Katmai Wildlife Cruise Home > Travel Planner

Travel Planner:

Booking: Congratulations on choosing Alaska Adventures for your Alaska Bear Viewing destination.  Alaska Adventures operates only the highest quality wilderness Bear Viewing Tours. Please call us to book your trip while the spots last. A 50% deposit is required; the rest will be required by June 1st.

All about Bears: Grizzly Bears, Brown Bears, Kodiak Bears- they are all the same species. The names are only used to distinguish where these animals dwell geographically.

• All the Same Bear:
  • Grizzly Bears are typically bears living in the interior areas, such as Yellowstone or Denali National Parks. Their diet is less meat oriented and more vegetables, roots and moths. Grizzlies do not usually get as large as their coastal cousins due to the lack of continual protein provided by salmon.
  • Kodiak Bears are a small population of Brown Bears that live on Kodiak Island. Most people think of Kodiak's as being the largest bears in the world; however, the infamous giant males have been hunted, decimating the gene pool of succesful, dominate giants.
  • Brown Bears are the Coastal Grizzlies known for their tolerant behavior toward humans. The unlimited resources of Salmon create an environment of little stress. They have more time to play with their cubs and their siblings and challenge their curious nature. Katmai National park has the largest protected population of Brown Bears in the world.

Bear Safety: Once arriving to Brooks Camp, your guide will give a detailed and serious talk about bear safety. Here are the talking points.

• Don't Run: Running triggers a predatory response within bears.
• Respect their Boundaries: We will NOT get closer for a better picture or a closer look. We adhere strictly to Park policies and do not bend for any reason.
• Listen to your Guide: Quick reponse to his requests are greatly important and often keep you safe and out of harms way.
• Attention Seekers : We do not tolerate any loud noises, claps or whistling in order to get the attention for a bear in pictures. We have a mutual respect for one another and we would like to keep it that way.
• Don't Panic: Bears are not monsters. They don't have a need to kill humans for any reason. We have a mutual respect.
• Safety: You guide's number one job is your safety. If you listen to him, repect his decisions and trust him, you will have a great trip with no scares or incidents.

Seasons: The weather in Katmai is mild compared to much of the state. The winds are often broke up by the numerous mountains sheltering Naknek Lake. Typical weather patterns for the summer and fall seasons. Please note that with the effects of climate change have made for much less predictable weather within the last five years.

• June: Typically rainy and wet. The wildflowers are in full bloom and make for very colorful photographs. The Bears are waiting for salmon and can be found lining the beaches and congregating on top of the falls looking for the first signs of their dinners. June is a prime Trout month.
• July: Moderately wet. The green foliage is fully grown making photographs very colorful and adding great contrast with the bears dark brown fur. The bears are in full salmon eating mode atop the falls, eating as many salmon as they can. July is a great month to catch sockeye and trout.
• August: Typically the most dry. The fireweed is in full bloom, creating a bright purple background for photographs. The bears continue their feeding frenzy. A second sockeye run begins as does a silver salmon run.
• September: Typically colder and dry. The fall colors begin to take over the landscape. Bears are fat and have full winter coats. They can be found feeding on dead or dying fish on the river beds and lake shore. Trout fishing is at its prime.
• October: Can be cold and snowy. The foliage continues to be vibrant in fall colors. Photographers may get a unique and rare chance to photograph bears in snow. Bears line the beach as they begin to go into hyperphagia. They slow down and dig belly holes in the sand in between feasts of spawned, bright red salmon.

What to Bring:

• Clothes:
  • Rain Gear: A raincoat and rainpants (not a cheap wal-mart set, as they will not last if it rains hard).
  • Footwear: A pair of waterproof hiking boots, slippers or indoor shoes (we ask that you take your shoes off in the boat), we also suggest you bring hip-waders to cross knee deep, slow moving creeks.
  • Underlayers: The trick to preparing for Alaska weather is to dress in layers. Bring undershirts, a long sleeve shirt, a sweater, a fleece jacket. We suggest quick drying pants that zip off at the knees. Jeans are not suggested as they are very uncomfortable if wet.
  • Headwear: A baseball cap and stocking cap are suggested.
• Essentials
  • Bug Spray: Deet is a good option; however, it is a strong chemical. We encourage buying Buzz Off and washing it into your outer layers (not your rain gear or it will deplete your goretex).
  • Sunglasses: The midnight sun can be direct and harsh. We recommend a polarized pair of sunglasses so you can watch the fish in the river system.
  • Sunscreen: We'll be in the sun all day long. Bringing sunscreen is a must.
  • Binoculars: We suggest binoculars for all the wildlife we'll see on you trip.

Photography:

• Lenses
  • Wide Angle: Give yourself a range between 12/18mm to 85/100mm. This will allow you to get landscape shots of all the amazing and vast scenery and bears in their environment shots.
  • Telephoto: You can get away with a 200mm lens and be happy with your closeups; however, a 300mm is recommended. The 100-400mm for Canon and the 80-400mm Nikon are very popular with our guests. Feel free to bring any 500mm or 600mm if you would like. Our boat is a great way to minimize trekking with the heavy glass.
  • Filters: We suggest bringing filters for all your lenses. The flowers and foliage is accentuated and the salmon are more easily photographed in the water.
  • Tripod/Monopod: With image stabilization/vibration reduction it makes tripods less needed; however we suggest you either a tripod or a monopod for the Brooks River platforms as people moving can create shake.
  • Weather Proof: Bring something to protect your camera equipment from the elements.

Fishing: The Naknek fishery is an amazing and productive part of Alaska. The seemlingly unlimited resource of Salmon creates a biodiverse ecosystem filled with large mammals and a healthy population of Rainbow Trout.

• Salmon
  • Sockeye Salmon: Average 7-12lbs with yearly runs of 2.5 to 4 million in the river.  These are the strongest salmon pound for pound when fresh from the ocean and they will destroy light, or substandard fly gear.  Sockeyes are caught on sparsely tied and brightly colored flies. They are usually fished with an eight or nine weight fly rod with floating 12-15lb line and a 9ft leader. The legal limit for sockeye salmon is to keep 5 per day, although the average angler catches and releases between 15-30 a day.
  • Silver Salmon: Silver salmon average 10-15lbs which are the last to enter the river, arriving the first week of August.  These highly sought after fish are renowned for their acrobatic leaps and knuckle-busting runs.  When you hook a silver salmon, you know it.  Cohos are generally fished on eight weights by swinging hot pink and fuschia streamers with either a sink tip or a floating line.  Slivers can also be caught on top water flies called pollywogs.  Wogging is some of the most exciting fishing all season with big fish inhaling bright flies on the surface. 
• Trout:
  • June: Our prime month for big rainbows and grayling.  The adult salmon have not reached the river yet and with warming water temperatures and an abundance of salmon smolt migrating to the ocean, the big trout go on the feed.   Our season opener always has plenty of big fish caught on large streamers.  Mid-June brings warmer days and some nice hatches of caddis, lime sallies and stoneflies.  With the increased bug activities this period offers the best chance of catching nice grayling and rainbows on classic dry fly patterns.  These hatches also signal the onset of mousing season.  This can provide some serious top water action with massive rainbows exploding on skated deer hair mice.  June is definitely our big trout month with rainbows of thirty inches or better taken each spring and numerous twenty four to twenty seven inchers landed.  June streamer fishing is usually done on seven or eight weight rods with either an intermediate sink or a floating line and heavily weighted fly.  Mousing and dry fly fishing require a floating line and are usually done on a five or six weight rod.
  • July: Many anglers focus on the salmon runs because with so many salmon in the water, it gets a little tougher to find the trout.  We still consistently catch fish in the sixteen to twenty four inch range most of which are taken on streamer patterns with a good number still rising for mice
  • August/September: marks the beginning of the salmon spawning season which runs through September, and this is when we see astronomical numbers of trout, Char and Dollies caught by drifting salmon egg imitations.  When fish key in to the salmon eggs, fishing gets fast and furious.  Anglers average 20-30 trout per day, a dozen of which go between twenty and twenty seven inches.  This fishing is generally done on six or seven weight rods and floating line.
• Keeping Fish: We only keep fish caught at Brooks River. They will be cleaned and bagged by your guide and will be picked up before your departure. We suggest keeping your fish early in the week so it will be well frozen for transport. Because of their slow reproductive rates, no trout may be harvested by law.  We support the policy of catch and release in the interest of maintaining a healthy fishery for generations to come.

Getting Here: Once in Anchorage, we recommend taking a day or two to enjoy the quirkiest big city in the nation. Board a plane to King Salmon via the Anchorage International Airport. Be sure to get in on an early flight as your float plane ($200 round trip per person) will leave King Salmon at 10am.

Departure: There is no guided fishing on the day of departure, unless other arrangements have been made.  Weather permitting; you will depart the lodge on Sunday morning, so that you arrive in King Salmon with plenty of time to catch your connecting flights.  On the day you depart, please be sure to have your bags packed and ready for transfer to the waiting area by 9:00am.  The staff will need to get into the rooms to be able to have them ready for the incoming group.  We appreciate you cooperation in this matter.

Travel Insurance: We HIGHLY recommend travel insurance. Alaska is known for its storms and its unpredictability. Call Alaska Adventures so we can discuss your options.

Gratuities: At Alaska Adventures we are confident that we will provide a level of service that meets or exceeds your expectations.  Our staff is committed to manifesting the best possible Alaska experience for all of our guests.  One way to show your appreciation for this level of service is by tipping the staff and guides.   Each person based on a $5400 leaves an average gratuity of 15-20% a week trip. We ask that you put it an envelope provided to you, write the amounts to be recieved by each person and hand it to the camp manager and hand it to our Yacht manager.  If at any time our service does not meet your expectations, please notify us immediately. 

Accommidations:

• Food: Alaska Adventures offers some of the finest cuisine in the Alaskan wilderness.  Our professional chef prepares gourmet hot breakfasts and dinners for you daily.  For lunch, we lay out an array of meats, cheeses and condiments so that each person can construct their perfect deli sandwich.  Your guide will keep your sandwich, along with a variety of snacks and refreshments, in his backpack.  Hors d’oeuvres are served at 5:30pm daily on our deck so that you can unwind from your day of activities and watch the wild scenery.  Dinner is served between 6:00 and 6:30pm and the dress is casual. If you have any special dietary needs, please let us know before you arrive, so that we can accommodate those needs.
• Alcohol: Alaska Adventures does not supply alcoholic beverages, nor do we sell them. If you wish to have alcoholic beverages during your stay with us, please purchase them in King Salmon and bring them with you. We are able to provide you with ice cubes and mixers like Coca-Cola, 7UP, tonic water etc.

Request More Information or Ask Us Specific Questions