THE FISHING

The Egegik River is touted by many experienced anglers as the best silver salmon stream in all of Alaska. Becharof Lodge On The Egegik River was the first fishing lodge to become established on the breathtaking Egegik River, and is less than a 5 minute boat ride from some of the best fishing holes on the entire river.

The gentle flowing Egegik River is wide and shallow along the shorelines, making for very easy walking. No matter what your age, or level of fishing experience, we can put you in safe, easy places where you will catch fish. On good days, experienced anglers can catch and release over 75 coho a day. You are allowed to keep five coho a day.

Waders allow you to comfortably move up and down the river bank, and you can fish any way you’d like. Many anglers come up to fish with us because they want to learn different techniques to catch coho salmon. Standing in one spot, it’s common to catch silver salmon by way of drift-fishing eggs, casting lures, floating a bobber and jig, twitching jigs, casting plugs, stripping flies and drifting surface poppers with a fly rod. Remember, in all of Alaska’s streams it’s required that wading boots have rubber soles–no felt soles.

With quick, easy access to many prime holes on the Egegik River, including the mouth of Becharof Lake, there’s always a place to fish. The upper end of the Egegik River holds some dandy Arctic char, too.

If you want to experience fishing even more remote streams in Alaska, hop on a float plane for a day. We have access to dozens of the most remote streams in all of Alaska, where you can catch multiple salmon species, big Arctic grayling, Arctic char, rainbow trout and fish along side mighty Alaskan brown bears. Due to our camp’s location, flyouts are among the most affordable in Alaska.

While fishing with us at Becharof Lodge On The Egegik River, the chances are very good that you’ll see a brown bear. But if you want to be assured of seeing brown bears, we offer day flyout adventures to nearby Brooks Falls. Famed Brooks Falls is a 30 minute bushplane flight from our lodge, and here you can expect to see many brown bears. During the peak of the sockeye run in late July and early August, seeing dozens of giant brown bears a day is the norm. The cost of a roundtrip flyout, be it brown bear viewing at Brooks Falls or fishing a remote stream, runs about $650 per person and is subject to bushplane regulation.

The typical day begins with breakfast around 6:30. By 7:00 A.M. we’re hitting the river fishing for coho. Lunch is around noon, and most of the time it’s a shore lunch prepared by our cook. After lunch, continue fishing for silver salmon, often going to a different place from where you spent the morning. Some veteran anglers like taking a sack lunch with them after breakfast, hiking the river on their own, fishing all day, returning to camp by 6:00 P.M. At Becharof Lodge On The Egegik River we’re all about catering to your personal needs.

Coho & Willow Ptarmigan Cast & Blast
Looking for a fun cast and blast adventure with us at Becharof Lodge on the Egegik River? Willow ptarmigan season opens August 10th. The daily bag limit is 10 birds. Because willow ptarmigan populations can fluctuate, this can be opportunistic hunting, depending on the year and winter survival rates of willow ptarmigan along this part of the Alaska Peninsula. The past few years have seen a growing number of willow ptarmigan around the lodge.

Due to park boundaries and local landholdings, a two mile hike from the lodge is necessary to reach grounds where willow ptarmigan can be hunted. We can also drop you off by boat, where you can then hike and hunt for as long as you’d like, returning to the lodge at your leisure. These are non-guided, do-it-yourself hunts for willow ptarmigan. Because the tundra is wide open, navigation is simple. Key landmarks and/or the lodge are always in sight, meaning you won’t get lost. Leather, waterproof hiking boots are all you need to traverse the tundra.

The hiking is very easy, thanks to the firm, sandy and rocky soil making up the tundra in this part of Alaska. It’s simple to walk five to eight miles a morning, even more, chasing willow ptarmigan on the open tundra. Early in the willow ptarmigan season, family flocks of can be found foraging on various berries and vegetation. During high winds, flocks of willow ptarmigan will often gather in depressions in the tundra, and around alder thickets, making for high success spot-and-stalk hunting.

We have 20 gauge shotguns to borrow at our lodge. Sometimes we have shotgun shells available for your use, but not always. Please plan on bringing two or three boxes of non-toxic shotgun shells, with size 5 or 6 shot being ideal. There is no extra fee for willow ptarmigan hunting with us, nor is there a gun rental or shotgun shell usage fee.

Please keep in mind this is not a high-volume hunt for willow ptarmigan, meaning the intent is not to shoot limits of willow ptarmigan every day of your stay. This is selective hunting meant to provide a fun bonus to your remote Alaska coho salmon fishing experience with us at Becharof Lodge on the Egegik River. Willow ptarmigan are typically cleaned by the hunters, then given to the cook to prepare as appetizers for others in camp to enjoy. Early season willow ptarmigan is considered by many seasoned upland bird hunters to be among the best eating game bird out there.

Willow ptarmigan can be hunted all day, but the best action is usually early in the morning. This is when flocks of willow ptarmigan can be heard calling across the tundra. While willow ptarmigan are masters of camouflage, their wing feathers are white, year-round.  This makes spotting willow ptarmigan as they fly and move around to feed on the open tundra, straight forward. Some guests take off hiking from the lodge at sunup, then spend the afternoon fishing for coho salmon on the Egegik River. Others like getting on the early morning coho bite, which is always the best time to catch coho on the Egegik River, then go hunting for willow ptarmigan once they’ve caught their five coho limit.