When you think of fly fishing mecca, your mind immediately jumps to Alaska. Why wouldn’t it? Alaska is full of pristine rivers, large fish, and massive mammals. Who wouldn’t desire to wet a line in Alaska’s waters?
Planning a fly fishing trip to Alaska can be intimidating with the vastness of the state, it’s secluded nature and the many options for trip packages. An all-inclusive package can be purchased or a full DIY trip can be planned. Of course, there are also many mixtures of DIY and guided packages.
This is your go-to guide for fly fishing Alaska.
There are three options when planning your Alaska fly fishing trip. You can go for the full-service option, hybrid, or do it yourself.
We’ll dig into each of these separately below.
The Full Experience
A Full-Service package will require the least amount of planning from you but the most amount of money. It’s a great option if you can afford it. A Full-Service package typically includes a lodge, guided fly fishing trips, and access to private waters.
Lodges
Below are some of the highest rated fly fishing lodges in Alaska:
- Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge Fly Fishing Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge
- Bear Trail Lodge Fly Fishing Bear Trail Lodge
- Bristol Bay Lodge
- Alaska’s Boardwalk Lodge
- Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge
- Tikchik Narrows Lodge
- Crystal Creek Lodge
- Tower Rock Lodge
- Intricate Bay Lodge
- Tracy Vrem’s Blue Mountain Lodge
- Diericks Tsiu River Lodge
- Alaska Adventure Cruise
- Enchanted Lake Lodge Fly Fishing Enchanted Lake Lodge
- Intricate Bay Lodge Fly Fishing Intricate Bay Lodge
- Kulik Lodge Fly Fishing Kulik Lodge
- Mission Lodge Fly Fishing Mission Lodge
- No See Um Lodge Fly Fishing No See Um Lodge
- Tordrillo Lodge Fly Fishing Tordrillo Lodge
- Riversong Lodge Fly Fishing Riversong Lodge
- Alaska Charter Service Fly Fishing Alaska Charter Service
- Alaska West Fly Fishing Alaska West
- Brooks Lodge Fly Fishing Brooks Lodge
- Chrome Chasers Fly Fishing Chrome Chasers
- Egdorf’s Western Alaska Fly Fishing Egdorf’s Western Alaska
- Great Alaska Adventure Lodge Fly Fishing Great Alaska Adventure Lodge
- Grosvenor Lodge Fly Fishing Grosvenor Lodge
- Midnight Sun Trophy Pike Fly Fishing Midnight Sun Trophy Pike
- Sandy River Lodge Fly Fishing Sandy River Lodge
- Alaska Rainbow Adventures Fly Fishing Alaska Rainbow Adventures
- Frontier River Guides Alaska Float Fishing Frontier River Guides
Most of the lodges have the area’s best fly fishing guides on staff or work closely with them.
The Hybrid Experience
There are two types of hybrid experiences. The first is a stay at a lodge that provides access to gear and maybe private waters but no guide. The other is when you camp or stay at a hotel/motel and hire a fly fishing guide.
Many lodges offer various packages to select from when you’re booking your adventure. Staying at a lodge but fishing on your own will save you a couple of bucks but it’s still the second most expensive option.
Staying at hotel/motel or camping is by far the cheapest. Typically you can hire a good guide for a couple hundred dollars a day. A cost saving option would be to book the guide for your first full day to show you the ropes and teach you how to fly fish in Alaska. And yes it’s going to be different than anywhere you’ve ever fished.
After the day of learning from the guide, you can strike out on your own. You can always retreat to the hired guide after a couple of days of no success. Please keep in mind that some of the waters the guide shows you may be off-limits to you without him or her. Make sure you come prepared with a list of questions for your guided trip so you have a good understanding of where to go and what to use.
You spend your time on the water with an experienced fisherman/woman but save on the lavish settings that you’ll find at a lodge. You will most likely fish waters open to the public and accessible with relative ease.
The above lodges are the best resources to contact to learn about the best guides in the area. I’d suggest contacting multiple guides and listen for the same names. Those are the individuals you’d want to hire. Some guides pay lodges for leads so lodges may be biased. It’s better to ask for the top 5 guides or guide shops in the area.
Remember this is how they make money. They want you to have the best experience in Alaska but they also want you to spend money there. Most visitors only make the trip to Alaska once in their life.
Do It Yourself (DIY)
Many fly fisherman/woman have tackled fly fishing in Alaska with success. And you can too.
Check Alaska forums (here is one) and contact local fly fishing shops. Fly fishing shops make their money from selling guided trips so you’ll need to start the conversation with how you’ll benefit them before asking for help.
If you grease the wheels by purchasing something from his shop, he or she will be more likely to offer up information about the fishery or point you to a good resource.
Are you planning a trip to Alaska? Let us know if you have any questions, we’re always happy to help.
If you’ve already been to Alaska, drop us a note here. We’d love to interview you.
