The Kankektok: it’s our home and we love it.
Photo: Cameron Miller
At Alaska West, we’re really, really lucky to call the Kanektok River our home. Our camp is located on the Kanektok, 6 miles from its mouth. If you told us we could have a camp anywhere in Alaska, we’d pick the Kanektok, 6 miles from its mouth.
Here are 9 reasons we love the Kanektok.
- It’s a fish factory. Every year without fail, the river gets packed with fish. If you haven’t seen it, or heck even if you have, the biomass is just amazing.
- It’s got the salmon grand slam. All five salmon species, all on flies. Ridiculous.
- It’s got real swinging for kings. It’s like winter steelhead fishing, only they’re bigger and stronger and there are more of ’em.
- It’s got giant rainbows. They’re not all huge, but the rainbow of your lifetime lives in the Kanektok.
- It’s got wadeable side channels. Drifting through big water fishing around snags is fun, but so is walking up a tiny side channel, spotting trout in gin-clear water and throwing flies at them.
- It’s too far to fly from Bristol Bay. There’s no float plane traffic here. There’s no getting up early to get the good water. We’re just too far to access for the float plane fleet that’s based at the Bristol Bay flyout lodges.
- It almost never goes out. The Kanektok is a low-gradient river that’s surrounded by tundra. Tundra acts like a giant sponge, so it takes an awful lot of rain to put this river out.
- As remote as it is, access is easy. We run a charter flight direct from Anchorage to Quinhagak, the Yupik village at the mouth of the river.
- There’s plenty of water for everyone. We cover 18 miles of river, much of which is heavily braided. Finding a spot to fish on your own is not a problem.
Why do you love to Kanektok? Chime in with reason #10!
This Could Be Reason #10
I am thrilled that the fishing extend in to the first week in to september THE silvers are great my big bow was 25 inches & dollies where 18 to 23 inches that was a tr ill on my 3 weight rod
tight lines
larry
10. Just so many fish….each one different and each one beautiful but best of all NO COMPLAINTS!!! Great lodge, great facilities, wonderful food and fantastic,friendly & very knowledgeable guides who’s conduct on the water and off was nothing but highly professional. Nothing was ever too much hassel.
I called last years visit to Alaska West a fishing trip of a lifetime and told my wife I had to go……. just once……..Can’t wait to get back. See you all in August!!!!
Rgds,
Steve
Alaska west is a good place alright and meeting the new people and this is coming from a local who’s lived here for most of my life.
But like you said you have 18 miles of open river and the traffic on the river gets quite heavy, and dangerous at times not just cause of our braided river but from the guide boats, sport fishermen and rafters.
The river just doesn’t belong to the locals but to everyone (according to the State of Alaska/Fish and game) but Quinhagak has been here for a long time and even though you might come here for a vacation please don’t get mad if someone is fishing near you there is more than 90 miles of river and again they have 18 miles of the main river including side channels and yup we surely do have a lot of fish. another thing everyone needs to stop throwing their trash around on the gravel bars too thanks
Reason#10 to LOVE the KANEKTOK!!!
Because ALASKA WEST is there!!!!!!
If you look up into the Kanektok sky, you see celestial beauty.
If you look on the plain, there is no plain, only glistening, sun-
light-splashed-or-grey-day-water, out of which fish tail, kype, Jump, tailwalk.
If you look into the water, you see fish, BIG ONES, upstream
swimmers…. always upstream…. to their destiny….their rebirth….
I was in camp with the Botha clan in August – the youngest was a fishing machine!!!!!! Even during a high water year the fishing was grand.
Good food, good guides, good times. I’ll be back this August!
Enough day dreaming – back to work – gotta quit reading these newsletters on comapny time!
Thanks so much Doug. We really enjoyed having you. See you again on the river!