For the self-sufficient angler that wants to spend a week on the world-famous Naknek, exploring this angling paradise on his own.

Package Includes:

• Private Riverfront Cabin

• All Food in our Comfortable Dining Room

• Transportation to and from the King Salmon Airport

• Boat and Motor with Gas

Early Season – June & July

Smolting Rainbows on the Naknek:

8 weight with floating line for main river Rainbows, and shooting line or zip line for sockeye. If you would like to bring a sink tip for streamers bring it but make sure you have a floating line first.

The best rainbow fishing is close to camp. The rainbows concentrate on salmon smolt and leeches migrating downstream to the ocean. The best offerings include large rabbit strip and marabou leeches in black, olive, and dark brown. NOT egg-sucking leeches. Minnow imitations are also deadly in small to medium sizes.

• Rainbows at Brooks: Brooks is flies only. In June, July, and early August, rainbows will eagerly take mice, dead drifted small dries, sculpins and leeches.

  • Recommended Tackle: an 8 ½ to 10-foot fly rod for a 5-6 weight line. The WF floater is the most popular choice, although sink-tips (130 grain to 200 grain) will work as well. 3x to 5x tippets.

• Grayling at Idavain: This fishing starts out with a 1-mile hike to the better fishing grounds. Grayling are best fished with light tackle. I would use a 4 or 5-weight fly rod with a floating line. #12 and #14 Adams, caddis, and stoneflies (dry), small beadhead nymphs, leeches, woolybuggers, and deer hair mice will all work here.

• Kings: These begin showing up in mid-June, building throughout the month. Most of the fishing is down in the lower Naknek, where the tide is important and the water is deep. Treble hooks are legal. By late July, they will begin moving into the rapids to prepare for spawning. Single Hook Only.

  • Recommended Tackle: We have a lot of heavy rods and reels – spinning, revolving spool, and fly – that guests can use.

    • If you want to bring some, I would recommend a 7-foot spinning rod with a 30-pound braid for casting, a 9-foot spinning or casting rod with a 30-pound braid for back-trolling, and a 9’ for a 10 or 11 weight for flyfishing. The fly reel should employ a 400 – 600 grain sink tip line.

    • Large streamers in bright colors with lots of action work very well (salmon snakes, rabbit leeches, popsicles, etc.) Plugs are very popular locally, with large Kwikfish being #1, followed closely by Wiggle Warts and Hot-N-Tots in Chart, Fire Tiger, Hot Pink, silver/green and Orange. Large spinners are especially deadly, with blades in sizes 5 – 8 in silver, pink, chart, and orange.

• Sockeye: Chrome sockeye begin their trip from the ocean around June 20th. This migration continues until late July (timing varies, of course, depending on the weather). Until the spawn in mid-August, sockeye will hold in slow pools and side channels. They are usually turning red by early August.

  • Recommended Tackle: A 6-8 weight fly rod in 9’ to 11’ lengths with a Climax Zip Line is by far the best choice. A floating line with either a strike indicator or a few split shots will also work well.

Late Season – August & September

Rainbows on the Naknek:

The best rainbow fishing is close to camp and in the rapids. The rainbows will still take salmon smolt and leeches migrating downstream to the ocean, but by far the biggest food source is salmon eggs. Sockeye eggs are 6mm, silvers and pinks are 8mm and kings are 10mm. Sometimes, oversize imitations work better. I like trout beads mottled beads in orange, dark roe, and pinks in sizes 6mm – 12mm. Don’t forget #8 and #10 short shank hooks and toothpicks (or the clear plastic pegs). For leeches, I like articulated and bunny strip versions without eggs in front in black, olive, purple, and flesh colors. Wool head sculpins also work well. Late in the season, flesh flies might be needed.

• Recommended Tackle: a light spinning rod in the 9 ½ – 11 ½ range, loaded with 4 – 8 pounds mono a 9 ½ to 11 ½ fly rod in the 6 to 8 wt range. I would want to have a 200 or 300-grain sink tip, a WF floating line, and a Climax Zipline (or equivalent shooting line). 2x – 4 x fluorocarbon tippets.
  a center pin rig can be deadly for this fishing.

• Rainbows at Brooks: Brooks is flies only. In early August, rainbows will eagerly take mice, dead drifted small dries, sculpins, and leeches. By mid to late August, the sockeye spawning kicks in, and 6mm – 8mm plastic beads are king.

  • Recommended Tackle: an 8 ½ to 10-foot fly rod for a 5-6 weight line. The WF floater is the most popular choice. I also love the zip line for this fishing. 3x to 5x tippets.

• Margot Creek:
  This is some of the best arctic char/ dolly varden fishing around, along with a decent population of rainbows. The stream is full of sockeye spawning by mid-August., so beads are a great bet here, with or without a fly following behind. All the same, the patterns listed for Brooks work well here as well. If the water is discolored, 10 and 12-mm beads are deadly. The rest of the time, 6mm and 8mm work best.

Pricing is per person based on double occupancy.