I'm looking to raft the Gulkana River for about 5 days with a few buddies this summer (self-guided trip).

Has anyone been on the Gulkana and willing to share their experiences? Or anyone recommend other rivers for self-guided trips in Alaska with only moderate whitewater? We're slowly locking in on the Gulkana but are open to suggestions.

Finally, if you're limited to a few rods in the raft, what do you recommend for a sockeye/ king combo trip? I have enough options to take care of the sockeyes, but curious how heavy a rod for targeting Alaskan kings....probably gonna pick a new one up.

lake creek is a cool one to look at floating

Check out the Talachalitna. Lake Creek is Ok in Late June. Just watch flows or you could be doing a lot of walking.

We have quite a few groups that spend a week on the Situk, it is a great easy drift with lot's of fish, but can get real low in the summer so you might be walking some.
There is about 3 groups that come in April and early May and camp on the river and fish Steelhead, it can be cold that time of year and as much as I like Steelhead, I don't think I would spend a week camped on the banks of the Situk at that time of year, I like my warm dinner at the lodge and soft bed after a long day of fishing!

It has been several years ago, but I have canoed the Gulkana from Sourdough Campground which about where you'd take out if you started at Paxon.

The river from Sourdough Campground to the highway takeout is (was) pretty tame and would be a better choice for new rafters.

There at the time I made the trip was a ADFW fish counting weir a few miles below the campground and was an excellent stop to fish for Chinook in the 20-30 pound range in the stretch that runs for a couple hundred yards below the weir. You would need to check to see if the weir is still there and if fishing is still allowed below it.

Some of them will be pretty dark, but there can be lots of fish it you hit the run right.

June 25th was the recommended time period when I did the trip.

Big Spin & Glos, large Mepps spinners or roe all would be worthwhile offerngs.

You could easily make this trip in five days and have plenty of time fishing.

My editor and I were on a tight schedule doing the trip by canoe so didn't stay for the full 5 days the Boy Scout troop took, we did it in 2-1/2 days. They were all rafting. I don't remember the mileage, so you will need to check on that.

Since it has been probably ten years since I did it, a lot of things could have changed, so you would need to research it well.

Based on my experience, it is a pretty good trip with fairly safe water to navigate, and lots of Chinook when you found pools that held them. Since they are coming upriver to spawn, they may not be holding in every pool you float through.

We didn't see many Sockeye, but may have been to early.

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/content/ak/en/prog/nlcs/gulkana_nwr.html

If you do Lake Creek, there is one bad rapid (I don't remember the name). You'll see it coming and can get out and scout it but make sure you have everything strapped in when you go through. The key for me getting through it seemed to be a combo of 2 AM floating, most of a fifth of tequilla, and not being the one rowing at the time.

Floated the Gulkana several times. The Gulkana is a fun trip, but hardly a destination float. The Klutina, now that at least ads a little excitement, and way bigger fish. Problem is, you gots to be a man to get up to the lake and make the float. There are a million opportunities up north. Do some research, go out on a limb, find a river, any river that drains into the copper and you'll probably have a fun trip. Why float a gaper-river like the Gulkana?

Thanks...the Talachalitna actually looks like a pretty decent option.

The difficulties offered by the Klutina with a lot of whitewater was why I didn't bring it up in my post.

I've only done it with a jet sled, but unless these five guys have a lot of rafting experience, I wouldn't suggest it. Too many things can go wrong in a split second.

As far as the fishing goes, the Klutina puts out some really nice Kings. My wife caught a 40 pounder, my son a 35, and I did one about 38.

We hooked 20 kings in about a half day on the river, but the current was so strong that if they got out in the middle of the river, there was no way to land them.

Most of the fish were pretty well colored but were fine eating. We only kept two and gave most of it away to friends in Girdwood, since there was not way for three people to eat that much salmon in five or six days.

The sockeye were rolling constantly near the bank we tied up to but our guide said they didn't even fish for them.

I hooked the largest salmon of my life, that was at least 50 and probably closer to 60 in a hole just above a white water section. The fish immediately went down stream and we chased it into the rapids. The fish , then turned around and started swimming upstream in the rapids, running right under the boat and stripping line rapidly from the spinning reel, It never slowed down. A few seconds later the 40 pound test rubbed against the bottom of the boat and parted. This salmon was bright and the strongest salmon I have ever hooked. I can still see that fish in my memory from when it jumped before heading into the rapids.

If these five guys are very skilled whitewater rafters,the Klutina would be a great adventure. If they are just beginners, it is no place to start.

Just my opinion.

And perhaps have a good back-up plan since I fairly certain all Copper tribs closed last year and forecasts this year are about the same.

I have a good friend that has guided on Gulkana for a number of years and also keep in mind that these streams can also have major water issues one way or another depending on weather ... they're not nearly as stable as many other streams in the state, so it could be just like planning your trip to Forks and get blown out, only in this case, you've invested a pile for zippo.

Thanks....good advice. Looking at probably either Lake Creek or Tal.

Not much snow up here this year, roughly half of the annual average along the southern edge of the Alaska Range.

Even in normal years, The Tal can get low pretty early. Check with your flight service or local guides shortly before your trip. Being a smallish river, lots of pushing pulling and dragging can be required in dry years.

As other options, have you looked at any of the float trips in the southwest/Katmai area? A lifetime of options.

I drove over Lake Creek a few days ago on a snow machine. Still a bit frozen

Thanks...we looked a little in that area originally, but tried to narrow things down. Now I'm thinking we should take a long again.

Where would you go? First week of July, three guys with decent paddling skills but not a ton of whitewater experience (looking for a fairly tame ride). Hoping to keep the Beaver flight around $1,700.

It sounds like you guys are looking in all of the right places. In July you are usually pretty safe with regard to water levels in most areas. Just something to keep an eye on and try to get current info as the time nears.

As others have said, the big variable is what you want to fish for (timing). Most southcentral rivers get kings and sockeye. Plenty of rainbows (and people) in most as well. Another thing to remember, on most south central rivers, a lot of river miles separate the cool places to float and fish and the ocean. In other words, don't expect chromers. The last few years, most southcentral rivers have closed to king fishing early (prior to July 13) due to low returns.

Personally, for a king/sockeye combo, I would be looking at options out of Dillingham, Bethel, or King Salmon. Fresher fish and more of them. Lots of options.

On the flight, most folks charge $650 a flight hour for a Beaver. Do your homework on where to catch your bush flight from and you shouldn't have a problem staying under your $1700 limit assuming you have one load. Payload on a Beaver is usually around 1200lbs, which is plenty for 3+ gear. Cessna 206 is cheaper per hour, but can only carry 650 to 700lbs.

Here's a suggestion that's a little out there-The Wulik River northwest of Kotzebue. This is where the world record Arctic char was caught, 26 lbs+. Flat tundra river, no rapids. fish average 18-24 inches with opportunities for 30+ inch fish. Silvers and chums can be available as well. Planned on a trip in late August of this year but had to back out. A true wilderness experience. More expensive, too. 3100.00 for 4 people, including the raft. Check out www.alaskaonyourown.com for more info.

gcg

Thanks Coley. One challenge with those spots is we'd need to hit two flights, right? To the hub city and then a bush flight?

For the Tal or Lake Creek, we can get a Beaver round-trip, including to the drop-off point, for about $1650 from Anchorage. One of our buddies is just starting a family and buying a house this spring, so we've kind of set this as a baseline price for him for transport from Anchorage to the drop-off point.

We've been doing our research, but if you think I am missing some great options, please let me know. I'd love to hear any more suggestions for around that price point. I've emailed a few spots regarding Cessnas, and all seem to say the three of us plus raft and gear would be too much (our body weights is probably around 510 pounds alone).

Correct. Depending on where you wound up going, you'd be looking at another $350 to $450 a person (rt) for the leg from Anchorage to one of the smaller cities. Bush plane from there.

You could probably shave a few hundred off of your flight to the Tal or Lk Creek by driving and hour or two up the Mat-Su valley, but if that would require renting a car and packing/unpacking, it probably wouldn't be worth the hassle.

There are other options, but none that I am allowed to discuss in a public venue

As in so much of fishing, timing is everything. If you hit the tail of the run on day one, it pretty much sucks the rest of the days. (I have seen many guys raft many Alaska rivers and some were bummed to know they had left all the fish above them on day one.) Once you get set, try your best to get current local info to help you decide which sections to push on through and which to hit harder.

You should really come up and spend your drift time and camping on the Situk river. It is full of Steelhead, all natives, nice drift, 14 miles and we can take you up, drop you off and pick you up after however many days you want to spend fishing.
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