If a wood lodge and full amenities is more to your liking, the next jump in price will usually be to a river lodge. These operations will run the gamut from rustic to quite comfortable, with most falling somewhere in the middle. They will normally have full bath/shower facilities in each room and cabin, or a separate, shared building with these facilities. This is always a good question to ask, if it's important to you. Some river lodges have both options. There will usually be a separate building that serves as the gathering/dining location. Here, anglers returning from a long day astream will gather, sharing lies in front of a crackling stone fireplace. Often, these permanent operations will have boardwalks and septic systems, luxuries the more temporary wilderness camps cannot always legally construct, due to stringent environmental regulations. In short, what you're really paying for is improved creature comforts.

Like wilderness camps, river lodges are located on a particular watershed, and generally fish their anglers in exactly the same manner, using jet boats. Often, however, they have the option of hiring local air taxi services for their clients, sometimes on short notice. (Understand that flying time is expensive, so this alternative will not be included in the original package price.) For a fee, you can decide on any given evening to try a fly-out experience the next day. If several anglers want to go, the cost of the flight is split between them.

I remember staying at a top quality Iliamna region river lodge some years back, with a group of hard-core rainbow fanatics. The fishing had been fabulous, with everyone hooking dozens of fish each day. On our second to last night, the owner got off the radiophone and casually mentioned that a friend reported a huge push of silvers pouring into a particular small Kamishak Bay estuary. The noisy chatter in the room came to a dead stop. Suggestive eyebrow arches filled the air, and in short order a wad of cash was lying on the table. Early the next gray dawn, we stood huddled against the droning propwash of a pair of Beavers, piling in with all our gear. Watching the sunrise en route was worth the price of admission, as was the spectacular flight through coastal passes. Landing in the mouth of a tiny glacier river, we could see finning salmon everywhere. You can imagine the rest. Later, sitting around the fireplace at the lodge, each and every fisherman told me it had been the best hundred bucks they'd ever spent!