Dierick's Tsiu River Lodge

The food here is outstanding, and it is available in large quantities. Expect home cooked breakfasts with eggs, meats, and pancakes available. Lunch is served at the lodge or on the river and usually consists of deli style sandwiches. Dinner is a gourmet affair. It begins with a salad bar and progresses to your main course with seafood and meat such as prime rib, turkey, Cornish game hens, etc. Even without the fishing, Dierick's Tsiu River Lodge is worth the adventure just for the food.

The Tsiu River is long and fairly shallow. It features clear water with a sandy bottom and for Salmon and Trout, the Tsiu makes the perfect habitat. The river's flow makes the Tsiu a good spot for fly fishermen or spin casters. The wide open valley on both sides of the river makes backcasting on a fly rod much easier. The lodge sits near the mouth of the Tsiu, and that means fish that are full of fight. It also means that a variety of flies or lures works well here. Expect the Tsiu River to deliver an outstanding fishing opportunity.

In the early part of the season, Middle of July you might catch sockeye salmon. The biggest run of fish on the Tsiu is Silver Salmon. These are amazing fighters that are well known for their acrobatic displays. The heaviest part of the Silver Salmon run is throughout August and into September. By September, the Steelhead are beginning to show up. It is a fine day of fishing to land both a Silver Salmon and a Steelhead. Steelhead run through December, but the best time fish for them is September and into October. The Dolly Varden Char swim with the silver salmon, much the same way that rainbow trout swim with the king and Sockeye Salmon. Dolly Varden are amazing fish to battle. They are not as flamboyant as the silver salmon, but they have quite a bit of sport and fight to them. They are also smart fish. If you give them any slack, they will slip the hook or snap your line. Dolly Varden are in the same family as Salmon and are wonderful eating fish. On the odd numbered years, you may also encounter pink salmon. Pink Salmon are smaller, but also great to eat. The lodge can arrange charters for Halibut fishing out of Yakutat too.

August, September, and October are chancy months for the weather in Alaska. It is possible that a storm can roll in during any part of the year, but the closer you get to late fall and winter the higher the odds of a storm and snow. The good news about fishing in Alaska is that the salmon will still strike a nice fly even in the rain.