Enjoy this magazine article that appeared in the January 2025 issue of Alaska Sporting Journal.
Story by Scott Haugen. Photos by Mat Hayward.
Hopping from the floatplane, I barley hit the tundra when professional photographer, Mat Hayward, showed me a picture on his camera. I was just arriving at Becharof Lodge on the Egegik River, fresh in from a 25 minute flight from King Salmon, Alaska. Hayward was leaving on the same plane.
The picture was a closeup of a lady’s hand, and on her finger, an engagement ring. Hayward scrolled through more photos. That’s when I learned that Dylan Wills had proposed to the woman who is now his lovely wife, Breanna.
“It was the highlight of my trip,” smiled Hayward, whom Wills had told moments before his proposal that it was going to happen. Hayward was lucky to capture the moment for them on film as they stood on a bear viewing platform at famed Brooks Falls, a place many clients of Becharof Lodge travel to for up close encounters with big brown bears.
Wills had become a regular at Becharof Lodge on the Egegik River. He’s from Oregon and he loves to fish. And he loves this part of remote Alaska. He also likes going to Brooks Falls to watch some of the world’s largest brown bears catch salmon after salmon. Wills and I share many of the same passions.
But Wills loved it so much that he decided to have his girlfriend join him on that trip. When they left camp, they were engaged. Three years later, they’re not only married but have a beautiful child. Alaska tends to have a life-changing impact on people.
A year prior, I stood alongside Wills when he made his very first cast with a surface popper on the Egegik River and caught a dandy coho. It was a goal of his that year to catch just one coho on a popper, and he did it on the first cast. It wasn’t his last.
It’s Wills’ passion and love of fishing and the outdoors that really grips me. In fact, that’s what makes spending time in remote Alaska with so many people I’ve met over the years, so special. In the end, enjoying life and having fond memories is really what this journey is all about.
If you’ve ever dreamed of fishing in remote Alaska but have yet to experience it, go. If you think it’s too expensive or too hard, it’s not. You only live once, and Alaska is not a once-in-a-lifetime destination.
Two seasons ago a guest at Becharof Lodge celebrated his birthday there. He was invited by buddies 14 years prior and they had such a great time they keep returning at the same time every season. Fourteen years straight of celebrating your birthday in a place you want to be, surrounded by friends, catching lots of coho salmon on the Egegik River and taking in the sights and sounds that make this part of Alaska so special. His homemade birthday cake that Goni–one of the best cooks I’ve been around–whipped up was decorated with BnR Tackle Soft Beads, the man’s new, favorite, go-to presentation. He caught a lot of silver salmon on them that trip on the Egegik River.
When I first fished with Becharof Lodge 19 years ago, it was a tent camp. The current owners, Mark Korpi and George Joy, bought the lodge five years ago and have upgraded things. A lot. Now there are buildings with plenty of room to sleep, stay dry and keep warm. Multiple bathrooms, complete with showers and flush toilets, make the camp an appealing place for anyone who wants to go, from singles to families with kids, to aging souls who just want to go fishing and are looking for a safe, easy river to fish from shore. The number of people who go catch their five coho limit, then return to the lodge to rest, take in the scenery, and nibble on all of Goni’s awesome treats, tells what kind of an operation this really is.
George and Mark, two handiest men I know, along with Korpi’s hard working daughters have transformed the camp into a place people want to go for as much of a vacation as a fishing adventure. It used to be geared toward seasoned anglers looking to catch high numbers of coho. Today, more people than not–including many families with children, aging anglers, and folks facing mobility issues–are common fixtures in camp. They’re content catching their five coho a day to take home, maybe catch and release a few more, then hang out in the lodge and just enjoy what makes this part of Alaska so wonderful. Some sleep in. Some are up early and back to camp before the late risers are up. Here, you can do what you want, fish when you want to fish, sleep when you want to sleep…there’s no pressure.
Getting to Becharof Lodge on the Egegik River is easy. Anglers have the choice of flying in to Anchorage or King Salmon, spending a night, then heading to camp the next day. If overnighting in Anchorage, you’ll catch the commercial flight on Alaska Airlines into King Salmon the following morning. You have to take the morning flight in order to have time to hop on the bushplane flight to camp which gets you there usually between noon and 2:00. When arriving in King Salmon, Trygg Air–the lodge’s bushplane service–will meet you. If going into King Salmon the afternoon before your departure to Becharof Lodge, the place you’re staying will get you to the Trygg Air facility for your flight the following morning.
The bushplane flight from King Salmon to Becharof Lodge on the banks of the Egegik River takes 30 minutes, and it could be on a wheel plane or a float plane, depending on several factors. Before you hop on the bushplane, have your rain jacket handy as there is a five minute boat ride when you arrive on the Egegik River, to the lodge. If it’s raining, you’ll want to slip into your waders for the flight from King Salmon to the lodge, so you’re ready to face the elements; the pilot will inform you before leaving King Salmon.
This is not a fancy ordeal, it’s fishing in remote Alaska. It’s simple. Practical planning is essential since there’s no need for formal attire. This isn’t your $15,000 elite lodge, but the fishing will make you think otherwise. Travel, eat, sleep and fish in the same clothes, no one cares. Pack light and the bush plane pilots will be happy.
As for fishing gear, you don’t need to bring anything unless you want to. Becharof Lodge is equipped with quality G.Loomis salmon fishing rods, Shimano reels, and they have all the terminal gear you’ll need.
I often take a mix of spinners, twitching jigs, beads, and float fishing tackle to accommodate eggs and jigs. For lures, Flash Glo UV Casting Squid Spinners by Yakima Bait are my favorite, and any color combination of pink and silver are deadly. The 1/2-ounce versions are a great choice. If it’s windy and you need to cast further, upsizing to a larger 5/8- or 7/8-ounce UV Casting Spinner, minus the skirt, is wise, so take a few of those along.
BnR Tackle Soft Beads have been the talk of Becharof Lodge the past four seasons, with the 25mm models outperforming other sizes last season. Cerise and pink colors are the rule. If you want to learn to twitch jigs, the Egegik River is made for it. A 3/8-ounce Twitcher Jig in any color combination of pink, purple and black, are hard to beat. And if fishing jigs beneath a float, an 1/8-ounce jig is perfect. David Stumpf, Becharof Lodge’s head guide, is the best twitching jig angler I’ve fished with and he’s a good teacher.
Eggs can be fished on the Egegik River, too, and those will be cured with various ProCure egg cures at the lodge and ready for you to fish. Leaders will be provided, but if you want to bring your own, tie up some 2/0 hooks on 15-pound leader. Coho salmon are not leader shy, even in the clear waters of the Egegik River.
Alaska’s Egegik River is about the best I’ve personally experienced when it comes to catching coho on surface poppers and plugs. Pink poppers–be it for spinning rods or flyfishing–are the ticket. I like casting 2.5 and 3.0 Mag Lips from shore, too, with cerise colors dominating the lineup. Last season anglers were wading to the edge of riffles, letting out line and catching coho on Mag Lips they just kept working downstream in the current.
Toss a braided line cutter into your bag, along with long-nosed pliers, and you’re set. What you’ll likely find is, even though Becharof Lodge has guides to help you on the river, you’ll be walking the banks in search of fish on your own, sometimes distancing yourself from others. When this happens you want to be able to re-rig your own rods and unhook your own fish so you’re not waiting around.
Alaska’s Egegik River is remote but it’s easy to wade and fish. You’ll get dropped off by one of the Becharof Lodge guides at daylight and fish the prime holes, which can change from season to season, even day to day based on water flow and wind. The Egegik River is a shallow river, so even high winds can move fish around.
This marks my 35th year of fishing in Alaska. The first time I went I thought it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime deal. It wasn’t. Alaska grips you and keeps bringing you back. Once you experience it you’ll find ways to save up so you can keep returning.
Alaska is a special place and the people at Becharof Lodge on the Egegik River are simply wonderful. If the fishing is slow or the weather ugly, don’t worry, Goni will look after you. Goni is one of the best remote camp cooks I’ve met, and I’ve been in many hunting and fishing camps around the world.
It’s a good week when you go home with 50 pounds of coho fillets and gained a few pounds yourself, thanks to not missing any meals, or snacks. Now’s the time to plan that dream fishing trip to Alaska. Heck, I might even see ya up there, because I plan on returning again this season.
