Going Places

There is something special about watching hunting dogs run on wild birds, and for me watching Elvis, one of Crystal Creek Lodge’s English pointers, stretch it out on the Alaska tundra was incredible. Even more amazing was that in our first three hours of hunting we had seen more than a hundred ptarmigan, with my wife, Alison, and me combining to drop five. Although we had just begun, I already was smiling from ear to ear.
    In 2006, after having been located near Dillingham for 18 years, Crystal Creek Lodge moved to a new location on the Naknek River about 285 miles southwest of Anchorage. A short hour-plus flight from Anchorage takes guests to King Salmon, where guests are picked up at the airport for the 10-minute ride to the lodge.
    The main lodge itself is impressive: a combination of massive scribed logs and river rock, with a comfortable rustic décor, beautiful wildlife mounts and a massive stone fireplace in the Great Room. A massage therapy room and screened outdoor hot tub are luxuries, but there is no TV—by choice. Five suites in the main lodge will accommodate 10 guests, and two nearby cabins are also available.
    Crystal Creek’s food philosophy is “simple and generous,” featuring Alaska ingredients whenever possible. Seafood includes salmon, halibut, king and Dungeness crab, oysters, shrimp and scallops. Game and fresh-caught salmon can be prepared on request.
    The standard visit to Crystal Creek is a seven-day trip, with six days of hunting and/or fishing. Guests can choose to fly out in a Cessna or one of the lodge’s de Havilland Beavers for the day, or they can opt to fish in one of the 18- to 20-foot riverboats. Individuals or couples are accompanied by one of the lodge’s 10-plus guides, spending the day in the field, experiencing the solitude of the Alaska wilderness. There are ample opportunities to see bears, moose, caribou, eagles and other wildlife.
    Hunting for willow ptarmigan is Crystal Creek’s ultimate wingshooting experience. Hundreds of thousands of acres of prime habitat surround the lodge. Birds are plentiful, and 15 to 20 covey rises of up to 30 ptarmigan—sometimes more—are not uncommon. During our stay we moved well over 600 birds. Despite these numbers, ptarmigan are extremely sensitive to over-hunting, so guides seldom hit any area more than twice a season. Scattered singles are rarely followed up. Despite Alaska’s legal daily limit of 20 ptarmigan, Crystal Creek has imposed an eight-bird-per-day limit—a true sign of a lodge looking to protect its resources and offer clients consistent, quality hunting.
    Guides rotate dogs from a kennel full of English pointers and German wirehairs, and Labs are available for duck hunts later in the season. As for guns, the lodge has a selection of 12- and 20-bore doubles, including Berettas and Winchesters, with shells available. Hunters should bring waterproof upland boots and expect to walk one to three miles per day over uneven terrain.
    Waterfowlers will be interested to learn that Crystal Creek is located in a staging area of the Pacific Flyway. Beginning September 1, waterfowl hunting on the Naknek River offers excellent opportunities for American wigeon, northern pintails, greater scaup and gadwalls as well as cackling Canada geese and Pacific brant.
    From July through September salmon (king, silver, pink, chum and sockeye) are running, and they offer guests a unique “cast & blast” opportunity (ptarmigan season opens August 10). Crystal Creek provides Orvis fly rods and reels or spinning gear to help fill the freezer. (There is a lodge limit of five salmon per person.) Guests also may choose to pursue trophy rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, Arctic char and grayling on world-class rivers like the Moraine or Naknek. In addition the lodge has access to a multitude of remote locations—some with camps—offering incredible trout and salmon fishing that sees more pressure from bears than anglers. The lodge practices a strict catch-and-release policy on all fish except salmon.
For more information, contact Crystal Creek Lodge, 907-357-3153; www.crystalcreeklodge.com.