Currently browsing… Alaska
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Birds, books and flies
Birding has become a distraction for one shut-in Alaska angler
Whiling away the coronavirus pandemic in Alaska I had a realization the other day while wandering my neighborhood bike path with the pooch, eyes scanning trees for the flutter of wings and ears waiting for the jubilant spring song of rambling birds. I am unintentionally prepared for this quarantine. After a pleasant trip south of the border, I returned to new norms of social distancing and a more or less…
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Meet the Bristol Bay guides working to stop Pebble
It’s the job of the guide to know the river. It's the job of the guide to know which fly a fish will go after. It’s the job of the guide to get that killer picture of their client holding their catch of a lifetime. It’s also the job of the guide to know what threatens the fish, recreation opportunities and economic drivers in…
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Wilderness Place Lodge is Alaska fishing at its finest
Imagine this: Alaska. Wilderness. Strong runs of all five Pacific salmon species. Rainbow trout. Northern pike. Rustic elegance. Great food. Friendly hosts. I have more words to describe Wilderness Place Lodge, but if I could tell you all the great things about this place, it would take a lot more room than we have here.…
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Mousing the Aniak
Oh, to be Brian O'Keefe for a day last summer in western Alaska. O'Keefe served as Todd Moen's fishing subject in Moen's new short film, "Alaska Fly Fishing with a Mouse," that's been crawling the interwebs with a vengeance over the last few days. And rightly so—the footage of massive Alaskan rainbows erupting beneath mouse…
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A Game of Taboo: mining edition
You may be familiar with the game Taboo. If not, here's a primer: players take turns drawing cards and trying to get their teammates to say the word on the card by describing what it is without saying that word or a few keywords related to it. I want to share some information about the…
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The Gibralter is special
The place you catch a rainbow trout as big as a silver salmon is a place you hold with reverence. A place you plan to someday return.
Imagine a place that’s wild — save for an ATV trail, there are no roads leading to it, and no fences. Swap the idea of any buildings on the horizon for grass and fireweed. Add the awareness that there might be a brown bear around the next bend, or a fox watching from a gravel…
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What 2020 holds for restoring Alaska’s Eklutna River
With great excitement, last year we doubled down on the revitalization of Alaska’s Eklutna River. We see this work as a unique chance to return salmon in historical numbers to a river of great cultural significance to the native village of Eklutna and potentially create a new sportfishing opportunity. The year was dominated by furthering relationships with partners, engaging in the process to help reduce…