Fly Fishing

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

Fly fishing lodges. Do you ever go to these? Or, do you just go super cheap and try to stay in cheap motels (or in the car), fish all the public water and stay clear of any lodges? What are some things that make a lodge "good" and "bad"? Any experiences that others have had (good or bad) to help others when considering a fly fishing trip that is tied to a lodge? When might a lodge make sense? When might a lodge not make sense?

joey · Location: Colorado

I just go cheap, super eight motel six, you know...I have stayed in a killer lodge in Argentia (dove hunting) when my old man and gramps were flipping the bill. First class all the way. Private land to hunt with a guide extremely nice accomodations and great food and wine. I think that is what make a nice lodge...food and accomodations. I have never been to a fishing lodge, just cheap. I think I prefer it that way. at least for now. Maybe when I can afford a sick trip to BC I'll want to spend the extra jing and stay with some high rollers, until then I'll live on coffee and ramen in a cheapo shack.

greg · Posted: Sun 01/27/08 9:53 pm Post subject: Lodges

There is, so far only one lodge I use in Canada, aside from this lodge it's pretty much the same as Joey. I like staying where I get wireless survice and go out for a steak, pizza or whatever I feel like. Lodges usually have schedules and I don't require any assisatance planning my day. Motel 6 or Bob's Roach Palace makes no difference to me. I travel long distances to fish and my money is in gear and cost of travel. My passion is fishing not accomadations.

KodiakCommando · Location: Kodiak, Alaska

Up here there are a lot of reasons why lodges make sense.

First off alaska is so undeveloped that on many of the good rivers there are no motels or pizza parlors for miles. Most all of bristol bay is undeveloped and even the big tows are less than a 1,000 residents. Actually I hope it's always that way, I love being able to make very cheap trips but the extra money to get to the middle of nowhere is well worth the extra cash. If you could people could drive to areas that hold 10 to 20 pound trout and stay at a motel then these places would get hammered and wouldn't be as special.

Second if you go to a nice lodge there are advantages fishing wise and not just comfort wise. The biggest is fly out lodges allow you to fly to various rivers which is key because it allows you to fish the best water at the time and avoid crappy conditons, if your on just one river and it's blown or the run is late then your pretty screwed. Also the best guide generally work for the higher end lodges.

One thing i would say is that there are lodges that are cheaper. I know two on the naknek that offer DIY trips for 1500 a week and that includes food, jet boats, gas, cabins and some gear. There is one on the kvichiak. And those are actually cheaper than if you went to the nak and stayed in a king salmon motel, payed for food and rented a jet boat.

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

"no pizza parlors for miles" ... that would be a huge issue for me. just kidding .. but, not really Very Happy

... i guess i could fogoe pizza parlors .. but only because it's alaska and the fishing would be sooo good.

Hunter · Posted: Tue 01/29/08 9:25 am Post subject:

I don't have a problem with lodges. I've been on hunting trips to different places and it's nice to head back to the lodge and get a meal cooked for you while you focus on unwinding from the day. Not hard core? Try getting up at 4:30 every day, in the woods by daylight and hiking until after dark. Those are the kinds of trips where lodges pay off. Sure, you could do it out of a tent, but for all intensive purposes when you figure in the local knowledge your (hopefully) paying for and not having to worry about cooking meals, etc... then a lodge is a bargain (especially if it's raining/snowing outside).

With that said, I also like tenting it and running the low brow trip as often as possible. There's just something about doing it yourself.

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

hunter .. great points ... and i think some of it boils down to age .... when i was 19 .. i went to alaska .. spent ALL of my money on a plane ticket .. boxed up my mountain bike and landed in ketchikan alaska with a bike, a backpack, a tent and no money .. i stayed for 5 months .. eating beans out of can, riding my bike sometimes 70 miles per day, fishing and sleeping in a tent (that was assuming my tent was not sooooo waterlogged that i scrounged up enough money to stay in a rotted out bus) and when i was really 'living large" i would treat myself to a night in the youth hostle on whatever island in alaska i happened to be on ... i traveled by public ferry system, slept on the back of ferries, slept on the dirt, slept in bar rooms and restaurants and on commercial fishing boats and ate fish that i caught or canned food, cold. i had the time of my life, when i was 19 and would not have done it any other way.

nowadays .. that interests me about as much as the thought of sleeping in my back yard here in maine tonight ...

Matt1515 · Location: Greensboro, NC

I share some opinions with Jeremy. When I was 17 and 18 I spent a lot of time "hard balling" the outdoors and its elements. Before college, I spent two and half months on the Appalachain Trail. Started in Georgia and went north with nothing more than a couple of clothes, a sleeping bag, and two poles that held up a tarp for some shelter. I have to say that outside of a weekend or even a week long pack in and pack out fishing trip, I'm not in a hurry to do the AT type trips again. I've spent many nights in the bed of a pick up or in the front seat of my Altima with the steering wheel as a pillow. I don't need much but I like a little more than a soaking wet sleeping bag and a plastic roof. As far as lodges, I'm saving the lodge trip for Alaska. A tent doesn't hold up well against bears.