Nushagak River July Updates:

It’s with pride and gratitude that I share our recent achievements. Not only has the season started off strong here on the Nushagak River where we have the world’s largest run of king salmon and an abundance of silver salmon, but we are also marking this year with some major improvements to the lodge. By next season we’ll have rebuilt this place from the ground up earning our distinction as the finest 5-star lodge on the Nush.

I wanted to share an update and marvel in some logistical details from our significant endeavor. I have the honor of working alongside my brother-in-law Stephen as a trusted general contractor. Stephen is a first-rate person all around and simply will not cut corners so I knew he would live up to our lodge standard putting guests and safety first.

After we completed a solid bill of materials then extensively checked and double checked it, we purchased the pine lumber for our cabins in the Lower 48 and had it shipped by barge to Dillingham, Alaska in 20-foot containers. In Dillingham the containers were loaded onto a river barge that floated the Nushagak River roughly 35 miles to our camp. It took our crew of 13 nearly eight hours to unload the camp supplies, cement, lumber and electrical equipment by hand or using our skid steer as a fork lift. During the summer of 2017 we built seven new cabins and this summer we built two more cabins and finished the insides of four cabins. We also re-sided the dining hall, made improvements to the bath room and tore down our 6-person guide dormitory to build a new one. We will have framed the new ten- person guide dorm and put its roof on along with the doors and windows to protect it from the winter weather—all before we depart camp on August 18th. We did all of this while guests were out fishing so that the construction did not interfere with their awesome experience.

Our improvements haven’t stopped at the lodge, we’ve upgraded our boats and fishing gear with six new Alumaweld 20-foot boats powered by 90 HP Mercury motors that comfortably fish up to four guests and run around the river. We’ve brought in all new Lamiglas rods and Daiwa line counter reels, new line and tackle. Our top-level guides are armed with the knowledge and the gear for this supreme river. Simply put, they catch fish even when other camps don’t.

We could not have completed all of this without a diligent crew who have put in hours and energy beyond comprehension. It is with huge appreciation that I thank my brother-in-law Stephen White, nephews Brett White and Dave Durkin, good buddy Bruce Condrey, electrical guru Jamie Mundy, Brian Willett, guides Steve Huber, Bill DeAvilla, Al Kutzkey, Kris Kallina, Eric Baird, Ron Logan, and Ted Gibson, plus chef Chris Lee, Korey Stilman and camp staff Camden Droppo and Corbin Gibson. In Bush Alaska it’s all about proper planning and solid execution and this team has done an exemplary job. Thank you!

If you haven’t been out yet, you should come see all the work we’ve done and enjoy how great the fishing has been. It’s practically a brand-new place. Our team is working cohesively and we are operating a quality lodge located on a fantastic fishery while serving excellent cuisine to our guests.

To inquire about dates for 2019, 2020, or 2021 please contact me. Both our King and Silver runs are healthy and bountiful. We look forward to having you Fish The Nush at our service-oriented, fly-out fishing lodge.

Warm Regards,
Peter von Jess
907.562.1539 lodge
fishthenush@gmail.com
www.fishnush.wpengine.com
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