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The Aniak Experience
Whether you're looking for an all inclusive guided trip, or a more economical do-it-yourself option, we promise to provide the most memorable fishing trip you've ever
had! Our location is amidst many wild and remote bodies of water.
We offer the finest staff, service, and equipment available. Our
decades of experience assures that we will give you the adventure
of a lifetime! Trips are offered from June 1 to September 30 to
coincide with seasonal fishing dates.
All 5 species of pacific salmon, rainbow trout, lake trout, arctic char, dolly varden, arctic grayling, pike, and sheefish are all very abundant in this remote and scenic area of Alaska, that we call home. With hundreds of great fishing locations within a 1 hr flight of the village, we're sure to find just the right float trip, or location, for just about any species of fish you'd like to target. Customizing any of our adventures is also possible, so please don't hesitate if you have any questions.
What is the Fishing Like?
Aniak Air Guides' lodge sits on the outskirts of the village of Aniak, at the conflunce of The Aniak & Kuskokwim Rivers (see location page). Being right in the heart of the 3 most productive fisheries in western/southwest Alaska ( the Yukon, Kuskokwim, and Bristol Bay Drainages), gives us a unique advantage to access, and choose from so many wonderful and productive fisheries. If a salmon run happens to be down in one particular river, it's no problem to find another close by.
Local waters commonly yield 30-50 salmon per angler, per day!....not too mention all the rainbows, arctic char, dolly varden, & arctic grayling. King and chum salmon are the first to arrive.... starting their run by the village in mid June and culminating by the end of July. Aggressive silvers typically show in late July, and hit all the way thru mid-Sept. Reds and pinks are sprinkled in from late June thru early August. Rainbow Trout fishing is second to none, starting in mid-June, with hot fishing all the way in to September. Arctic char, dolly varden, and arctic grayling are also caught in abundance until mid-September.
What is the Gear Like?
Make sure you read our Guided
Gear List or Unguided Gear List
before you pack!
A typical 3 person camping set-up for *all adventures* includes
the following gear provided by Aniak Air Guides:
Cabelas's
4 man tent
- Coleman stove with fuel
- Dishes for 4 (plates, bowls, cups, silverware)
- Non-stick pots & pans
- Spatulas
- Coffee percolator
- Kool Aid jug
- Wash tub
- Soap & scrubber
- Can opener
- Weather-proof map
- Waterproof camera
- Marine radio for check-ups
- Bear spray
- Foam sleeping pads
- Dry bags
- 2 tarps
- Duct tape
A typical raft set-up for *fishing and rafting includes
the following gear provided by Aniak Air Guides:
Self-bailing
Otter raft
- Oaring frame with padded seat
- Oars
- High volume pump
- Patch kit
- Life vests
- Dry bags
- Cargo net
- Extra tie-down straps
Licenses & Tags
| Available for purchase at our lodge or through
the Alaska
Department of Fish and Game. |
| Fishing License |
Alaska NonResidents
$80.00 for 14 days |
Alaska Residents
$10.00 |
| King Salmon Stamp |
Alaska NonResidents
$50.00 |
Alaska Residents
$10.00 |
Guided Trips
Just imagine the wonderful fishing you will experience by having
an experienced guide, an airplane at your beck and call and some
of the finest fishing rivers in the world for an entire week! Please
make sure to read our guided gear list
before you pack.
| Basic Lodge Package = $3,600.00 per
person |
|
Includes:
- One bush fly-out for up to 6 people
- Species: Salmon (King, chum, pink, red and silver), Rainbow
and Lake Trout, Arctic Char, Arctic Grayling, Dolly Varden,
Northern Pike, Sheefish
- Monday through Saturday, fully guided
- Airport pick-ups and transportation around Aniak
- Accommodations
- Food
|
Does Not Include:
- Transportation from Anchorage to Aniak
- Fishing Licenses
- King Salmon Stamp
 |
Guided Fishing Gear List
| Bring Supplies: |
Bring Tackle: |
- long underwear
- light jacket
- rain gear
- hip boots
- medicine
- chapstick
- sunscreen
- rod and reels
- extra line
- lots of good snap swivels
- 3 changes of clothes
- medium jacket
- 2 pairs of gloves
- sunglasses
- camera and lots of film
- bug repellant
- needle nose pliers
- medium rods
- ultra light 4 to 10 lb. test
- 9" wire leaders for pike
- 10 to 20 lb. test (for salmon and pike)
|
Lures
All spoons, black jigs, pixies 1/2 oz -7/8 ounce orange and
red, vibrax 1 to 4, orange Mepps spinners 1 to 4, 3 inch daredevils
and 3 inch red eyes, crazy crawlers for pike, Mepps Cyclops.
Fly Gear
8 to 10 weight rods for Kings.
7 to 8 weight rods for other salmon.
4 to 6 weight rods for grayling and rainbows.
Line
Bring sinking tip or shooting head rigged with 200
yards of 25 pound Dacron backing for 9 to 10 weight rods.
Bring floating or sinking for tip line for lighter rods.
Flies
Black gnats and mosquitoes size 10 to 16, weighted
flies 6 to 12, bucktail streamers and minnow patterns for
salmon, flesh flies and egg patterns for Rainbows. |
Unguided
Trips
We also offer a trip for the more adventurous type, a self-guided
float trip through the Alaskan wilderness on a large inflatable
raft. These are easy flowing rivers with the purpose of the trip
being fishing (not whitewater rafting). Which of our nine
rivers you choose will depend on the species of fish you want
to catch and the time of year. Please make sure to read our unguided
gear list before you come!
Prices include 1 night of lodge accomodations at the end of the trip
| River: |
Cost: |
Aniak
river description
Preview/Purchase DVD of Aniak River Rafting & Fishing |
full length float - $1,650 per person*
lower river float - $1,150 per person*
(boat and/or plane pick-up included) |
Anvik
river description |
$2,150.00 per person*
(boat and/or plane pick-up included) |
Holitna
river description
Preview/Purchase DVD of Holitna River Rafting & Fishing |
$2,150.00 per person*
(boat and/or plane pick-up included) |
|
Hoholitna
river description |
$2,250.00 per person*
(boat and/or plane pick-up included) |
Innoko
river description |
$2,150.00 per person*
(boat and/or plane pick-up included) |
King Salmon
river description |
$2,050.00 per person*
(boat and/or plane pick-up included) |
Kipchuk
river description |
$1,650.00 per person*
(boat and/or plane pick-up included) |
Kisaralik
river description |
$2,150.00 per person*
(boat and/or plane pick-up included) |
Salmon
river description |
$1,650.00 per person*
(boat and/or plane pick-up included) |
|
*Please Note!
Prices
for unguided trips include all bush
flying and airport pick-ups and transportation around Aniak,
rafts and camping gear.
Cost does not include transportation
from Anchorage to Aniak, Fishing Licenses, King Salmon Stamps,
or food. |
Unguided Fishing Gear
List
| Keep your portion of gear under 80
pounds! |
Provided:
- tents
- 2 tarps
- 4 plates
- 4 spoons
- 4 bowls
- ladle
- 1gallon pitcher
- 2 frying pans
- 2 stirring spoons
- 1 wash tub
- 1 sleeping pad per person
- camp stove (fuel or propane)
- 4 forks
- 4 butter knives
- spatula
- 4 coffee cups
- coffee pot
- 2 pots
- can opener
- dry bags
- weatherproof maps
- Otter rafts with gear
- 1 marine band radio (to check in each time you see an
Aniak Air Guides Plane)
 |
Bring:
- light jacket
- rain gear
- hip boots
- medicine
- chapstick
- sunscreen
- rod and reels
- 10 to 20 pound test (for salmon and pike)
- extra line
- lots of good snap swivels
- 3 changes of clothes
- knife and sharpener
- garbage bags
- flashlight
- soap
- hat & gloves
- toilet paper
- towel
- 5 gallon collapsible water jug
- 1 medium jacket
- 2 pairs of gloves
- sunglasses
- camera and lots of film
- bug repellant
- needle nose pliers
- medium rods
- ultra light 4 to 10 pound test
- 9" wire leaders for pike
- long underwear
- sleeping bag
- hatchet
- food (buying in Aniak is suggested)
- matches or high quality lighter
- stove fuel
- rope & cord
- paper towels
- water purifier
|
River Descriptions
Aniak River Float
The Aniak River trip is a long float, 100 river-miles, and, in our
opinion, one of the most scenic as well. Typically, it is also the
most difficult to navigate. Previous rafting experience is a must
on this float. Your float begins after catching a few lake trout
at your drop off point, Aniak Lake. After leaving the lake, you'll
be into the grayling immediately, along with arctic char and dolly
varden soon thereafter, and salmon and rainbow fishing just getting
better the further you float. However, with significant debris loads,
log jams, and sweepers often present, floating can often be arduous
on this upper stretch (the first 50 river-miles). The remaining
50 miles are, by comparison, a tame stretch of water
that most anyone can safely navigate.
This wild and scenic river is not for the novice rafter (depending
on access point), as some of the bends can be tricky. Except for
the lower potions, the river is clear and swift flowing, and not
always confined to a main channel. With multiple channels and other
hazards to deal with, floaters are often required to navigate narrow
channels throughout the float trip. For this reason, we do have
guides available for those of you with minimal rafting experience.
Typical with the lower Kuskokwim streams, the upper sections flow
through the beautiful Kilbuck and Kuskokwim Mountains (2,000 feet
to 4,000 feet) and gradually transition into the Kuskokwim lowlands
and tundra. The river changes from clear and swift flowing in the
mountains to a slow and meandering course in the lowlands. Taiga
forest vegetation, including black spruce, balsam, birch, aspen,
poplar, and alders line the banks of the Kuskokwim lowland streams.
Calling this river home are all five species of salmon, rainbow
trout, arctic char, dolly varden, grayling, even pike and sheefish
on the lower stretches. Grizzly, black bear, caribou, moose, wolf,
wolverine, fox, eagles, beaver, marten, and otter are also frequently
sighted along the river banks.
This river is one of our most economical floats because we fly
you out only one way, and then you float all the way back to the
village. Should you decide not to float the entire distance (the
final 30 miles are very slow), a mid-river pick-up is included.
Preview/Purchase DVD of Aniak River Rafting & Fishing
Anvik River Float
This
scenic, clear water tributary of the Yukon River is an easy float
(Class I & II) through beautiful surroundings that are forested
to the headwaters. A less visited river means you will hardly see
anyone on your trip! Great fishing for king salmon, chums, silvers,
arctic grayling, char, pike, sheefish, & dolly vardens.
The Headwaters to Yellow River has a medium gradient with pools,
riffles, and frequent small sand/gravel bars. Some tributaries have
a significantly higher gradient, such as Canyon Creek. From Yellow
River to the mouth, the river becomes a lower gradient stream changing
to a single channel meander. The lower river from Theodore Creek
to the mouth, is also a single channel meander with attached oxbow
lakes and a low gradient. This lower section of the river is better
fishing for northern pike than in the upriver sections. Sheefish
are also available near the mouth and are best fished for in early
June and September.
Holitna River Float
The
beautiful Holitna is a very easy flowing, mostly flatwater river
that anybody can float (Class I & II). You will pass through
forests of black and white spruce, poplar, birch and cottonwood,
and you may even drift for days without seeing many, if any, other
people. The fishing is excellent for kings, chums, silvers, grayling,
char, sheefish, and pike up to 44 inches.
Preview/Purchase DVD of Holitna River Rafting & Fishing
Hoholitna River Float
This is an easy float (Class I & II). The river initiates at
large Whitefish Lake and passes through a lot of windy, slow turns
moving on its long trip down to meet the Holitna River. It is the
most remote, least traveled river, and it is very unlikely that
you will see any other people. The upper river starts above treeline
in the tundra, then lower down travels through mixed white and black
spruce and poplar forest. Great kings at the intersection of with
the Holitna River, wonderful pike in the lower river, shums, and
silver fishing; also grayling and char. 5 to 10 day float.
Innoko River Float
This
trip is for serious Pike and Sheefish fisherman. The Innoko River
is the best spot in the world for pike over 20 pounds. with very
good chance at a 30 pounder. Large and aggressive northern pike
can grow to over 45" because there are so many lakes connected
to the river. You can also catch whitefish, grayling and an incidental
salmon. 5 to 10 day float.
The Innoko is the westernmost major tributary of the Yukon River.
It is a very slow, easy river in a remote and isolated setting.
Past Shagaluk, water levels are low and the current is especially
slow. The Innoko rises in the Kuskokwim Mountains west of the town
of McGrath and flows north, then southwest for about 500 miles (800
km) before joining the Yukon near Holy Cross. Most of the river
basin lies in the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is
visited by an estimated 130 species of birds, and more than 300,000
migratory nesting waterfowl and shorebirds. Frequent flooding supports
willow sandbars, providing habitat for moose and beavers. Year-round
residents include peregrine falcons, black and grizzly bears, wolves,
marten, lynx, red fox, river otter, and wolverine. Winter brings
Beaver Mountain caribou.
King Salmon River Float
This
river, also known as the Upper Nushagak, is a very easy float (Class
I) that anybody will enjoy. The water is crystal clear with good
steady flow, sometimes slowgoing, sometimes fast with deeper pools.
You will be surrounded by beauty. In the distance by rolling tundra
hills filled with berries, while the river corridor is narrower
and secluded by lowland brush. Further downriver, the scenery turns
wooded. Moose and caribou wander these areas. You will also see
more black bears than on other rivers, since the King Salmon is
further inland. The fishing is excellent for kings, chums, silvers,
grayling, dolly vardens, char, and rainbow trout (up to 24 inches).
Sockeye and pinks are also in the river. 5 to 10 day float.
Kipchuk River Float
The Kipchuck River, nestled between the upper stretches of the
Aniak River and the Salmon River, is one of our least traveled rivers.
If complete solitude is what you desire, this is the river for you.
The fishing on this river is, by comparison, not as good as the
Aniak River and the Salmon River but is much more isolated. Access
to this river is also subject to seasonal water levels, as gravel
bars are our only option for drop-offs. This float is approximately
80 river-miles long, with total solitude for the first 35 miles.
This wild and scenic river is not for the novice rafter (depending
on access point), as some of the bends can be tricky. Except for
the lower potions, the river is clear and swift flowing, and not
always confined to a main channel. With multiple channels and other
hazards to deal with, floaters are often required to navigate narrow
channels throughout the float trip. For this reason, we do have
guides available for those of you with minimal rafting experience.
Typical with the lower Kuskokwim streams, the upper sections flow
through the beautiful Kilbuck and Kuskokwim Mountains (2,000 feet
to 4,000 feet) and gradually transition into the Kuskokwim lowlands
and tundra. The river changes from clear and swift flowing in the
mountains to a slow and meandering course in the lowlands. Taiga
forest vegetation, including black spruce, balsam, birch, aspen,
poplar, and alders line the banks of the Kuskokwim lowland streams.
Calling this river home are all five species of salmon, rainbow
trout, arctic char, dolly varden, grayling, even pike and sheefish
on the lower stretches. Grizzly, black bear, caribou, moose, wolf,
wolverine, fox, eagles, beaver, marten, and otter are also frequently
sighted along the river banks.
This river is one of our most economical floats because we fly
you out only one way, and then you float all the way back to the
village. Should you decide not to float the entire distance (the
final 30 miles are very slow), a mid-river pick-up is included.
Kisaralik River Float
A
popular and easy float trip of intermediate duration for the experienced
rafter. The upper river is swift, with long stretches of shallow
rocky rapids. There are two small waterfalls and three Class III
rapids that are all easily portaged along the bank. Great rainbow,
grayling, and char fishing. There are also king salmon and silvers,
and lake trout at Kisaralik Lake. 8 to 10 day float.
Typical of lower Kuskokwim streams, the upper section flows through
moderate sized Kilbuck Mountains (2,000 to 3,000 foot elevation)
and gradually transition into Kuskokwim lowlands and tundra. The
river changes from swift water in the mountains to gradual slow
meandering course in the lowlands with poorly defined channel in
several locations. Taiga forest vegetation, including black spruce,
birch, aspen, balsam poplar, and alders, covers the banks of Kuskokwim
lowland streams.
Salmon River Float
Typically, the Salmon River provides a less challenging route compared
to the Aniak and Kipchuck Rivers, which is probably why it sees
the most traffic. However, in some years this stretch
of river can be very tricky as well. The drop-off point for this
float is a small wheel-strip next to the river, known as Bell Creek.
This float is approximately 80 river-miles long, with the first
45 miles in relative solitude.
The
wild and scenic Salmon River is not for the novice rafter (depending
on access point), as some of the bends can be tricky. Except for
the lower potions, the river is clear and swift flowing, and not
always confined to a main channel. With multiple channels and other
hazards to deal with, floaters are often required to navigate narrow
channels throughout the float trip. For this reason, we do have
guides available for those of you with minimal rafting experience.
Typical with the lower Kuskokwim streams, the upper sections flow
through the beautiful Kilbuck and Kuskokwim Mountains (2,000 feet
to 4,000 feet) and gradually transition into the Kuskokwim lowlands
and tundra. The river changes from clear and swift flowing in the
mountains to a slow and meandering course in the lowlands. Taiga
forest vegetation, including black spruce, balsam, birch, aspen,
poplar, and alders line the banks of the Kuskokwim lowland streams.
Calling this river home are all five species of salmon, rainbow
trout, arctic char, dolly varden, grayling, even pike and sheefish
on the lower stretches. Grizzly, black bear, caribou, moose, wolf,
wolverine, fox, eagles, beaver, marten, and otter are also frequently
sighted along the river banks.
This river is one of our most economical floats because we fly
you out only one way, and then you float all the way back to the
village. Should you decide not to float the entire distance (the
final 30 miles are very slow), a mid-river pick-up is included.
Description Sources
Alaska Department of Fish & Game
Alaska Department of Natural Resources
Alaska Fish & Wildlife Service
Aniak Air Guides
Rob Kinkade | P.O. Box 93 | Aniak, AK 99557
Phone 907.675.4540 | Cell 907.299.3503
aniakairguides@yahoo.com
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