Included / Not Included: –
Included: Accommodations and meals at the lodge, guided daily fly-outs from the lodge (weather permitting), flies, transportation between Dillingham and the lodge.
Not Included: Airfare to/from Dillingham, accommodations and meals in Anchorage, personal gear, rods, reels, lures, liquor, fishing licenses (available at the Lodge), King Salmon stamps (if appropriate), and staff and guide gratuities.
Travel Logistics:
Arrival Information: To get to the Royal Coachman Lodge you will need to make travel arrangements to Dillingham, Alaska
Getting to the Lodge: . Once you arrive in Dillingham and you have picked up your luggage, you will greeted by a Royal Coachman Lodge representative. From there you will transferred 30 minutes to the float plane at Lake Aleknagik. From Aleknagik it is a 40 minute flight to the lodge. This beautiful flight offers great views of the Wood-Tikchik State Park and the endless landscape of Alaska.
Departure Information: On the last day of your week, you will fly back to Lake Aleknagik. There the lodge will have a van waiting to take you to the Dillingham airport.(arrive Dillingham at approx 1:00PM
Travel Cash:
As a guideline we recommend that each guest travels with approximately $800-$1,000 for staff & guide gratuities, 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 around 10% of the land package price. All tips are evenly distributed among the staff.
Fishing Licenses:
We recommend that your purchase your fishing licenses online prior to your trip. Please use the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game website and purchase a 7 day non-resident fishing license, print the licenses and bring them with you.
Climate:
In general, during June and July average temperatures are in the 60's to mid 70's. Temperatures in the fall are quite a bit cooler and average in the 50's-60’s. Temperatures can drop into the 30's and 40's at almost any time in Alaska. Keep in mind that Alaska has unpredictable weather...it is good to always come prepared.
You will encounter some biting insects such as mosquitoes, no see-ums, and white sox, but typically a light coating of insect repellent is enough to keep them off. On the river, where there is usually a light breeze, you should hardly notice them. If the weather is perfect for bugs sometimes a head net is nice to have.
Medical Facilities:
There is a clinic for minor illnesses and injuries in Dillingham (1 hour away by float plane). The closest major hospital is Anchorage (one hour away from Dillingham by commercial plane). In emergency situations, a charter flight or helicopter may be required to reach a medical facility. Guests may want to consider medical evacuation coverage. We recommend Global Rescue. Guests have the responsibility to disclose any special medical, physical, or dietary needs to the lodge ahead of time.
Power and Communications:
The electricity is the normal 110 and provided by a diesel generator. The generator is shut off late at night for a few hours.
Water:
Tap water at the lodge is potable, and delicious.
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 always informal.
Laundry:
The Lodge does have laundry service available for clients on a very limited basis. Please do not plan on the crew having time to do personal laundry.
Beverages/Alcohol:
Alcoholic beverages are not sold at the lodge. They are not allowed to sell alcohol, and alcohol is not included in the package. If you would like to place an order to have at the lodge when you arrive they help you arrange it. If you do not order alcohol, there will be no alcohol available for your group. Please be sure to call the lodge about your alcohol order before May 1. They also serve lemonade, soda, and other juices.
Tackle/Equipment List:
Rods: You will use a 4-6 weight fly rod for the non salmon species. 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, but please do not depend on them. If a few are broken in the previous week they might not be available. At the Royal Coachman Lodge the salmon are always available. A 7- 9 weight rod is the ideal set up for these strong fighting fish, except for the Kings (available in June and July). We suggest a 10 weight for the Kings
Reels: Any well-made reel with at least 100 yards of backing. Disc drag reels with 200 yds. of 30lb. backing work well for the salmon
Lines: Floating lines are generally used, but occasionally sinking lines, and sink tips can be effective, especially for the Kings. Our favorite sinking line is a type IV 10 foot sink tip for silvers, for Kings it is a Teeny 300. It is recommended that you bring both floating and sinking tip lines.
Leaders/Tippet: Trout: 7-9 ft. tapered leaders in 2-4X and tippet to match. Salmon: 7-9 ft. tapered leaders in 1-0X and tippet to match for floating lines and short 4-5 leaders in 10-14 pound test for sinking and sink-tip lines. Note: these leaders can be simple loop to loop sections of single diameter material as opposed to pre-made tapered leaders
Flies: Flies are included in the package. There is a large selection of flies on hand at the lodge. If you have a trout or salmon fly collection bring it along as it is always fun to experiment with different patterns. The lodge has a policy of using only barbless hooks on the fresh water species. The lodge has a fly tying table available for your personal use. Although they keep a good supply of hooks and fly tying materials, if you plan on doing a lot of fly tying, please bring some of your own supplies.
