PPS Destinations Report 

Nushagak River, Alaska, USA

Date:         September 2007

 Reported by Dr. Brian Griffith, New Jersey, USA

  The first week of September found me fishing the Nushagak River at the tent camp of Dave and Kim Egdorf.  Having fished Kamchatka the previous three years and hearing how it is always compared to Alaska, I felt it only fair to give our northernmost state a chance.

  The travel to Dillingham is almost as long a trip as to Russia when travel was through Anchorage and requires an overnight stay.  Being cheap and trying to save a few dollars, I picked the local America’s Best Inn.  It did not live up to its name and I felt quite happy to get out of there the next morning.  The flight to Dillingham via Penair is supposed to be a one hour deal but after our flight was cancelled (mechanical difficulties) and rerouted through King Salmon, it ended up taking nearly four hours to get there.  Dillingham has little to offer but the Beavercreek B&B was clean and quite nice and a definite step up over the accommodations in Anchorage.  We were met by Kim Egdorf the next morning and transported to Lake Aleknagak where Dave keeps his floatplane.

  After packing the plane, three of us plus the pilot took off for a wonderful fifty minute plane ride across the tundra.  We spotted moose, caribou, and four grizzly bears on the flight up to the camp and saw absolutely no sign of man. Alaska truly is a huge place.  Upon landing we were met by one of the guides who transported us the one mile up river to camp (the river closer to camp is not appropriate for a float plane).  The camp was exactly as described in the pre-trip information.  There were 6 Weatherport tents with cots, a main cook/dining tent, shower/sauna, and two latrines.  Because only three anglers can travel at one time there would be three trips the first day.  I was on the first trip in and so after lunch we all went fishing.  The weather was beautiful, sunny and 60 degrees and the fishing was good.  In three hours I landed several grayling, two dollies, a silver salmon, and 8-10 rainbows with the largest measuring 27-28 inches.  I thought this is going to be a good week!  It was probably not a wise thing to think since this would prove to be about the best fishing of the week.

  The Nushagak River is a midsize river averaging approximately 30-40 yards across.  For the most part it is easy to wade.  The river has an abundance of structure in the form of downed trees, root balls, and gravel bar drop offs.  There were plenty of deep holes that generally hold the silvers and a sizable contingent of grayling, trout, and dollie vardens.  The river certainly looked like it would hold plenty of fish.

  The remainder of the week the weather varied from 35-65 degrees.  We had one day of rain and some wind but overall the weather was not an issue. On my best day of fishing I caught 15-20 rainbows with 2 over 20 inches and my worst day I caught 4.  There were always a few grayling to be caught which were between 14-19 inches, some dollies, and more silvers than I cared to fish for.  These salmon had been in the river for 240 miles and were quite red.  When caught, it felt a lot like hauling in a log, heavy but no pull.  Streamer fishing was the order of the week although there was some mousing on the warmer days.  The guides were quite good and knew the river well.  They were a little surprised when all of us told him that The Fly Shop recommended September as a prime month.  While you can catch an occasional hog they all said the best fishing on the Nushagak is in late June and early July.  Needless to say, we all felt the place had been a little oversold.

  The camp was very nice, the food was good, the staff excellent.  The Egdorfs run a superior outfit.  We did not see as much wildlife as I had hoped but the river did feel pretty wild, especially the river above camp.  The fishing was mediocre at best but we had a wonderful and varied group that got along well and proved to be excellent company.  It was not a terrible trip by any means but it is not one I would recommend during September.  Maybe I was spoiled by Russia but when a trip costs almost exactly the same and the travel is nearly as difficult I would pick Kamchatka every time. 

Brian Griffith

For more photos of Brian's trip, please select the thumbnails below.  Use the back arrow on the browser page to get back to this page.