Alaska’s Best Just Got Better
Ernie Duncan Acquires Katmai Lodge

A personal letter from Katmai Lodge’s new owner, Ernie Duncan…

June 2005

Dear Sport-Fishing Enthusiast,

I’ve been fishing the Alagnak River for more than 20 years. And while I’ve fished the world – from Argentina to Labrador to Russia to Baja – I always return to the Alagnak for what is quite simply the best fishing in the world.

When the opportunity came to acquire Katmai Lodge, I didn’t hesitate a minute. For as many years as I’ve fished Alaska, I’ve found comfort and convenience at Katmai Lodge… not to mention the finest fishing program in the business and the outstanding personal service. Like many of you, I’m a businessman by trade, but a sportsman at heart. As we transition to new ownership, we will strive to make your fishing experience better than ever.

In fact, on your next trip to Katmai Lodge, you probably won’t notice much difference in the quality experience you’ve come to expect – from our committed guides to our chefs that prepare every meal from scratch to our warm main lodge where fish stories abound. Rest assured that it will be business – or rather, pleasure – as usual. We intend to keep the same management team, staff and guides and provide you with what can only be described as the fishing experience of a lifetime.

If you have existing reservations with Katmai Lodge, you have my word that we fully intend to honor all deposits and reservations made under previous ownership. All you have to do is call Les or Natasha at 1-800-330-0326 to confirm existing reservations. You can also call John Donovan at TIME TO TRAVEL (1-800-937-7335). Time to Travel is our new official travel agency. Please do it today.
If you’ve been to Katmai before, you already know how special Katmai Lodge and the Alagnak River is. Whether this is your umpteenth visit or your first, you have our promise that it will be a memorable and rewarding experience. I look forward to seeing you at the Lodge – and on the river.

Good fishing,

Ernie Duncan
Duncan Enterprises-KL, Inc.


Please call today for more information or to book your fishing adventure!
Katmai Lodge
P.O. Box 13120
Everett WA 98206
Phone: 425-258-5014 or toll-free 1-800-330-0326
FAX: 425-257-9238
Email: katmai@katmai.com

The River

As spectacular as the fishing is, the Alagnak River itself steals the show. This river runs crystal-clear all season long. The river is the culmination of two smaller rivers, one flowing from Kukaklek lake and the other from Nonvianuk lake, each of these small rivers flow from ten to fifteen miles until they join and the create the Alagnak. The Alagnak is designated a Wild and Scenic river, located in the only designated Trophy Fishing area in Alaska. Other rivers may provide the opportunity to catch one or even two species of salmon during a short period of time. The Alagnak offers undoubtedly the most diversified fishing Alaska has to offer. All five salmon spawn right in the Alagnak, unlike most rivers where the salmon only use it as a highway to their final spawning grounds. In the Alagnak you may fish for two or three different species of salmon down river in the morning and for huge Rainbows, Grayling, or Char after a hot barbeque shore lunch in the afternoon. The Alagnak is an excellent river for fly rod and terminal gear anglers alike. The river meanders for sixty plus miles from the forks down to the lodge. The upper river splits many times into ten and twenty small channels offering anglers eight hundred to a thousand miles of private wadable streams and side channels. Anglers take a short boat ride up to their private six mile beat in the morning and don't have to get back in the boat, until its time to return to the lodge. You most likely won't see a foot print or angler all day. Katmai is the only lodge that has boats capable of the shallow water travel required to get into the upper river, there is no float plane or road access into this unspoiled wilderness.

(Located on Levelock Native Land)