GEARING UP FOR ALASKA
Every year many of us head up to the 49th state to chase fish of all kinds with a fly rod. We look for open dates at our favorite lodges and dream of hooking up with chinook, coho, rainbows, grayling, dollies, char and sheefish. There are certain essentials that go with us on every one of these trips to Alaska. Whether you are headed to a river camp, fly out lodge or a wilderness float, the following items should be in your kit.
RAIN JACKET
It really doesn’t matter if you are headed north for a fishing trip or just to sightsee, you should never go to Alaska without a quality rain jacket. A good breathable jacket is essential for comfort and safety when visiting the Last Frontier. Nothing ruins a day faster than being wet, cold and miserable. You should look for a rain jacket designed for the worst of weather. This is not the place for a “shell”. You can save that one for your trip to the flats for bonefish.
Some of our favorites:
Skwala RS Wading Jacket
Simms G4 Pro Wading Jacket
Patagonia Boulder Fork Jacket – Chris King took this rain jacket on a recent back to back week in Alaska and Montana. You can read his review HERE
PUFFY
You will, at some point in your week in Alaska, run into a cold front. A good puffy is something you should invest in. Look for a puffy with synthetic insulation as it retains warmth even when wet. Those big down jackets are great in sub freezing temps, but when it’s 40 degrees and raining you’re going to want to leave those at home. My puffy goes with me on every trip and can double as a pillow when stuffed into a t-shirt.
Our favorites:
Patagonia’s Nano Puff
Skwala Fusion 3/2 Puffy
WADERS
Good quality waders and boots are of the utmost importance on an Alaskan fly fishing adventure. You can likely borrow a rod if yours breaks, but if your waders leak or fail, your trip will not be fun. You want to go out of your way here and make an investment in a pair of quality waders that will stand up to the rigors of Alaska, most especially getting in and out of jet boats, rafts and float planes.
The best waders on the market are made by Patagonia, Skwala and Simms. We carry most of these here at The Fly ShopⓇ.
Our favorites:
Patagonia Expedition Zippered Waders
Skwala RS Zippered Waders – Pat Pendergast took these on a recent trip to Alaska. You can read his review HERE
WADING BOOTS
When it comes to footwear you will need to look at rubber-soled wading boots, as felt soles have been outlawed in the state of Alaska. Many of the lodges ask that you don’t use spikes or cleats either, as they are very hard on boats and the floats of bush planes. You will want a pair with Vibram “sticky rubber” on the bottom, or a pair of boots with interchangeable soles like those from Korkers. These boots allow you to remove the spiked soles when getting in and out of your transport, whether by air, sea or land.
Our favorites:
Korkers Devils Canyon Wading Boots
Simms G3 Guide Boots Vibram
Patagonia Forra Wading boots Chris King took a pair of these on a recent trip to Montana. You can read his review HERE
HEADLAMP
This is an absolute must! Alaska weather can be extreme, come out of nowhere and on rare occasions severely delay your ability to return to the lodge. This is a tool that could actually save your life. We all take a headlamp on every trip we go on and we only carry one here at The Fly ShopⓇ. That should tell you something.
WATERPROOF DAYPACK
This will double as your carry-on when traveling to Alaska. You will be on the water 6 out of 7 days of your trip and ultimately you will want to keep some things dry. This is a place to stash one of your layers if the afternoon heats up. A place for a few snacks, camera, extra flies or a pair of fingerless gloves when it gets cold. This is also where you will keep your headlamp as mentioned above.
Our favorites:
Fishpond Thunderhead Submersible Backpack
Fishpond Wind River Roll Top Dry Backpack
EVERYTHING ELSE
The rest of your gear is going to be a list of personal preferences. Wool socks for one guy, synthetic for another. Hooded sweatshirt for around the lodge, or your favorite pair of after-fishing shoes. When planning, keep a few things in mind:
- Layering is the way to go with base layer, mid-layer, insulation, and hard shell.
- You are restricted at most lodges to 50 lbs of gear, and wading boots, rods and reels are not light.
- You don’t need a clean shirt every night for dinner. You are on a fishing trip.
- You can wear the same street clothes for your travel to Alaska as on your return.
LET US HELP
Every year The Fly ShopⓇ helps put together hundreds of trips for fly fishers heading to Alaska for a week or two of incredible fishing and adventure. Most of us have guided and lived in Alaska – some even owned their own lodge there. Let us point you in the right direction for your interests. Looking for a top tier fly out lodge? We have that. Prefer a wilderness float? We have that. Need a comfortable river camp that won’t break the bank? We have that, too.
We have been sending anglers to Alaska for the better part of 50 years. It costs you nothing to use an agent like us to coordinate your fly fishing travel. You’ll get hands-on knowledge and experience from someone who has been to that destination and knows exactly what to expect, and when to go based on what you’re desiring.
You know what else? When you book your travel through The Fly ShopⓇ you’ll be eligible for 15% off your retail purchases for an entire year! (some exclusions apply).
So check out some of our favorites below and let’s get you up to Alaska this coming year.
Royal Wolf Lodge is, arguably, the finest fly-out trophy trout fishing lodge in Bristol Bay. They really have little interest in fishing for salmon (though all the streams they fish are full of them); their program is built completely around the huge rainbows that frequent the streams surrounding this wilderness oasis. If you were to design the perfect trophy trout lodge, you could do no better than Royal Wolf Lodge. Located in the center of Katmai National Park & Preserve, the floatplane flights to most of their targeted streams are only 10-15 minutes in length. They are in the epicenter of Alaska’s revered monster trout region.
- June 12-19, 4 open spots
- June 19-26, 4 open spots (includes a free Winston rod)
- June 26-July 3, 4 open spots
- August 14-21, 2 open spots
- September 4-11, 1 open spot
Located on the remote banks of the Aniak River, it’s jam-packed with rainbows, dollies, grayling, salmon, sheefish and northern pike. It’s a fish factory. Talk about a complete fly fishing experience! Aniak River Lodge (ARL) is a lovely tent camp where each 2 anglers share a private 10′ x 30′ tent cabin with en-suite bathrooms and showers, and take meals at the adjacent main lodge Weatherport. Guests travel from Anchorage to the outpost village of Aniak, where they are met by lodge staff, and transferred via jet boat upstream 30 miles to the camp. The big rainbows here love to crush skated mouse patterns, as well as swung streamers.
- July 3-10 – 14 open spots
- July 10-17 – 4 open spots
- July 17-24 – 7 open spots
- July 24-31 – 4 open spots
- September 4-11 – 2 open spots
- September 11-18 – 8 open spots
Some of the best salmon fishing we’ve found in Alaska, and only 8 guests a week! Lava Creek Lodge is a small outpost lodge on the Alaska Peninsula, south/southwest of Bristol Bay, Alaska. The lodge accommodates a maximum of eight guests during king, chum, and silver salmon seasons. It is custom-tailored for the serious salmon angler who values remote and nearly untouched water, swing fishing for dime-bright kings and chums, and surface and streamer action for big, hyper-aggressive silver salmon. With the ultra-low occupancy, anglers get the pick of the litter of the best pools on the home river, as well as other rivers accessed by float plane.
- June 15 – 22, 2026 – Kings
- July 06 – 13, 2026 – Prime Kings
- July 20 – 27, 2026 – Kings / Chums
- August 3 – 10, 2026 – Chums / Trout / Dollies
- August 10 – 17, 2026 – Silvers / Trout / Dollies
- August 24 – 31, 2026 – Prime Silvers
- September 14 – 21, 2026 – Prime Silvers