Included / Not Included –
Included: Accommodations and meals, transportation between Dillingham and the lodge and guiding.
Not Included: Transportation between Anchorage and Dillingham, accommodations and meals in Dillingham, personal gear, rods, reels, flies, hard liquor, fishing licenses, staff and guide gratuities, soda, alcohol (available at the camp $3 per soda, $4 per beer, and $30 per bottle of wine).
Travel Logistics:
Arrival Information: To get to Western Alaska Sportfishing Camp you will need to make travel arrangements to and from Dillingham, AK. The camp has two schedules: Thursday to Thursday and Friday to Friday.
Getting to the Lodge: . Your lodge hosts, Kim and Dave Egdorf, will meet you at the airport in Dillingham for the 25 minute drive to Lake Aleknagik. From there you will take a floatplane the remaining one hour to camp.
Departure Information: On the last day of your trip you will be transferred back to Dillingham in time to make the afternoon flight into Anchorage.
Travel Cash:
As a guideline we recommend that each guest travels with approximately $600 - $800 for staff & guide gratuities, alcohol, etc.
Gratuities:
Gratuities are not included in the cost of the package and are left to the discretion of the individual angler. 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:
You will need to purchase an Alaska Sport fishing License BEFORE you fly into camp as licenses are not available for purchase in the camps. The easiest way to handle your fishing license is to pre-purchase it on-line through the Alaska Department of Fish & Game at:
http://www.admin.adfg.state.ak.us/license/
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:
Emergency medical facilities are not readily available. There is a clinic for minor illnesses and injuries in Dillingham (1 hour away by float plane). The closest major hospital is in Anchorage (one hour away from Dillingham by commercial plane). The lodge’s plane can get to Dillingham in 45 minutes from our lodge, but this is not guaranteed nor is the availability of the plane. Please assess your medical problems before booking. Travel insurance and/or MedEvac insurance is encouraged.
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:
Bottled water is available throughout the camp.
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:
Laundry service is not available. Please pack accordingly.
Beverages/Alcohol:
Alcohol is not included in the package price. Limited beer and wine will be available for purchase at the camp. You should expect to pay approximately $6.00 per beer and $40.00 for a 1.5 liter box of wine. If you would like to enjoy a cocktail in the evening, please feel free to bring your own bottle (plastic is best) and pack it in your checked luggage.
Tackle/Equipment List:
Rods: Fishing equipment and clothing vary greatly from week to week. 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. A 7- 9 weight rod is the ideal set up for all salmon except for the Kings (available in June and July). We suggest a 10 weight for the Kings.
Reels: For trout, any well-made reel with 100 yds. of backing. If salmon fishing, we recommend very durable reels with a strong disc type drag and a large spool capacity of at least 200 yards of 30 pound backing.
Lines: Floating lines are generally good, 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; 9-10 ft tapered leaders in 2X- 5X (four or five of each) and tippet to match. Salmon leaders should be abrasion resistant monofilament of 15 to 20 pound strength.
Flies: Flies are not included in the package. There is a large selection of flies on hand at the camps and you will only be charged for the flies you use. If you have a trout or salmon fly collection bring it along as it is always fun to experiment with different patterns. The lodge policy of using only barbless hooks on the fresh water species.
