Included / Not Included: –
Included: Float plane transfers between Iliamna and the Lodge, all accommodations and meals during the week, taxes, flies, leaders, tippet, and guide services are all included in the package.
Not Included: Airfare to Iliamna, gratuities for the camp staff, liquor, and fishing equipment. (Some back-up fishing equipment is available at the lodge.)
Travel Logistics:
Arrival Information: To reach Copper River Lodge anglers will need to make flight reservations in and out of Anchorage Alaska.
Getting to the Lodge: Travel by air taxi to Iliamna (not included in package). Upon arrival at Iliamna you will be transferred to a float plane for the 20 minute flight across Lake Iliamna (float plane included in package).
Departure Information: On your departure day you will take an afternoon flight from Iliamna to Anchorage. Either overnight in Anchorage or take the redeye home.
Travel Cash:
As a guideline we recommend that each guest travels with approximately $500 - $600 for staff & guide gratuities, alcohol, licenses, etc
Gratuities:
The camp manager will be happy to give you tipping guidelines, however, for planning purposes fishermen can expect the industry standard of 10 to 15% of the land package price. All tips are evenly distributed among the staff. Unfortunately the lodge is unable to accept credit cards, so please plan accordingly.
Fishing Licenses:
Fishing licenses are sold at the lodge. A non-resident 7 day license costs $55. You can also purchase a license online at www.admin.adfg.state.ak.us/license/
Climate:
The weather in Southwest Alaska is highly variable. Anglers should always come prepared for cold rainy conditions, especially early and late in the season. Typical daytime temperatures range from 45-70 degrees.
Medical Facilities:
There is a clinic for minor illnesses and injuries in Iliamna (60 minutes away). The closest major hospital is Anchorage (2 1/2 hours away by plane). Assuming good weather and daylight conditions an Iliamna Air Taxi float plane can make it to the lodge roughly 20-40 minutes, but this is not guaranteed. Please assess your medical problems before booking and consider medical evacuation insurance.
Power and Communications:
The lodge is powered by a diesel generator that runs from 6:30 PM to 11AM. Rooms have with standard 110 outlets. There is a radio phone at the lodge that can be used sparingly. The number at the lodge (summer only) is 907-571-1464.
Water:
All water at the lodge is potable. Drinking from the river is discouraged.
Clothing:
Typical fishing clothing consists of synthetic long underwear, fleece jacket and pants, hooded sweatshirt, and a good fishing rain jacket. Fingerless gloves are nice for cold mornings, and bring along a warm hat for early and late season fishing. For anglers made particularly uncomfortable by biting insects, pack along a mosquito head net if visiting during the first half of the season. Dress at the lodge is casual.
Laundry:
Laundry service is not available. Please pack accordingly.
Beverages/Alcohol:
Alcoholic beverages are not sold at the lodge. Since the lodge is located near Iliamna village which is a "damp" village, they are not allowed to sell alcohol. If you would like to place an order and have it shipped out for your week, please contact us and we can send you an order form and instructions on how to order and legally ship alcohol to the lodge from an Anchorage liquor store. Please give us at least two months advance notice. If you have a small order we encourage that you bring it with you from Anchorage. The lodge does serve lemonade, soda, and other juices.
Tackle/Equipment List:
Rods: In June, July, and early August you will use a 5 or 6 weight fly rod for the trout. Sometimes in June and July a light rod (2, 3, or 4 weight) can be a lot of fun if the wind is light and the dry flies are coming off. Always bring a back up rod; broken rods are much more common than you would think. The lodge also has backup fly rods available for guest use.
In July the Sockeye salmon start to show up and will fight well all the way into early August. An 8 weight is the ideal set up for these strong fighting fish. In August, September, and early October we suggest a 6, 7 or 8 weight for the large Alaskan rainbows that come up the river from Lake Iliamna.
Reels: Any well-made reel with at least 100 yards of backing.
Lines: Clients generally use floating lines, but occasionally in the fall a streamer down deep can be effective. We suggest that anglers coming in the fall bring a sinking line. If you enjoy fishing with sinking lines you can catch fish on streamers all season.
Leaders/Tippet: Trout; 9-10 ft tapered leaders in 2X- 5X (four or five of each) and tippet to match.
Flies: Flies are included in the package. But if you would like to bring your own, the most popular patterns are:
- Rio Grande, O'Connor, and Coachman Trudes sizes 6-12
- Royal Wulff, Yellow Humpy, Adams, Cahill, Elk Hair Caddis, Goddard Caddis, Ausable Wulff, and Stimulators sizes 10-18.
- Woolly buggers, Zonkers, Black Marabou Muddlers, Egg sucking leeches, Flesh patterns.
-Morrish Mouse and Morrish Sculpins.
The Copper is an incredible river to nymph. We use pheasant tails, prince nymphs, caddis pupae, maggots, and stone fly nymphs - sizes 6-18. Bead head varieties seem to work best.
If you have a favorite trout fly collection bring it along as it is always fun to experiment with different patterns. The lodge has a policy of using barbless hooks to help protect the fish.
