the Alagnak River is such a pleasure with very firm sand bars in the lower river...these very shallow sand bars stack up with thousands upon thousands of salmon from mid-July through the end of August. These easy-to-wade bars offer both the novice fly angler and the expert angler a vast array of opportunities and locations to target salmon on the fly. We have had guests in their 90’s safely wade the firm bottom sand bars of the Alagnak River with great success.
Fly-fishing for rainbow trout is another specialty we have at Angler's Alibi. We fish not only our home waters on the Alagnak River but also many rivers and streams in nearby Katmai National Park. Starting in June, we can target rainbow trout all season long. We are fortunate to have 3 types of rainbows in our river system, resident rainbows, migratory rainbows, and highly migratory rainbows. All three types have a certain look for sure. Our resident rainbows have that “leopard” bow look with more spots than most rainbows, even on their eyelids, with a darker color and dark pink/red line along the flank. The migratory rainbows appear more silver and have way less spots than a resident rainbow. These rainbows migrate in and out of the lakes and rivers within the Alagnak River. The highly migratory rainbows can travel from one river to another. It is not uncommon to land a few rainbows annually with sea lice on them as they have made the trek from possibly the Kvichak River to the Alagnak River. They are all Alaska Rainbow, native to the core, and have a fight that far exceeds any in the lower forty eight states.
Dolly Varden are common in the Alagnak River as well, and some seasons we have more in the braids than others. It is hard to tell as they really move around from one spot to another chasing the best food source they can. The Dollies as they are often called, look very similar to their cousin in the lower 48 called a Brook Trout. A brook trout is actually a member of the same char family the dollies come from. In August, they start to really color up in spawning colors and just look incredible! They are no doubt my favorite looking fish, as they appear hand painted at times!
Experienced Guides, Top Shelf Equipment & 2:1 Guest to Guide Ratio
At Angler’s Alibi, all our fishing guides have several years experience on the Alagnak River with our oldest guide having over 30 years in a row on the Alagnak River! We cater to our guests with not only a great knowledge of the river but also with extreme patience & desire to teach solid skills and techniques to further enhance our customer’s skill set. With a two to one guest to guide ratio, this is easily achieved. We provide top shelf equipment with reels from Hatch, Abel, Nautilus, and Galvin. We use rods from Echo for our entire single and two hand rod selections. We furnish all the equipment necessary at no extra charge including flies and even Simms loaner waders if for some reason the customer does not have them. It is always our goal to be a true all-inclusive lodge without a “nickel-dime” experience at the end of the trip like a lot of lodges do.
We try and always exceed our guest’s expectations. Part of this is making sure we book them in a week that is a perfect fit for them. The guests and fishing program are always priority number one. Running a very close second is our meals we provide in such a remote location. We take care of what we have control of on a daily basis and strive for excellence. I think with repeated seasons of having a full camp shows just that!
We try and always exceed our guest’s expectations. Part of this is making sure we book them in a week that is a perfect fit for them. The guests and fishing program are always priority number one. Running a very close second is our meals we provide in such a remote location. We take care of what we have control of on a daily basis and strive for excellence. I think with repeated seasons of having a full camp shows just that!