JUNE on the NUSHAGAK

We arrived in King Salmon May 23rd with anticipation of the season opening but no clarity on when or if that would happen. We were beyond ecstatic a week later when the state of Alaska changed it’s travel regulations. As long as travelers tested negative for COVID within 72 hours of arrival, they were permitted entry into the state, and just like that, we could take non-Alaskans fishing.

Our first group of guests flew to our Nushagak out-camp on June 17th and greeted with a huge push of king salmon and few other anglers on the water. Our time on the Nushagak exceeded our expectations and we ended up hosting more anglers on the Nush than any prior season. The fishing was excellent, and the fishing pressure was virtually nonexistent, as many of the other camps on the river did not open, most days we fished without another boat in sight. The only disappointment was the lack of true adult fish consistently in the river. We still caught plenty of adult king salmon on a variety of methods, including fly fishing, but overall the fish ran small.

JULY 2020: King Salmon, Sockeye & Trout

Our July was surprisingly epic with small stream trout fishing and insane returns of sockye salmon to our home river. The latter filled freezers with the most sustainable salmon source available. But it was the trout fishing on small streams that gave us all the feels. The reward of big rainbows loudly breaking the river’s surface to drown your mouse must be one of the highest adrenal rushes in fly fishing. And when they weren’t interested in mice, they grabbed a streamer so hard you might have broken them off immediately. (not so good for the fly box)

AUGUST: Silver Salmon & Trout Fishing

Late July and early August slowed as cases of COVID surged around the country and we certainly felt the hit of not being at full capacity. We took advantage of this time to fish on our own and complete projects on the never-ending list. We built a fence around our garden that provides fresh lettuce for our guest sandwiches to keep out rabbits and hopefully predators from eating our raspberry stalks before next year. We were gifted chickens, so we built another fence to keep our new family members safe. The weather was hot and summery and more buggy than ever.

By the latter part of August we were busy fishing again and filling any slots left in the fall very quickly. Silver fishing really picked up during this time as the weather cooled dramatically and we were able to find fresh chrome silvers on our home water and on a couple fly out destinations. The highlight of August was definitely surprising Cassie with a visit from her boyfriend Page and then helping him surprise her again with a proposal at Brooks River! For more photos from that day check out her blog post.

SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER: Rainbows & Char

The following weeks throughout September were maximum capacity and had us going strong well into October. Fishing was truly amazing during this time and we had some epic days on the water with guests both on our home river and on some select fly out destinations. We consistently saw more beautiful big rainbows than we’ve seen for years and of course the giant pumpkin colored Char.

With just four days left on the schedule, one of the lodge employees tested positive for Coronavirus and sent the end of our season into a quick spiral. We were able to charter a flight for our guests back to Anchorage and send our last guests straight home before making contact with anyone. Everyone including us tested negative for the virus but we quarantined anyway to be safe. Check out our End of Season blog post to see some photos of the fun we had despite quarantine!

We realized that although here in remote Alaska we’ve been fortunate to feel removed from the virus outbreaks happening across the country, we are not immune. And we need to safeguard our team, guests and season at a heightened level as we proceed in this new era with caution.

Thank you so much for joining us in Alaska and following along on our adventures. We appreciate how lucky we are to spend time with amazing people in epic places.

Stay safe friends,

Kate and Team Frigate

PS: Our 2021 Alaska season is filling up fast so please reach out to us if you would like to join us or have any questions!