
Egegik Lodge Offers No Frills, But Big Fish
The following appears in the January issue of Alaska Sporting Journal:

BY SCOTT HAUGEN
Hopping off the floatplane, I’d barely hit the tundra when professional photographer Mat Hayward showed me a picture on his camera. I was just arriving at Becharof Lodge on the Egegik River. Hayward was leaving on the same plane.
The image was a closeup of a lady’s hand and on her finger, an engagement ring. Hayward scrolled through more photos. That’s when I learned that Dylan Wills had proposed to the woman who is now his lovely wife, Breanna.
“It was a highlight of my trip,” smiled Hayward, whom Wills had told moments before his proposal that it was going to happen. Hayward was lucky to capture the moment for them on film.
Wills, who had become a regular at Becharof Lodge on the Egegik River, is from Oregon and loves to fish. And he loves this part of remote Alaska. He also likes going to Brooks Falls to watch some of the world’s largest brown bears catch salmon after salmon. Wills and I share many of the same passions.
But Wills loved it so much that he decided to have his girlfriend join him on that trip. When they left camp, they were engaged. Three years later, they’re not only married but have a beautiful child. Alaska tends to have a life-changing impact on people.

EXPERIENCE THE EGEGIK
A year prior, I actually stood next to Wills when he made his very first cast with a surface popper on the Egegik and caught a dandy coho. It was his goal that year to catch just one coho on a popper, and he did it on the first cast. It wasn’t his last.
It’s Wills’ passion and love for fishing and the outdoors that really grips me. In fact, that’s what makes spending time in remote Alaska with so many people I’ve met over the years so special. In the end, enjoying life and having fond memories is really what this journey is all about. And if you’ve ever dreamed of fishing in remote Alaska but have yet to experience it, go. If you think it’s too expensive or too hard, it’s not.
Two seasons ago a guest at Becharof Lodge celebrated his birthday there. He was invited by buddies 14 years prior and they had such a great time they keep returning at the same time every season. Imagine that: 14 straight years of celebrating your birthday in a place you want to be, surrounded by friends, catching lots of fish and taking in the sights and sounds that make this part of Alaska so special. His homemade birthday cake was decorated with BnR Tackle Soft Beads, the man’s new favorite go-to presentation.

BECOMING A LODGE
When I first fished with Becharof Lodge 19 years ago, it was a tent camp. The new owners, Mark Korpi and George Joy, bought the lodge five years ago and have upgraded things. Now there are buildings with plenty of room to sleep, stay dry and keep warm. Multiple bathrooms, complete with showers and flush toilets, make the camp an appealing place for anyone who wants to go, from singles to families with kids, to aging souls who just want to go fishing and are looking for a safe, easy river to fish from shore.
In fact, these two handymen, along with Korpi’s hard-working daughters, have transformed the camp into a place people want to go as much for a vacation as a fishing adventure. It used to be geared toward seasoned anglers looking to catch high numbers of coho. Today, more people than not – including many families with children, aging anglers and folks facing mobility issues – are common fixtures in camp. They’re content catching their five coho a day to take home, maybe catching and releasing a few more, then hanging out in the lodge and just enjoying what makes this part of Alaska so wonderful. Some sleep in. Some are up early and back before the late risers are up. Here, you can do what you want and fish when you want; there’s no pressure.

KNOW THE BASICS
Getting to Becharof Lodge on the Egegik River is easy. Anglers have the choice of flying into Anchorage or King Salmon, spending a night and then heading to camp the next day. If overnighting in Anchorage, you’ll catch the commercial flight on Alaska Airlines into King Salmon the following morning (you have to take the morning flight in order to have time to hop on the bushplane flight to camp, which gets you there usually between noon and 2 p.m.).
When arriving in King Salmon, Trygg Air, the lodge’s bushplane service, will meet you. If going into King Salmon the afternoon before your departure to Becharof Lodge, the place you’re staying will get you to the Trygg Air facility for your flight the following morning.
The bushplane flight from King Salmon to Becharof Lodge takes 30 minutes and it could be on a wheel plane or a floatplane, depending on several factors. Before you hop on the bushplane, have your rain jacket handy, as there is a five-minute boat ride when you arrive on the Egegik River to the lodge. If it’s raining, you’ll want to slip into your waders for the flight from King Salmon to the lodge; that way you’re ready to face the elements; the pilot will inform you ahead of time.
This is not a fancy ordeal; it’s fishing in remote Alaska. It’s simple and practical planning is essential, since there’s no need for formal attire. This isn’t your $15,000 elite lodge, but the fishing will make you think otherwise. Travel, eat, sleep and fish in the same clothes; no one cares. Pack light and the bushplane pilots will be happy.

GEAR CHECK
As for fishing gear, you don’t need to bring anything unless you want to. Becharof Lodge is equipped with quality G.Loomis and Stryker salmon fishing rods, Shimano reels, and they have all the terminal gear you’ll need. Some folks do like bringing their own tackle, which is fine.
I often take a mix of spinners, twitching jigs, beads and float fishing tackle to accommodate eggs and jigs. For lures, Flash Glo UV Casting Squid Spinners by Yakima Bait are my favorite, and any pink or silver color combination is deadly. The 1?2-ounce versions are a great choice. If it’s windy and you need to cast further, upsizing to a larger 5?8- or 7?8-ounce UV Casting Spinner – minus the skirt – is wise, so take a few of those along.
BnR Tackle Soft Beads have been the talk of Becharof Lodge the past four seasons, with the 25mm models outperforming other sizes last season.
Cerise and pink colors are the rule.
If you want to learn to twitch jigs, the Egegik River is made for it. A 3?8-ounce Twitcher Jig in any color combination of pink, purple and black is hard to beat. And if fishing jigs beneath a float, an 1?8-ounce jig is perfect. David Stumpf, Becharof Lodge’s head guide, is the best twitching jig angler I’ve fished with, and he’s a good teacher. Eggs can be fished on the Egegik River, too, and those will be cured with various Pro-Cure egg cures at the lodge and be ready for you to fish. Leaders will be provided, but if you want to bring your own, tie up some 2/0 hooks on a 15-pound leader.
The Egegik River is about the best I’ve seen when it comes to catching coho on surface poppers and plugs. Pink poppers – be it for spinning rods or fly fishing – are the ticket. I like casting 2.5 and 3.0 Mag Lips from shore as well, with cerise colors dominating the lineup. Last season anglers were wading to the edge of riffles, letting out line and catching coho on Mag Lips that they just kept working in the current.
Toss a braided line cutter into your bag along with long-nosed pliers, and you’re set. What you’ll likely find is, even though Becharof Lodge has guides to help you on the river, you’ll be walking the banks in search of fish on your own. When this happens you want to be able to rerig your own rods and unhook your own fish so you’re not waiting around.
The Egegik River is easy to wade and fish. You’ll get dropped off by one of the Becharof Lodge guides at daylight and fish the prime holes, which can change from year to year and even day to day based on water flow and wind. The Egegik is a shallow river, so even high winds can move fish around.

A LONGTIME TRADITION
This marks my 35th year of fishing in Alaska. The first time I went I thought it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime deal. It wasn’t. Alaska grips you and keeps bringing you back. Once you experience it you’ll find ways to save up so you can keep returning.
Alaska is a special place and the people at Becharof Lodge on the Egegik River are simply wonderful. If the fishing is slow or the weather ugly, don’t worry; Goni, the cook, will look after you. She’s one of the best remote camp cooks I’ve met and I’ve been in many around the world. It’s a good week when you go home with 50 pounds of coho filets and gain a few pounds yourself, thanks to not missing any meals or snacks. With winter sticking around for a while, now’s the perfect time to plan your summer fishing adventure. ASJ
Editor’s note: To book a coho fishing trip with Becharof Lodge, visit becharoffishing.com, call Mark Korpi at (503) 298-9686 or email him at becharoffishing@gmail.com.