Really, really late, but here it is.

This all started when I was out in Vegas last February for the annual SCI convention. Going on hunting trips every year (sometimes two) for the last few years, I thought I would try find something that my wife would enjoy. Since my wife LOVES fishing, I knew exactly where to start. While visiting with some of our outfitters while at the show, one of our destinations in Alaska had a show special going on for the month of June. A 5 night/4 day all inclusive fishing trip. I called my wife and there was absolutely no hesitation.........the trip was booked.

Fast forward to June........
We flew out of Minneapolis (Sun Country - direct) to Anchorage, rented a car, and drove down to the lodge (3-4 hr. drive) arriving around 5 pm.

The lodge



Day 1 – Combo trip out of Seward for Halibut, Salmon and Rockfish
We left the dock at 7 am and were fishing by 8. We started out fishing for salmon (Silvers) and between the 4 of us in the boat, we had 12 fish within an hour. If fishing in Resurrection Bay around Seward, anglers are limited to 6 Silvers each. But, if one leaves the Bay, possession limit is only 3 each. Since we were to fish Halibut out past the Bay, we had to stop at our limit of 3. We headed out for Halibut, but due to the ocean conditions, we couldn’t reach our destination. So, we turned around and headed back to the Bay to finish on Silvers (3 more each). On the way back, we stopped at a couple different spots to fish for Rockfish. Within an hour we had 14 – 12 Black and 2 Dusky. The Silvers had slowed since morning, but we still managed another 3 and missed 4 or 5 more.

Our charter boat out of Seward


My wife with one of her Silvers


Our boats catch for the day (4 of us)



Day 2 – Homer Halibut
Once again the seas were pretty rough and the tides (second highest of the month) played a factor as well. But, we still managed to take 3 out of 4 of our allowed Halibut (1 over 28" and one under).

Charter boat out of Homer


Our catch



Day 3 – Fly out for Sockeye Salmon:
7 am and we boarded the plane (turbo Otter). A 30 minute flight across Cook Inlet to a remote river for Sockeye Salmon. The daily limit in this area was 3 fish each. We missed many, landed about 15 each and had our limit by 11:00. Since the plane wasn’t picking us up until 12:30, we spent the remainder of the time just cruising around taking it all in and looking for bears. The brown bear population in this area is quite high and it is not uncommon to see bears wandering out/around chasing the spawning salmon. In fact, multiple flights come/go each day with groups catering to those just wanting to view bears. We struck out on seeing any bear while fishing, but did manage to see a few from the plane on the way back.
Others staying at our lodge during our stay all saw bears while fishing on their fly out.

Twin Otter


Some of our Sockeye



Day 4:
7:00 am and we were off, fishing for King salmon on the world famous Kenai River. We hit the run timing perfect….it’s been one of the best run of Kings since 2008. Size limitations for the time period we were fishing stated that any King under 46” could be kept. Anything over, and it had to be released. At 7:30 the first King was in the boat. A beautiful 45” caught by an older gentleman from Palmer, AK that was fishing with his son who was up visiting from North Carolina. 9 a.m. and it was my turn…..a 48” King! It had to be released. Since I had landed a King, I told my wife that if I hooked up on another, I wanted her to take the rod. Her response……….no way, I’m catching my own! Well, wouldn’t you know it, about 2 hours later my rod was bobbin again. I asked my wife is she wanted it and it was a definite no. This one……….a nice 44” that weighed 40 lbs. For the day, we were 3 for 4. Pretty hard to beat!!

The 48" I had to relase


My final fish of the trip........what a way to end it!


This destination actually has two different lodges to choose from. Their Premier Lodge and their Rustic Lodge. Both lodges sit right on Cook Inlet and are only about 500 yds. apart. Prices are a little cheaper for the packages out of the Rustic Lodge (see difference below).

Premier Lodge - all inclusive.
*Prepared breakfast and sack lunch. Chef prepared evening meals.
*Wine and drinks for evening meals (bring own beer)
*Private rooms. Seven private bedrooms, all with private bath
*Fully outfitted trips with all gear and tackle provided
*50 lbs. of fish processing and vacuum sealing per person

Rustic Lodge - most everything included
*Prepared breakfast and sack lunch. Evening meals are on your own. Run to town or prepare your own. Full kitchen on premises.
*Fully outfitted trips with all gear and tackle provided
*50 lbs. of fish processing and vacuum sealing per person

Daily trips to choose from:
*Kenai River King Salmon
*Kasilof River King Salmon
*Ninilchik Halibut
*Ninilchik Salmon/Halibut
*Kenai River Silver Salmon
*Seward Combo - Silver Salmon, Halibut, Rockfish
*Kenai River Rainbow Trout
*Fly outs may be added for an extra cost


If anyone is interested in this trip, please feel free to contact me.

Pm sent

Some more pics. from the trip

Our room




Food!






The view from the lodge


Glacier field - on the way back from the fly out


Grizzles - on the way back from the fly out

Thank you Brett for sharing, I'm in to go any other THF members interested in putting a group together. This is on my bucket list.

Can you send me some info as well..

Awesome trip! Great pics! Who was the outfitter?

Awesome trip......

Great pictures, congratulations on the catch. Brought back memories of our fishing trip in 2000. Thanks

Posting a litte more info. for everyone.

Like I stated above in my post, this particular destination offers 2 lodges/package styles to choose from (Premier Lodge and Rustic Lodge) which are shown below.
## Packages at both lodges include free 50# of fish processing ##


Premier Lodge Packages -Book any trip at the Premier Lodge by Dec. 15th and receive 5 lbs. of King crab legs for each person booked.
4 nights/3 days of fishing - $3,190
• 4 nights lodging at the Premier Lodge
• Spectacular beachfront location
• Premium linens & ensuite baths
• Spacious closets
• Private Chef and House Manager on site
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• All-inclusive meals; breakfast, lunch, appetizers, wine, drinks (bring own beer), and fine-dining
-------Lunches - you will pack your own each morning for the day from an assortment of meats, cheeses, breads, snacks and drinks
• Fully guided and outfitted fishing trips with the most modern boats on the water
• 3 days of fully outfitted fishing with all gear and tackle provided
• Upgrade one day to a fly-out trip for an additional $250.00
• BONUS: 1 free 50# box of fish processing

5 nights/4 days of fishing - $3,490
6 nights/5 days of fishing - $3,790
7 nights/6 days of fishing - $4,090



Rustic Lodge Packages
6 nights/5 days of fishing - $2,590
• 6 nights lodging at the Rustic Lodge
• Breakfast and a fisherman's lunch. Evening meals are on your own. Can run to town or cook on premises (fully equipped kitchen).
• Fully guided and outfitted fishing trips with the most modern boats on the water
• 5 days of fully outfitted fishing with all gear and tackle provided
• Patio Barbecue and fire pit overlooking Cook Inlet
• BONUS: 1 free 50# box of fish processing

7 night/6 day - $2,890

A few other little notes on the the trip. One will either fly into Anchorage or Kenai and then rent a car for the duration of your trip. In my opinion, Anchorage is better. Why? Car rental rates, most of the time, at both locations are pretty comparable. If renting out of Kenai, you will have an additional charter flight (smaller plane) for an additional cost from Anchorage to Kenai. Also, weather could play more of an issue on ones incoming/outgoing flights at a smaller airport such as Kenai.

Each morning you will drive to your fishing location, fish for the day, and then drive back to the lodge. Depending upon the trips you choose, morning/evening drives can vary from 20 minutes (Kenai trip) each way to over 2 hrs. (Seward). On the Seward trip............you will be up VERY EARLY. If fishing in June/early July, even though you are leaving the lodge very early, it is still light out. Makes the drive a lot easier!

Shipping fish back - depending upon the airline, it may be a lot cheaper to bring your fish back as extra luggage. My wife and I brought our clothing as carry on and were able to ship our fish home for free as our checked baggage.

One other thing I realized when we were there is that it may be best to try do your Halibut charters early in the trip. Since these are the biggest fish you will be fishing, if possible, I would try get them done early in the trip so they can be frozen/packaged. On the last day of your trip, it is usually not possible for them to flash freeze the fish you caught that day and get it ready for your flight home the next day. If you leave your Salmon trips for the last day, you will be shipping home less fish/weight. Leave the Halibut trips for the last, catch some big ones, and you could have a very expensive Fed-Ex bill for shipping your fish.

Each day, you will have a cooler with your name on it. At the end of the day, when you return to the lodge, you will leave your fish in the cooler outside on the porch. Someone from the lodge will come and pick up your fish and bring it over to their processing facility. There, it will be filleted/frozen and kept on site until your departure.

On the fishing.......mother nature cannot be controlled. If the seas are predicted to be be very high/unsafe, your trip may be cancelled for the day. The lodge will do what they can to re-schedule you for another trip. This actually happened when we were there. A family had the combo trip out of Seward booked, the seas were too high, and their trip was cancelled. The lodge was able to give them 2 different options to choose from and everything worked out. Cancellations are usually last minute (night before) so choices for substitution are limited. Runs true with all destinations like this in Alaska.

If you are looking for a corporate trip, the lodge can accommodate 14-17 guests.



I will also be in Dallas for the entire show if you would like to meet and discuss (call my cell).



Brett

Lodge is just about booked for the season. A few spots still open (Premier Lodge).

$500 off per person for the dates that are open!

2 spots, June 3 - 7 for a 5 night/4 Day Package. Now $2990 per person
8 spots, June 8 - 12 for a 5 night/4 Day Package. Now $2990 per person
6 spots, June 13 - 16 for a 4 night/3 Day Package. Now $2690 per person

Can you send me info. wife and I need to get away. ghfulton46@gmail.com

X2. Please PM if you have dates available. Thanks.

Great write up here, has all the info anyone could be looking for, good job.

Few prime dates/packages remain for this summer......please call if interested

Date shown below is the arrival date
June 3rd - 5 night/4 day package - 1 room/2 people
June 8th - 5 night/4 day package - Can take 8 people/3 rooms

July 8 - 7 night/6 day package - Can take 4 people. 2 to a room
July 13th - 4 night/3 day package - Can do up to 10 people. Would sleep 4/3/3 in 3 rooms

August 1 - 4 night/3day package - 1 room, can sleep up to 3 in this room.
August 5 - 4 night/3day package - 1 room/2 people
August 10 - 4 night/3day package - 1 room/2 people
August 10 - 7 night/6 day package - 1 room/2 people

Few open prime dates in August that are open if anyone is interested.
Great time to go after the Rainbows and/or Silvers.

Package below would be at the "Original/Rustic Lodge".
Trip has been discounted.....

7 nights lodging with 6 days of fully guided fishing trips
Fishing trips included are:
* 2 Kenai River Silver Salmon Trips (8 hour)
* 1 Seward Combo Trip: Silver Salmon, Rockfish, Lingcod
* 1 Kenai River Rainbow Trout Trip (8 hour)
* 1 Cook Inlet Halibut Trip (5-6 hour)
* 1 Fly-in Salmon Fishing Trip
BONUS: 1 free 50# box of fish processing

Discounted now to $2,790 PER PERSON

Breakfast and lunch included, but evening meals would be on your own. Either cook on site (fully eqip. kitchen/outdoor grill) or run into town and eat at one of the many restaurants.

All bait,tackle and rods provided for your trips.

Just had a group get back from this place and they had a GREAT trip!! A few pictures from their trip.......
Things are starting to fill up for prime dates in 2019. Package prices for this year good for next year if booked soon.

Lingcod


Some BIG Rockfish


Days catch on the fly-out

Just thought I would post an update on openings left for this summer.

The prices below are discounted in order to fill the spots............this is a great trip!


June 2 or June 7:
7-night package ($4,190) now $3,690 per person

June 10:
5-night for up to 6 people ($3,690) now $2,990 per person

June 15:
7-night for up to 8 people ($4,190) now $3,790 per person with Free Fly-In Fishing upgrade

June 30:
7 nights for 2-3 people, sale price $3,990 per person

They also have a few short 3-4 night package in early August with varying start dates. Please call me to discuss.

With Canada's borders still being closed and the uncertainty of if/when they will open, trips to Alaska for fishing have been in high demand!

If you are looking for a great trip, there are still some weeks open this summer at both the Premier Lodge and the Rustic Lodge.

The pictures below are from a father/son group we had there this last fall. They had a blast!!

Please feel free to give me a call if you are interested.............

Man some nice halibut

Still some opening's this year if your itching for a good trip! Dates/packages vary, so feel free to give me a call to discuss. Can do stand alone day trips as well....

I'm heading back again in August. Booked a day trip for Rainbows on the Kenai, and a day trip for the Seward combo. We are bringing the kids with on this trip, so hoping for good weather/lots of action!