Goodnews River

The Goodnews River float starts at Goodnews Lake and ends at Goodnews Village. The river is 50 miles long from lake to village and is good for a 5-7 day float. The Goodnews River is smaller than the Kanektok River.   

Fly Fishing

This river is ideal for the fly fisherman because of the river’s small size and abundance of fish. Goodnews Lake is in a very scenic spot at the head of Goodnews Valley. The lake has trout in it and there is good hiking in this area.

The Goodnews River is well known for it’s Rainbow fishing. The river also has fantastic Dolly fishing and fair Grayling fishing. The Goodnews River also has healthy salmon runs. This river has an escapement of 55,000 Reds, 3,800 Kings, and 15,000 Chums. The total average run for Coho is 47,000 and the total average run for Pink Salmon is 56,000 fish. The commercial fishery has been shut down since 2016 due to a lack of buyers.  

This river combines good resident fishing with good salmon fishing. The prime time for King fishing is June 20 through July 5. The prime Silver fishing is August 7 through September 1. The last 7 miles of the river is tidal and there are a couple of ways to deal with this.

We can pick you up on the lower river with the Beaver; or hire a local Goodnews person to pick you up in a power boat and transport you back to the local airport where you can fly to Dillingham with a wheel plane.


Cost of Goodnews River Float: