About Us

Thank you for your interest in our fishing lodge. We have been hosting fishing groups around the world since 1984, when we purchased the small business that became the Pere Marquette River Lodge in Michigan. We have owned and operated fishing operations in Michigan, the Florida Keys, Bahama’s, Belize and, of course, Alaska. We opened the Naknek River Camp here in Alaska in 2006, and have introduced several thousand guests to the wonders of Alaska over the years. We understand that it is a big step to trust someone enough to book a trip into a vast wilderness like Bristol Bay, Alaska, but maybe it will help if I introduce myself to you. So here goes….

My name is Jim Johnson and I am addicted to catching big fish.

I’ve been through all of the 10 step programs. I’ve read John Gierach. I’ve even taken pictures of 8 inch brook trout. Nothing has worked. The adrenaline rush that sweeps through me when a monster fish grabs my fly is like a drug.

For someone afflicted with this pervasive illness, Alaska is the only medicine. The problem is that, like all addictions, this one can be horribly expensive. Many a poor soul has been forced to choose between buying food for his family or paying for that $12,000 trip to Bristol Bay.

Thankfully, help has arrived.

A trip to the best trophy rainbow river in Alaska is now available for under $5000!

No longer will a trip to Alaska have to be ‘once in a lifetime’, because, speaking as an addict, a onetime shot of Alaska just isn’t going to get it done.

You just have to experience the smolt migrations in June, the huge runs of salmon in July, the acrobatic silvers in August and the incredible trophy rainbow fishing in September and October.

No, for the true big fish junkie, once in a lifetime just isn’t enough. That is why, here at Naknek River Camp, we’ve gone the extra mile to make Alaska affordable.

But don’t think you will be sacrificing too much to save all of that cash. Your week will begin at the King Salmon airport, where we will pick you up in one of our shuttle buses and bring you to your private, riverfront cabin. You will be served meals in our newly updated dining room with recipes from our head chef (my lovely wife Phyllis). Her recipes can be previewed in her Alaskan Cook Book titled “Fishing and Feasting in Alaska”, available for sale for $25.00 in our store or by phone at 616-745-6066. Our guide staff are licensed USCG captains that make their living as guides ‘year around. We have a fleet of comfortable jet boats to explore the waters of the Naknek River system in style. We include vacuum packing and freezing your catch as part of the package. We even throw in a trip to the world famous Brooks Falls and their photogenic bears at no extra charge. Float plane day trips to other waters in Bristol Bay are available to catch rainbow trout, dolly varden, arctic char, grayling, pike and all 5 species of salmon.

We would love to have you join us for an Alaskan Adventure that you will remember for the rest of your life. Maybe you will even want to join our circle of good friends and guests that come back every year to experience the kind of week that only Alaska can provide.