Chris and Linda Branham own and operate what is, arguably, the finest trophy trout fishing lodge in Bristol Bay.

They really have little interest in fishing for salmon (though many of the streams they frequent are full of them); their program is built completely around the huge rainbows that frequent the streams surrounding this wilderness oasis. If you were to design the perfect trophy trout lodge, you could do no better than Royal Wolf Lodge. Located in the center of Katmai National Park – years ago the Branham’s were able to purchase 120 acres inside the Park, something unlikely to ever happen again – the floatplane flights to most of their targeted streams are only 10-15 minutes in length. They are the epicenter of Alaska’s revered monster trout region.

Legendary rivers such as the Moraine, Funnel, Battle, Brooks, Kulik, and Kvichak are within easy striking distance, and the lodge even has coveted permits to fish portions of limited access rivers like the Big Ku and Lower American, both world-class rainbow streams. In the unlikely event of a weather delay affecting daily fly outs, the famed Nonvianuk River is only a short few hundred yard walk from your cabin door, where the lodge keeps several jet boats; there are times of the year when this wilderness stream will outfit many of the more popular fly out waters. To complement the natural resources, Royal Wolf hires the most experienced, fanatical trout fishing guides available. These guys know and understand the rivers intimately, and in many cases design their own patterns for their clients to use on specific streams, at particular times of the season. Their physical lodge is beautiful, on a heavily forested mountaintop overlooking a series of small lakes and the Nonionic River; it is not unusual to have moose and bears wander through the facility!