If pursuing King Salmon on the World-Famous Kenai River and fly-in fishing trips into wilderness areas are the sort of adventures that gets your adrenaline flowing then a week’s stay at this Alaskan lodge is what is in order.

The basic fishing package with this outfitter includes seven nights in a beautiful, recently-constructed lodge or log cabins and five days of guided fishing – three 5-6 hour days on the Kenai or Kasilof Rivers, one day of deep-sea fishing and one fly-in trip into the wilderness. All tackle is provided and is of top-notch quality, and there are several packages from which to choose.

The accommodations are excellent, and include daily maid service, a living room, a dining room and satellite TV/VCR. Meals are not included, but each cabin or lodge suite has a fully equipped kitchen for preparing meals, and many dining options are available in Soldotna and Kenai, both located within 20 minutes of the lodge.

Fishing the Kenai River is for Big King Salmon, which early in the year can run from 20-40 pounds. The Kenai is managed as a catch-and-release river, and in the early part of the season fish with a certain size range must be released. Though a big king can be caught at any time, the heavies usually move in during the second run in July, when fish average in the 40-60 pound range. Exceptional specimens will fall in the 70-90 pound range.

King Salmon also run in the Kasilof River from mid May to mid June, and success on these 15-25 pounders runs almost 100 percent.

As summer progresses Sockeye and Silver Salmon also make their runs in the river, and fishing can also be exciting for Rainbow Trout and Dolly Varden. Silver Salmon continue to run into the fall.

Deep sea fishing takes place out of Seward and the scenic Resurrection Bay, or Deep Creek or Homer on the Cook Inlet side of the Kenai Peninsula. The big attraction, of course, is Halibut, and it is quite exciting to hook into one of these in anywhere from 100 to 1,000 feet of water and fight them to the surface. Though not the greatest of fighting fish, there will be times when they take off and take more line and the long fight to bring them to the surface starts again. The excitement builds as they near the surface and everyone is peering into the dark water to see if you’ve hooked the typical 30-40 pounder or have up to a 300-pound monster on the line. If the captain of the ship reaches for a shotgun or handgun to shoot your fish before bringing it aboard, you know you’ve got a big guy,. In addition to Halibut, depending on the time of year you can expect opportunities for Lingcod, Sea Bass and Silvers.

The basic package also includes the rare opportunity to fly into the wilderness of south central Alaska. In May and early June fishing will be for Northern Pike. Most will fall in the one to five pound range, though 25-pounders have been landed. The plane and guide will stay with the fishermen all day, and there is the opportunity to stop in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to fish for Rainbow Trout. From mid June to late July fly-ins center on Wolverine Creek, where an annual run of 70,000 to 90,000 Sockeye Salmon takes place, which makes for great fishing action and the chance of the added thrill of bear watching.

All fishing packages include fish processing, vacuum packing and flash freezing and boxing in preparation for shipment home.

The lodge also offers guided moose, caribou and brown bear hunts. These hunts appear to be something special, as the pricing is all-inclusive except for license and tags. On the moose hunt the lodge owner is offering to scout the hunting area with his Cub and will move the hunting camp whenever necessary! Click on the above link for details.

Another consideration for fall guests is the addition of wing shooting packages. Ptarmigan season opens August 10. The bag limit is 10 per day and 20 in possession from the Kenai Mountains, and 20 per day and 40 in possession across the Cook Inlet. Fly out trips are also available in the fall for Ducks and Spruce Grouse. Hunters can bring their dogs and guns, or they will be provided.

The lodge also works with a major charter service to provide drop camps for unguided caribou hunts. Hunters are provided tents, pack frames, lanterns, cooking stoves and fuel, and cooking and dining utensils. Hunters are then flown and placed among the 140,000 animal Mulchatna herd, which contains the largest members of barren ground caribou.

We have done this drop camp hunt, and as an example of the integrity of the people you will be working with we were delayed one day in getting to camp. The fly-out charter called the lodge and told us to spend the day fishing because the herd had shifted. The charter service spent a day flying over and observing the herd, because it wanted to make sure we were placed in a good location. This hunt is typically five days, with an additional two days accommodations in the lodge.