Middle Fork Goodnews River, Bristol Bay Alaska Fly Fishing Float Trip

This August I went on my 16th float trip in Alaska, joined by longtime friends Ken and Craig, for their first. The last few years I have arranged a DIY style float trip based out of Bethel, using Wade Renfro as the outfitter. Over the last 16 years, I have accumulated most of the camping gear: tarp, chairs, kitchen kit, etc. But I always choose to rent the raft, shotgun, and satellite phone. The way I see it, it is important to have a safe and sturdy raft, bear protection, and the ability to call for a flight pick up if needed. 

The three of us planned to meet in Anchorage before flying into Bethel together. I got in a day early to visit the Brown Jug and stock up on supplies (beer), catch up with my friend Pete from Wasilla, and grab dinner at the famous Anchorage Brewing Company. The next morning, Ken, Craig, and I jumped on a plane and flew to Bethel, retrieved the gear we sent by USPS, unpacked, and repacked all our gear, and readied for our morning departure.

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A few of the salmon caught on the trip, quite the variety of species and colors!

For a trip of this sort, I carry four fly rods that I have accumulated over the years, all 7wts, all four pieces, three rigged with floating lines, and one with a 10 ft. sink tip. Actions vary from soft (for bead or nymph fishing) to stiff (for throwing streamers). When I am fishing beads, I like to use Mark’s Trout Food, 8 – 10 mm in the color Natural Roe. This is the only bead I have used for the last few floats on this river. They cost $1 a piece, but I only use about six over the course of a trip, so they are worth it. Typically, all my rods are rigged with the same hand tied leader: 20 lb. Maxima to a barrel swivel, then fluorocarbon, 12 lb. for beads/gurglers, 16 lb. for streamers. This system prevents twisting, and if you catch a snag, which you will, typically you will break off at the barrel swivel. Easy re-rig from there!

For streamers I alternate between two main patterns, the first, was renamed by Ken this year to the ‘Bobby Wog’! The Bobby Wog is a takeoff on the Megawatt fly pattern. The second fly I always have in my arsenal is an articulated leech. For colors, orange, red, pink, white, and purple. Do not leave those topwater flies at home either. Grayling, char, and silver salmon will all come to the surface for flies like the Gurgler.

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Float plane departure following drop off at Kukaklik Lake.

The morning of the scheduled fly-in from Bethel to Kukaklik Lake was foggy with a low ceiling, but by afternoon the weather had improved. Jay, a Togiak valley native and pilot flew us in, landing on Kukaklik Lake seamlessly. It was the best ride I had experienced, flying over miles and miles of beautiful, untouched wilderness. These flights are always a thrill, and never get old! From there, we unloaded the plane, bid farewell to Jay, inflated the raft, and began the real trip! 

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The beauty of the Goodnews River.

The next three days we gradually made our way down to the middle fork of the Kukaklik river, enjoying the spectacular scenery. The mountains in this region are young, and very steep, you can tell the glaciers receded not that long ago. Our pace was leisurely, as we planned to spend twelve days covering not so many miles. The last couple of years, the water flow has been high in late August, a blessing for rafting and fishing! Navigation is straightforward, and though there are a few ‘technical’ sections, it is nothing that a relatively competent rower cannot manage.

The fishing began slowly, but we were able to find a few big Arctic Grayling, about 18-22” compared to the 16-18” of the previous season. Once we hit the true Middle Fork, the fishing went from slow to spectacular, improving rapidly! Dolly Varden, Arctic Char, Rainbow Trout, and Jack King Salmon now joined the Grayling in big numbers. 

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The camp set up!

Camping became easier, as the routine became more automatic. Our first step is always to empty the raft and set it up as a windbreak using the two oars. We would drape the 16 x 16 tarp over the raft, elevate it with adjustable poles and secure the lines with reusable sandbags. Next, we set up the tents partially under the tarp, then one never has to enter or exit exposed to the weather. Relative luxury in the Alaskan bush!

For dinners, we cooked fresh fish over an open fire or on charcoal, Char up high, Coho down low. Nothing quite like fresh fish washed down with fine Alaskan microbrew! Life is good. Along our float, we stopped at Birch Camp, an outpost of Bristol Bay Lodge. Here, Ken and Craig got their red meat fix. The cook, Sean, supplied them with a huge flank steak that took two sittings to consume!

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Dolly Varden, Rainbow Trout and Arctic Grayling.

This became daily life until four days before the end, when the fishery changed again. Now, we had to hunt for sloughs, slow moving, and slack water for silver salmon. Luckily, we found them. Many of the silvers we tangled lines with were as fresh as can be with sea lice still attached, meaning they had entered the river the previous night. Averaging 8-12 lbs., these chrome bright fish fought insanely hard. After we had all landed over a dozen fish each, our arms ached, and we stopped for the day. What a treat, and luckily, we still had plenty of time to explore new water.

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A deep pool high up on the Kukatlik Fork, with a high bluff. It’s a great spot to stretch the legs and look back up river and over the tundra.

In the span of our twelve-day float, we saw sixteen bears, a record number for me! Thankfully, none of them displayed any aggressive behavior. They were there to fish too!

Pick up day came too soon, as it always does. Roy Roberts arrived to pick us up in his boat from Goodnews Bay village. It became increasingly obvious that we were not flying that day because of the weather, which is not abnormal for this region. So, we ended up spending the next two days under Roy’s ‘wing.’ It turned out to be a revelation for us all. The warmth and hospitality displayed by Roy, his family, and the people of the village renewed one’s faith in humanity. They opened the door, allowing us to stay in the ‘Parsonage,’ where we were warm and dry. One night, Roy’s daughter baked us homemade donuts, I had to have two.

So concluded the 2022 trip, by far, the best I have ever done! 

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Bob Erickson is drawn to fly fishing because of the solitude, adventure, and chasing native species. He began tying when he was young, but has perfected his work by tying big meaty flies, with Alaskan salmon and trout in mind.

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