Rapids Camp

You can rack up big numbers during a week-long stay at Rapids Camp. The question isn’t how many fish you’ll catch. It’s more about how your arms and wrists hold up after fighting so many rainbows, char, Dolly Varden, and salmon—and how much more tape you want to wrap around the line burns on your fingers! Bristol Bay is the land of plenty, and you will catch plenty here.

Rainbows are the primary target at Rapids Camp, and you will find intriguing options for big ones no matter when you visit. But one of the most exciting events takes place in June and July when big rainbows crash smolt in the Naknek River just upstream of the lodge. Later, after the salmon arrive, rainbows chow down on those big orange and pink eggs. In late summer and fall these fish feed on flesh that tears off salmon in the deterioration process. At any time of the season, fishing mouse imitations on the surface or nymph patterns underneath are also exciting options.

It’s still not only about big rainbows at the camp. King salmon are available in June and July, and Rapids Camp offers one of the best Chinook programs in the area. Wave after wave of sockeye, chums, and pinks follow those kings. Silvers arrive in August and keep anglers busy until the end of the season in late September. Grayling, lake trout, and Dolly Varden also are present, and by late August you might catch some of the most beautifully colored Arctic char you’ve ever seen.

Fishing Schedule
What do you want to fish for today? There are so many options here that guests can usually choose between several species in numerous destinations with various fishing methods. Guides are always eager to share suggestions, of course. Coffee is on at the main lodge around 6:30 a.m., and breakfast follows at 7. Guests then gear up and walk to the dock to climb into a boat or a floatplane to access the best water. Fish all morning, eat lunch on the bank, fish through the rest of the day, then return to the lodge for appetizers and dinner. Rest, rinse, repeat.

Planes, Boats and Equipment
Guides run powerful jetboats to access the Naknek River and its tributaries. Rapids Camp also keeps jetboats on several other rivers that they can access via short flights on the lodge’s airplanes, including two de Havilland Beavers and a Turbo Otter.

The lodge rests on a 60-acre private compound on the banks of the Naknek River. Eight single-occupancy rooms each include a private bath and easy access to all of the lodge’s amenities, including a hot tub, exercise room, bar, reading room, and satellite TV. There’s also a separate cabin called “The House on The Hill” that accommodates groups up to four guests.

Cuisine
Rapids Camp’s menu features fresh ingredients flown in daily from Anchorage. Meals include fine meats like duck, Kobe beef, venison, halibut, and a variety of salmon right from the Naknek. Lunches often also include salmon you just caught, next to the hole you caught it in. This is a five-star experience in a comfortable and casual setting.

Connectivity
Wi-Fi is available throughout camp and in private rooms.

Rapids Camp focuses on fishing, but non-angling companions can take part in a variety of activities. Those options vary from bear viewing at Brooks Falls to hiking local trails to visiting the nearby towns of King Salmon and Naknek and the commercial fisheries that occur there. Scenic flights over the Alaska Range and famous places including the Valley of 10,000 Smokes are available as weather permits.

Guests can fly into Anchorage International Airport prior to 12 p.m. on the first day of their trip and then from Anchorage to King Salmon via Rapids Camp’s private aircraft, a Pilatus PC-12. If guests can’t arrive prior to noon, they may fly to Anchorage the day prior to their trip and overnight at the Captain Cook or Inlet Towers hotels. Upon landing in King Salmon, Rapids Camp staff meet the Pilatus and transfer guests to the lodge in a shuttle van. The drive is about 15 minutes before you’re settling into your room. At the end of your trip, departure to Anchorage occurs after breakfast, weather permitting. All flights out of Anchorage can be scheduled any time after 6 p.m.

Midcurrent’s services are completely free. Clients will not pay more than if booked directly with a lodge. All rates are per person based on double occupancy, and listed in U.S. dollars.

A typical trip to Rapids Camp is seven nights lodging and six days of fly out fishing on a Friday-to-Friday schedule.

7 Nights/6 Days $11,495 per person
4 Nights/3 Days $8,995 per person

INCLUDED
Our prices include round-trip airfare from Anchorage to King Salmon, guided fly-out fishing each day (weather permitting), single-occupancy lodging, all meals, beer and wine, and all fishing gear. Also included are the use of all amenities—hot tub, satellite television, weight room, etc. Rapids Camp is all catch and release on rainbow trout but allows retention of salmon. The lodge will happily ship your fish from Alaska to your doorstep in the continental United States.

NOT INCLUDED
Airfare to Anchorage, fishing licenses, guide and staff tips, and lodging in Anchorage

Bookings are confirmed with a 50 percent deposit, made no later than seven days after booking a trip. Balance must be received no later than 90 days prior to the first day of the trip. Notification of cancellation must be received 90 days prior to the first day of the trip in order to receive partial or full credit for an alternate date. All payments are final and nonrefundable, with the exception of a medical or family emergency, deemed reasonable at Midcurrent’s discretion.

Booking a trip or making a deposit represents that the client accepts all terms and conditions. Midcurrent’s terms are in addition to any terms and conditions of each individual lodge that Midcurrent represents. Please read those terms carefully—lodge terms, which may differ from Midcurrent’s terms, supersede any agreements between Midcurrent and a client.