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For many "in the know", June is the best time to come to Southwest Alaska and target, big, hard fighting Leopard Rainbow Trout on the upper section of the Alagnak Wild and Scenic River.
It may be a bold statement, but we stand behind it at ATA Lodge, that our home waters, offer some of the most exciting fishing opportunities to catch the most and largest average size rainbow trout, at this time of the season in Alaska!
Don't get me wrong, you can come up to other rivers in Alaska at other times of the season and catch bigger trout (even on our river). But in terms of numbers of fish and average size of trout, June at ATA Lodge is a trout bum's paradise!
There is a good reason for this reality. In April and May, trout from throughout our watershed, migrate down to our part of the river to spawn. Many of these trout are not resident to our "home waters" nearest the lodge the rest of the season. They are coming from our headwaters and tributaries, upstream of us specifically to spawn.
These upstream waters, are home to the most famous trout fishing streams of the Katmai region. Lodges from all over Bristol Bay, fly their guests out later in the season to fish for these large rainbows in August and September when they are feeding on Sockeye Salmon eggs after they have followed the Sockeye Salmon up to their spawning gravels.
BUT...in June, most of those big trout are right on our doorstep, as they have come down in to our part of the system to spawn themselves. And after they have spawned, they are waiting for the out-migration of the salmon smolt that will come down from the lakes at the top of our system to go out to the ocean. These smolt are the main food source for our trout this time of year. So this bounty of food, holds the trout in our area as long as the smolt out-migration sustains.
What that means for our guests, is that there are a lot of hard fighting, hungry trout in the waters nearest to our lodge after the river opens to fishing on June the 8th every year!
Water levels have been perfect, and there has been a sublime combination of some sunny days offering superb dry fly fishing with caddis, chubbies and stimulators; together with some overcast days mixed in that have been perfect for swinging streamers. And of course, the Alagnak Wild River provides plenty of "text book" opportunities to skate mice patterns on the surface of the river, that deliver fantastic top water "eats" that are visually spectacular as the rainbows "blow up" on mouse patterns like the Pipsqueak, Moorish Mouse and Mr. Hanky!
We have been seeing fish caught by all our clients everyday that average around 20-22 inches, with some fish up to 27 inches. But some of those bigger trout over 27" that have been hooked, have thus far escaped being slipped in to one of our nets. Those bigger fish (up to 29-30"), seem to have the knack of exposing any weakness in your tackle or fishing technique! Although, I'm sure it is only a matter of time before one of these "Alagnak River Monsters" end up in a "grip and grin" photo before too long.
This time of year we get a few Lake Trout and Grayling as well. The Lake Trout follow the smolt out of the lakes and ambush them in deeper pools in the river as the smolt make their way out to the ocean. Grayling fishing is always good on the Alagnak River all season long. But June is a great time to fish for them as there are no salmon in the river yet to "crowd them out" of their usual haunts.
There have been some fantastic wildlife viewing as well. Numerous sighting of Cow Moose with calves have been experienced by multiple guests, as well as a few Brown Bears, Fox, Eagles, Osprey, and even Wolverine, Mink and Otter have been seen as well!
Our staff have done an amazing job of taking care of our guests both on and off the water. Our experienced guide team, bring skill, knowledge and an almost childlike enthusiasm to helping our anglers achieve what they have come for, and make their Alaska Trout Dreams Come True!
Our Kitchen, Hospitality and House Keeping team have been "on point", providing delicious meals and excellent service. Guests constantly remark on how friendly and helpful they are. No requests seems to insignificant, and is always accompanied with a smile!
I have to brag on the family just a little bit here now. Sue, Jacob, Ashley, Cameron and Terri, have all done a wonderful job seeing that everything was ready for when guests started to arrive. In their own areas of responsibility, they have been providing great leadership to the team, and have been making both guests and staff members feel welcome and appreciated; just as if they are all part of the the family. All this attention to detail is what makes our guests feel special and appreciated. And truth be told, we DO really appreciate each and every one of our guests, as they are the ones that make it possible for us to be here and do what we love to do each season!
Opening week saw 80% of our guests returning again to ATA Lodge as repeat customers. Between them, they have now spent a grand total of 47 weeks at ATA Lodge over the years. The second week of the season saw our return client rate at 40% and the 3rd week of the season (the last week of June) had a 100% return guest rate!
By June 25th, we began to catch some salmon as well. A fly out to the Nushagak River produced a hand full of chrome King Salmon, including this beautiful specimen landed by Matt Duncan! We are expecting Chinook Salmon to be entering the Alagnak River from this point forward and hope to land more in July on our system!
We have even caught the first Sockeye Salmon in our river starting on the 24th of June. While the big pushes of Sockeye have not yet begun to migrate upstream yet, they will be here in force by the first week of July! This is a bit early for the Sockeye, as the last few years we haven't been catching them until after the 1st of July. But it seems like they may be coming in a bit early across the region from reports we have been hearing on other systems that get Sockeye before we do!
All in All it has been a fantastic start to the 2025 Season and we can't wait to see what July, August and September have in store for our guests as they come to taste the very best of what Alaska, and in particular Bristol Bay, in Southwest Alaska has to offer!
I'd like to share a recent TripAdvisor Review from one of those guests from opening week, who has become not only a valued client, but a friend over the years
Here's some more pictures from the first 3 weeks of the 2025 season to whet your appetite to come and join us next season for the Best Trout Fishing In Alaska in June on the Alagnak River at ATA Lodge!
