Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page

The Rivers

Hi, I'm Ed Blank and I have chosen to guide on three rivers here in Bristol bay: The Alagnak, Grizzly Creek and Moraine Creek. They all have several things in common: first: their clearwater, second: they are only accessible by floatplane, and finally: the quality, variety and quantity of the fish. All the rivers we float are clearwater streams with no glacial silt. They all flow out of lakes which serve as volume controls and filters. So many gorgeous rivers in Alaska are dependent on the weather for prime fishing. is the water too high? too low? too much silt? Located in Katmai National at the foot of the Brooks range these rivers are consistently clear all summer long. I guarantee you won’t hear me say "Well, the river is a little cloudy this week but...." . Since you will be scheduling your trip far in advance the consistency of the river is of prime importance to both of us.We are also offering trips on a limited basis to the Goodnews river valley - we have experimented with the area and are preparing some prices for this unique watershed. It is a little further still from civilization and hence a little more expensive. Please drop me an email or give me a call if you want more information about these trips.

The Alagnak

We float about 36 miles of the Alagnak from its headwaters to the end of the "Braids". The river is about 60 feet wide at the top and meanders through riffle after riffle, run after run over a beautiful gravel bottom. It is this gravel bottom that makes the Alagnak so desirable as salmon spawning grounds and it’s the salmon that gives the nourishment needed to support it's incredible rainbow trout fishery. As the rivers joins with its sister branch the Alagnak seems big and unruly but it breaks up into very fishable channels and runs. This dividing continues until we reach the "braids". The " braids"is a delta like section of the river full of of small streams that join and split for miles. It would take months to fish this area thoroughly. Many of these channels are barely big enough for our raft, but the fish just seen to get bigger and bigger!! The bottom half of the river flows flows through lowland tundra with alder and spruce lined banks.Silver Salmon caught on a fall float trip on the AlagnakThe fish in this river are spectacular every week of the season. If you have your heart set on one particular species I can pinpoint a successful week but if you don't care if you're catching Rainbows, Kings or Silvers, any day of the season has spectacular fishing. Every day and every stretch of water holds something new. The Rainbows are the mainstay of any trip, they range from 10-30" with most fish in the 15-24" range. The fight in this strain of rainbow is amazing. Every year when I hook that first bow I can't help but yell with excitement as it cartwheels all over the river and slips the hook! The Alagnak is a great river to flyfish for King SalmonThe Salmon runs on the Alagnak ak are famous. The Kings range from 25-60 lb., Sockeyes are in the 6-15 lb. range, Pinks 3-8 lb., Chums 8-20 lb. and Silvers 10-20 lb. All toll there are between 2 and 4 million salmon that spawn in this river every year! Grayling and Char are an added bonus all season with a few lake trout thrown in! The river starts to piece itself back together, and gets deep not as friendly to fly fishing. We meet our float plane at the first landing area available 10 miles upriver from the lodges on the lower Alagnak. A float on the Alagnak takes you through the prime flyfishing areas that are accessible only by raft.

Grizzly Creek

The beauty of Grizzly Creek is astounding. If you want to key in on large rainbows and char, you want to be alone, see lots of bears, and you don’t mind hard work, the Grizz is for you! The sockeye salmon do not spawn in the main rivers like the Alagnak or the Naknek Rivers. They swim through the main drainage into smaller tributaries like this one to spawn. The bigger trout from the main river and lakes will follow the sockeyes knowing what to expect (huge numbers of tasty, calorie filled eggs!) The river starts in Alpine tundra, winds through a beautiful rock wall gorge and runs through a lush forest valley to the lake.It is the most scenic of the 3 rivers. Occasionally a plane from a lodge will land at the small lake at the top but there is no other access until we reach the bottom. The other thing that keeps people out is that the river braids up at the bottom with twists turns and downed trees that make it impossible for a jet boat to get by. This means large trout and char all 18-30 inches (3-12 lb.) that may never have seen a human before. The problem is this: you will have to work your tail off to navigate this stream. The rafts will hang up on rock after rock until you ache from jumping out pulling it free and jumping back in again. At the bottom we might have to lift and push the entire raft over a tree that has fallen across the river or drag the raft across a gravel bar to avoid a clogged tree strewn corner in the stream. Only those that are in good physical condition should attempt this trip! The other plus (or minus depending on your tolerance) is the bears. They follow the sockeyes to! A smaller stream means closer encounters but they are so fixated on the bright red salmon that they let us be. August and the first part of September are the prime season for Grizzly Creek.

Moraine Creek

The Moraine is famous for good reason. Like Grizzly Creek there are large trout that are there for one reason: sockeye eggs! This stream always produces the largest rainbows of the year. The only drawback is that flyout lodges bring clients here every day as there are a couple of lakes where they can land that are a short hike to the river. We will see people on this trip but we will have the advantage of being on the river all day and float some areas that are inaccessible by plane. The terrain is alpine tundra. We do a lot of sight fishing to very large shadows here. Not as many fish as on Grizzly Creek but the size is large with most fish in the 25-30"range. A good day can be 25 hookups and a poor day is just a couple hookups. The fish are so large and fast, the landing percentage is very dependent on how good the angler is.

These fish are the size of steelhead and they have the same attitude as steelhead - run fast and jump! The float is quite a bit less demanding than Grizzly Creek as well. There are lots of bears feasting on the salmon run with plenty of opportunities for some photos. It is worth the price of admission for the bear viewing alone. We can guarantee a ten pound trout on this trip, it is an amazing trout stream. We also combine a 3 day float on the Moraine and a 4 day float on the Alagnak for some added variety and excitement. The Moraine fishes well from late July to early September.

 
Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page

PO BOX 180446  BOSTON  MA 02118
Phone: 888-857-6700  
Fax: 617-427-7890
ed@flyfishingheaven.com