GPS Coordinates: 59°48’43.60″N 161°26’59.45″W

Trip Questionnaire: Please click on the link below. This will take you an electronic questionnaire form that we ask you to complete and submit to The Fly Shop®. Please be sure to click the “Submit” button at the end of the form. The information provided will help us — and the outfitter best coordinate your trip.

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For Both Upper and Lower Camp, please remember to bring a sleeping bag and a bath towel!

Contact Numbers: If there is an emergency, guests at the Upper River Camp can be notified by radio phone – Clint Duncan, (907) 556-8161. Or you can reach Brad Duncan at the Lower Camp at (907) 556-2482 (or 2481). You can also always call us directly, at (800) 669-3474 at The Fly Shop®.

Fishing the Kanektok River is one of the ultimate fishing and wilderness experiences in North America. From its remote headwaters deep within the Ahklun Mountains, the Kanektok begins its journey towards the Bering Sea. It’s the spawning ground for all five species of pacific salmon, and home to exotic artic grayling, sea run Dolly Varden, arctic char, and the magnificent leopard rainbow trout. This prolific freestone river flows roughly seventy-five miles from Kagati Lake, through the wilderness of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, and into the Bering Sea. Gathering strength from its tributaries and increasing in size as it emerges from rugged rock strewn mountains, it twists and turns its way through the vast tundra plain, and finally to the coastal Yupik village of Quinhagak. This is a wilderness fishing trip of dreams, with caribou walking trails along the tundra bluffs, and brown bears feasting savagely on thousands of pacific salmon.

Communications:
They have a satellite phone in camp for emergency communication. In the Upper Camp there is a phone that guests can use on a limited basis. There is no Wi-Fi or cell service at this time, though it may change in the future. If guests need to have contact with the outside world, they should rent a satellite phone and bring it with them.

Liquor:
Your travels to the Kanektok Camp take you close to the native village of Quinhagak, which is “dry” (no alcohol) by law. The lodge cannot legally sell alcohol. The closest liquor store is many, many miles away, so it is impossible to purchase liquor during your stay.  If you enjoy a drink after a day on the river, be sure to bring your favorite alcoholic beverage with you and put it into a good sealed plastic container, with a Ziploc, then roll it up in your towel or clothing.

Medical Facilities:

  • There is an extensive first aid kit in camp.
  • The village of Quinhagak has a clinic and nurse.
  • Bethel has a complete hospital and planes available for evacuation.
  • Anchorage has state of the art hospitals and medical professionals.

Bringing Home Salmon:
Though the Duncan’s Lower Camp is essentially a catch-and-release experience, they do allow guests to bring home three salmon (no kings), if they so desire. However, they have no way to freeze fish at the camp, so guests will need to have them frozen immediately in Anchorage so they won’t spoil on the way home.

Electricity:
The camp does have limited electricity available due to their solar panel set-up. If you want to re-charge camera batteries, use a CPAP machine, etc, at night, your device will have to have a cigarette lighter-style adaptor that it can plug into the outlet; secondarily, a USB-style adaptor will also work, as every tent has a couple of each type of outlets to plug into.

Travel Cash:
As a guideline we recommend that each guest travel with approximately $800-$1000 for staff and guide gratuities, etc. The camp does not accept credit cards.

Gratuities:
We recommend staff and guide gratuities of approximately 10-15% of your package price. Tips are pooled and may be given to the camp manager at the end of the week for distribution to the entire staff.

Alaska State Sport Fishing License:
The easiest way to handle your fishing license is to pre-purchase it online through the Alaska Department of Fish & Game at: http://www.admin.adfg.state.ak.us/license/. For guests booked from June 15th to July 25th you will need to purchase a King Salmon Stamp if you plan on fishing for Kings. Licenses are not available at the lodge, so be sure and have one before you arrive!

Weather:
With the Bering Sea to the west, and the Gulf of Alaska to the south, the one factor that is constant is change. While moisture laden coastal air envelops the lower reaches of the Kanektok, crisp inland air drifts through the mountain valleys. June has the longest days of the year, and you may change your clothing layers several times during the day. In July you can be fishing in a light long sleeve shirt, relying on sunscreen to protect your face. Late August may have the first fall weather, with the tundra turning fall colors. Bring several high tech layers, a top quality outer shell, a good pair of waders, and wading boots that you love.

The River:
The Kanektok is approximately 75 miles long and located in southwest Alaska. Beginning in the Ahklun Mountains with headwaters in Kagati and Pegati Lakes, it flows westward into the Bering Sea at the village of Quinhagak. Most of the river is located within the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, and the last seventeen miles belong to the Quinhagak Village Corporation. The upper half of the river runs over a rocky bed surrounded by high bluffs and spectacular mountains, and the lower half twists and turns through a low gradient coastal plain, surrounded by alder and willows in a bed of gravel. The course of the lower river is constantly changing as the gravel banks erode, exposing the alder and willow root structures to wash away and build up into perfect rainbow trout habitat.

The last quarter of the river is perfect for swinging flies from gravel bars, providing excellent king salmon fishing. The river runs clear green, and remains typically clear with rainfall.

The Fishing:
Anglers headed to the Duncan & Sons Camps to fly fish for rainbow trout, king salmon, chum salmon, silver salmon, Dolly Varden or grayling will find the gear and techniques similar to that used for these species elsewhere in Alaska. As always, there is no substitute for quality equipment, the value of which is immediately apparent upon hooking into your first wild Alaskan gamefish!

The Duncan Camps have a limited number of spare rods and reels. They are intended mostly as emergency back-ups should anglers, though with forward notice they are happy to supply gear for those needing it. As a general rule, you’ll need to bring all your own fishing and personal equipment with you to the camps.

King Salmon

King salmon are the largest pacific salmon to target with a fly. They average 15 to 25 pounds, with trophy specimens in the 40-pound class.

Single-Handed Fly Rods:
For anglers using a single-handed rod, consider a 9’ or 9’ 6” graphite rod designed to cast a 9 or 10-weight fly line. Sage, Winston, and Scott produce high quality rods, built to cast sinking lines and fight fish large, powerful fish.

Single-Handed Fly Reels:
A high quality, machined single-action fly reel with a superior drag system is what to look for in a fly reel capable of handling powerful king salmon. Reels should be filled with a minimum of 150 yards of 20 or 30 lb. high-visibility backing. Hatch, Ross, Hardy, Abel and Galvan reels are an excellent choice.

Fly Lines for Single-Handed Rods:
The proper selection of fly lines is critical to your success and will get your fly in the best location in water column. Scientific Anglers, Airflo and Rio make excellent sinking lines for the various situations you will encounter.

Two-Handed Fly Rods:
Two-handed Spey rods are very effective when fishing for kings. Their advantage is that you can cover a lot of water very efficiently, while maintaining amazing line control, given the 13 to 15 foot rod length. Scott, Echo, Winston and Sage produce excellent two-handed rods.

When considering a two-handed rod, don’t automatically go for the longest and strongest rod on the market. Get together with a casting and rod expert, and test several different weights, lengths and manufacturers until you find the rod that best fits your casting style, as well as the type of water and lines and flies you will be fishing.

Two-Handed Fly Reels:
Fly reels should be of high quality and capable of holding at least 150 yards of 30-pound backing. Saltwater models are a good choice, as they are built to stand up to screaming runs with smooth, reliable drag systems. Outside palming rims are nice when a fish is in close. Quality reels include those made by Hardy, Galvan, Hatch, and Ross.

Fly Lines for Two-Handed Fly Rods:
The majority of the time you will find kings near the bottom of the water column.  This type of water calls for fast sinking lines that get down in a hurry. A good assortment of 25- 30 foot shooting heads is useful and should include sink rates I – VIII, or tungsten T-14 – T-20. For running/shooting lines either mono or factory running lines work the best behind shooting heads and should be no lighter than 25 pounds in strength. Scientific Anglers, Rio, and Airflo are great choices in quality lines. If you are uncertain which line you should select to properly match your rod, do not hesitate to contact us.

Skagit style lines are basically shortened, condensed shooting heads developed in the Pacific North West by a group of anglers looking for a way to cast sinking tip lines and large weighted flies long distances, with a very short compact casting stroke. These lines have become very popular with steelhead and pacific salmon anglers due to the fact that they are easy for both the expert and novice to cast, and extremely useful in situations where room for a back cast is limited. These lines also work very well for people who prefer to fish shorter 12’-13’6 foot rods.

Leaders & Tippet:
Typically, the guides forego tapered leaders altogether in favor of straight lengths of Maxima Ultra Green Tippet in spools of 12 lb., 16 lb., and 20 lb. The guides will use this to construct your leaders as they prefer.

King Salmon Flies:
Flies used are standard attractor patterns tied on stout hooks, sizes 4 to 2/0.Your flies should vary from heavily weighted to non-weighted. Colors should range from black, to orange, pink, purple, flame, red, chartreuse, or any combination thereof. A large weighted black streamer can be deadly. Comets with bead-chain eyes are highly effective. Large egg-patterns like large Glo-Bugs, King Caviar, and Egg/Sperm flies and the Egg Sucking Leech (black/purple) tied on a long shank stout hook work well.

Silver & Chum Salmon

Fly Rods:
Single-handed rods are perfect for silvers and chums, as casting distance is not typically critical, but actively stripping the flies back in can be. The chum fishing is largely swing fishing or dead–drift presenting, and the single hand rods are perfect for this. We recommend a 7 or 8-weight graphite rod, 9’ or 9’ 6” in length. Sage, Winston, and Scott produce high quality rods, and The Fly Shop’s Signature Rods are an excellent choice at a modest price.

Fly Reels:
A high quality, single-action fly reel with rim-control feature is what to look for in a fly reel appropriate to handle ocean-bright silvers and chums. The reel should be equipped with a smooth, reliable drag system.  Reels should be filled with a minimum of 150 yards of 20 lb. high-visibility backing.  Hatch, Ross, Hardy, Abel and Galvan reels are an excellent choice.

Fly Lines:
The proper collection of fly lines is critical to your success and will get your fly in the right location in the water column for these two salmon species. You need two lines to effectively fish a variety of rivers.

Floating Line:
Scientific Anglers makes one of the best, the Freshwater Titan Taper. When conditions are right a floating line can really come into play; either fishing a weighted wet fly just under the surface, or skating a Pink Pollywog across the surface.

10’ – 15’ Sink-Tip:
This can be an important line for covering varying water levels on the river. A Type III is a perfect sink rate.  We highly recommend the Scientific Anglers Sonar Sink tip.

Leaders & Tippet:
Typically, the guides forego tapered leaders altogether in favor of straight lengths of Maxima Ultra Green Tippet in spools of 12 lb., 16 lb., and 20 lb. The guides will use this to construct your leaders as they prefer.

Silver Salmon & Chum Salmon Flies:
The Bristol Bay silver and chum fishery is a typical Alaska summer run scenario – big, chrome-bright fish in the 8-15 pound range flooding into the rivers with cold water temperatures. The fish are aggressive to the fly and screaming hot when hooked, and silvers are often as aggressive to a surface popper as to a weighted streamer fished mid-depth. Traditionally-tied flies should be on hook sizes from 4 – 1/0. Egg-Sucking leeches should be full and long, up to 4 inches in length. Flies should be tied full with lots of flash in varying colors and color combinations.  Don’t be afraid to tie and throw larger flies for these fish, they love ‘em.

Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, & Grayling

Rainbow trout are one of the most sought after gamefish to target with a fly in Alaska. Kanektok rainbows average 16 to 24 inches, with trophy specimens pushing the 30 inch class. Sea run Dolly Varden are prolific in the river, averaging 16 to 24 inches, and it is not unusual to land dozens in a day. Grayling are beautiful fish – iconic to Alaskan rivers – and popular as they are often willing to take dry flies.

Single-Handed Fly Rods:
Alaskan rainbows and Dolly Varden are best fished with a 9’ graphite rod designed to cast a 6 or 7 weight fly line. A 4 or 5 weight rod is perfect for fishing dries for grayling. Sage, Winston, and Scott produce high quality rods, and The Fly Shop’s Signature Rods are an excellent choice at a modest price.

Single-Handed Fly Reels:
A high quality, single-action fly reel with rim-control feature is what to look for in a fly reel appropriate to handle the feisty Alaskan rainbow trout and Dolly Varden. The reel should be equipped with a smooth, reliable drag system.  Reels should be filled with a minimum of 100 yards of 20 lb. high-visibility backing.  Hatch, Ross, Hardy, Abel and Galvan reels are excellent choices.

Fly Lines for Single-Handed Rods:
Traveling with a floating line and a sink tip line is always a good choice, as conditions vary depending on the waters fished. Scientific Anglers Freshwater Titan Taper is the perfect line for throwing air resistant mouse patterns and heavy streamers, and the S.A. Sonar sink tip is tough to beat for subsurface presentations.

Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden & Grayling Flies:
The Kanektoc is an amazing trout fishery, with aggressive rainbows that are normally willing to eat a skated mouse or swung streamer all season long, as well as egg beads during the salmon spawn in late July and August. At that same time, Dolly Varden are feeding on salmon eggs and will sometimes eat a white or pink flesh streamer as well. Grayling can normally be coaxed to the surface to eat a dry fly, and love to take subsurface nymphs.

Leaders & Tippet for Trout:
Typically, the guides forego tapered leaders altogether in favor of straight lengths of Maxima Ultra Green Tippet in spools of 6 lb., 8 lb., 12 lb., and 16 lb. The guides will use this to construct your leaders as they prefer.

It is also recommended to bring some lead removable split shot, in sizes 3/0 and 7; a few of your favorite strike indicators for fishing egg beads in late July and August; and some dry fly floatant for fishing dries to grayling.

Recommended Personal Items:
The following is a checklist written by the Duncan’s themselves, pertaining to the various and important personal items you should consider bringing on your trip.

  • Sleeping bag: 20 degrees compact with pillow
  • Raincoat with hood or rain hat–good quality
  • Rain pants–good quality, as above.
  • 2 pair of jeans or sweats
  • 2 pair long johns (Polypropylene, Fleece or Cap Ilene type)
  • T shirts, underwear and swim shorts
  • 4 long sleeved flannel, fleece or cap Ilene shirts
  • Warm vest and heavy coat
  • Wool socks and polypropylene socks
  • Warm Hat – Buff – ear/hat band
  • Lightweight fingerless gloves or Gore-Tex windproof
  • Towel, toothbrush, toothpaste, sunscreen, etc., etc.
  • Muskol insect repellent
  • Waders and boots- No felt soles
  • Small Waterproof Boat Bag
  • Polarized glasses (required for eye protection)
  • Flashlight
  • Fishing License through the internet at adfg.alaska.gov/store/ this works great!!
  • Water bottle (filtered). They have water bottles/cups and good filtered water in the camp and boats.
  • Travel clothes, plus camp-wear shoes or leather hiking boots
  • Light weight coat
  • Camp pillow
  • Sun hat
  • Cortisone anti itch medication.
  • Camera and USB cord or 12 Volt cigarette adapters for charging your devices
  • Rain jacket and pants for camp and traveling
  • Air mattress is provided by D.D.S.

Statewide:
Anglers are reminded that effective January 1, 2012, footgear with absorbent felt or other fibrous material on the soles are prohibited while sport fishing in the fresh waters of Alaska.

*Please do not wear felt soled wading boots in Alaska this summer*

DO NOT EXCEED 70 LBS OF GEAR!
Weight is CRITICAL in the bush plane environment. Weight regulations are FAA required and enforced by the pilot in command. Absolutely no hard suitcases, avoid HUGE duffel bags and rod tubes must not exceed five feet.  Keep in mind; two medium-sized duffels are much easier to pack into a small plane than one large one.