Intrepid Alaska

Join Intrepid Fly and our partner in Alaska for fly fishing float trips in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska. Looking for large rainbow trout?  Float trips offer an exhilarating way to explore and fly fish this incredible wilderness.  Imagine camping on the bank of a remote stream, fishing until midnight, waking up to the sound of salmon splashing their way upstream.  These trips are strictly fly fishing only and we welcome both novice and experts alike with patient instruction and lots of easy to fool fish!  Intrepid Fly’s Alaska Float trips utilize several rivers in Katmai National Park including the Alagnak River, Grizzly Creek, and Moraine Creek. Intrepid Fly’s local partner has been operating on these rivers for 15 years and has great confidence in the quality of these trips.

The Fishery

The quarry is the rainbow trout and we love to fly fish for them.  Alaska fly fishing regulations require single hook, barbless and catch and release for all rainbows. The big rainbows range from 5-12 pounds, and we have landed a couple fish in the 15 pound range!  Five species of Pacific salmon, char and grayling add to excitement every day. Whether you want to fish dry flies for rainbows, or sling a ten weight for a 60 pound king salmon, we feel we offer the best float trips in all of Alaska.  This is an adventure of a lifetime and the finest rainbow trout and salmon fishing in Alaska. Experience the wilds of Alaska away from the crowds, the way it should be.

Intrepid Fly has chosen to guide on three rivers in Bristol Bay: The Alagnak, Grizzly Creek and Moraine Creek. They all have several things in common: first: their clearwater, second: they are only accessible by floatplane, and finally: the quality, variety and quantity of the fish.  All the rivers we float are clearwater streams with no glacial silt. They all flow out of lakes which serve as volume controls and filters. So many gorgeous rivers in Alaska are dependent on the weather for prime fishing. Located in Katmai National at the foot of the Brooks range these rivers are consistently clear all summer long.. Since you will be scheduling your trip far in advance the consistency of the river is of prime importance to both of us.  

The Alagnak

Intrepid Fly’s group will float about 36 miles of the Alagnak from its headwaters to the end of the "Braids". The river is about 60 feet wide at the top and meanders through riffle after riffle, run after run over a beautiful gravel bottom. It is this gravel bottom that makes the Alagnak so desirable as salmon spawning grounds and it’s the salmon that gives the nourishment needed to support this incredible rainbow trout fishery.  As the Alagnak River joins with its sister branch the Alagnak seems big and unruly but it breaks up into very fishable channels and runs. This dividing continues until we reach the "braids". The "braids" is a delta like section of the river full of small streams that join and split for miles. It would take months to fish this area thoroughly. Many of these channels are barely big enough for the raft, but the fish just seen to get bigger and bigger!! The bottom half of the Alagnak River flows through lowland tundra with alder and spruce lined banks. The fish in this river are spectacular every week of the season. If you have your heart set on one particular species Intrepid Fly can pinpoint a successful week but if you don't care if you're catching rainbows, king salmon or silvers, any day of the season has spectacular fishing.

Every day and every stretch of water holds something new. The Rainbows are the mainstay of any trip, they range from 10-30" with most fish in the 15-24" range. The fight in this strain of rainbow is amazing and the salmon runs on the Alagnak River are world renowned. The king salmon range from 25-60 lb, the sockeye salmon are in the 6-15 lb. range, pink salmon 3-8 lb, chums 8-20 lb. and silvers 10-20 lb. There are between 2 and 4 million salmon that spawn in this river every year! Grayling and Char are an added bonus all season with a few lake trout thrown in! The river starts to piece itself back together, and gets deep not as friendly to fly fishing. We meet our float plane at the first landing area available 10 miles upriver from the lodges on the lower Alagnak. A float on the Alagnak takes you through the prime fly fishing areas that are accessible only by raft.

Grizzly Creek

The beauty of Grizzly Creek is astounding. If you want to key in on large rainbows and char, you want to be alone, see lots of bears, and you don’t mind hard work, the Grizzly Creek is for you! The sockeye salmon do not spawn in the main rivers like the Alagnak River or the Naknek Rivers. They swim through the main drainage into smaller tributaries like this one to spawn.  The bigger trout from the main river and lakes will follow the sockeyes knowing what to expect (huge numbers of tasty, calorie filled eggs!) The river starts in Alpine tundra, winds through a beautiful rock wall gorge and runs through a lush forest valley to the lake. It is the most scenic of the 3 rivers.

Occasionally a plane from a lodge will land at the small lake at the top but there is no other access until we reach the bottom. The other thing that keeps people out is that the river braids up at the bottom with twists turns and downed trees that make it impossible for a jet boat to get by. This means large trout and char all 18-30 inches (3-12 lb.) that may never have seen a human before. The problem is this: you will have to work your tail off to navigate this stream. The rafts will hang up on rock after rock until you ache from jumping out pulling it free and jumping back in again. At the bottom, the guides might have to lift and push the entire raft over a tree that has fallen across the river or drag the raft across a gravel bar to avoid a clogged tree strewn corner in the stream.  Only those that are in good physical condition should attempt this trip! The other plus (or minus depending on your tolerance) is the bears. They follow the sockeyes to! A smaller stream means closer encounters but they are so fixated on the bright red salmon that they let us be. August and the first part of September are the prime season for Grizzly Creek.

Moraine Creek

The Moraine Creek is famous for good reason. Like Grizzly Creek there are large trout that are there for one reason: sockeye eggs! This stream always produces the largest rainbows of the year. The only drawback is that fly-out lodges bring clients here every day as there are a couple of lakes where they can land that are a short hike to the river. We will see people on this trip but we will have the advantage of being on the river all day and float some areas that are inaccessible by plane. The terrain is alpine tundra. The guides do a lot of sight fishing to very large shadows here. Not as many fish as on Grizzly Creek but the size is large with most fish in the 25-30"range. A good day can be 25 hookups and a poor day is just a couple hookups.   The fish are so large and fast, the landing percentage is very dependent on how good the angler is.

These fish are the size of steelhead and they have the same attitude as steelhead - run fast and jump! The float is quite a bit less demanding than Grizzly Creek as well. There are lots of bears feasting on the salmon run with plenty of opportunities for some photos. It is worth the price of admission for the bear viewing alone. We can guarantee a ten pound trout on this trip, it is an amazing trout stream. We also combine a 3 day float on the Moraine and a 4 day float on the Alagnak for some added variety and excitement.  The Moraine fishes well from late July to early September.

As you may know a float trip entails camping.  You will board a float plane fly to a lake at the head of your chosen river.  After that we are on our own. Although it is camping it is comfortable camping since we can carry lots of gear.  We have cots to sleep on, tents you can stand up in, a screened weather proof dining tent and lots of great fresh food and wine that will rival any land based lodge.  For us the camping seems a small price to pay to be living on the river with all the extra fly fishing and wild life viewing time that affords. 

Four big factors can help you decide when to come.  The fishing, the weather, the quantity of bugs and the hours of daylight. The only time dry flies work is on the Alagnak, early in the season through the first week in July. The rest of the trout fishing is streamers until you hit August and then it is almost all egg patterns fished like a nymph with a dead drift and an indicator.

In general the best weather is in June and early July and it slowly gets more rain. The bugs take the opposite view.  They are most prevalent in June and early July and they get less and less numerous as the season progresses.  The longest day is June 21 with virtual 24 hours of fishing daylight.   The days gradually get shorter and shorter so that on September 1st the fishing day is 6AM to 10 PM

X good X excellent

Tackle

Trout & Char

Sockeye, Chum, Silver & Pink Salmon

King Salmon

Grayling

Fly Selection: Elk hair caddis, egg patterns, egg sucking leech, woolly buggers, wool head sculpin, mice, flash fly, bunny, alaskabous, and the secret sockeye 

Accessories:

• 8' leader for floating lines (12 pound)
• 3' leaders  for sink tip lines(12 pound for trout - 15 -20 pound for salmon)
• Tippet: 1 spool each 8 lb., 20 lb. 2 spools each 10lb., 12lb., 15 lb. tippet
• Split shot size bb and slightly larger
• paste floatant
• strike indicators - big yarn ones
• nippers
• forceps

For all your fishing requirements, please contact us so that we can assist you in your selection. Intrepid Fly can source all equipment at a competitive price, or call us to arrange for you to visit a shop we recommend close to you (SA only).

General Information

Guests need to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves in the terrain: