This one is special – very special. I have been waiting to do this for years – pretty much the entire nine years I’ve worked for Trout Unlimited. From the beginning, I enjoyed my interactions with Phil Shoemaker and Rochelle “Rocky” Harrison from Grizzly Skins of Alaska. We never talked that much. Their outfit was remote, and communication wasn’t always easy. But every interaction was like reuniting with old friends. Phil and Rocky were (and are) what the 21st century would call “authentic”. Real people with a real family and absolutely no pretensions. And they knew fishing in Bristol Bay.
As time went on and the Save Bristol Bay campaign came up to speed, Phil and Rocky and their daughter Tia and son Taj became more and more involved. They were natural spokespeople for that campaign, and for the importance of the Bristol Bay watershed and its people. And for good reason – they are those people. They’ve invested their entire lives here. You cannot separate this family from that landscape. They are one.
So please – if you’re ever going to join us for an Instagram Live session – please join us for this one. I’ll be talking with Phil, Rocky and Tia @grizzlyskinsofalaska on Instagram Live @troutunlimited this Friday October 30 at noon AKDT. I promise you’ll love it!