Nothing like a wilderness fly fishing trip to bring you back down to planet Earth. These guys did it right, taking a 11 days to float down the remote Kanektok River in southwest Alaska for the fishing trip of a lifetime. Shot and edited by Chris Morgan (twosherpas.com).

Watch the extended version below. 

Special Package Details: Discount Code FOM50

• 5-Day/5-Night Trip - $2,550 Per Person (Normally $5,100)
• Dates: Aug 25 - Sept 1, 2014 (Primetime Silvers)
• Included: Accommodations, Meals, Guide Services, Flies, Lures, 25 lbs of Processed Fish, Unlimited Fishing Time
• Not Included: Air Transportation between Your Home and King Salmon, Fishing Licenses, Personal Fishing Gear, Alcoholic Beverages, Gratuity
• Description

The Yantarni Salmon Camp is a wilderness tent camp 125 miles south of King Salmon and is an experience and trip distinct from the fine lodging and fly out trip offered by it's parent operation, Crystal Creek Lodge. A trip to Yantarni is for hard-core fishing enthusiasts seeking a high-volume wilderness Alaska Silver Salmon fishing experience. Days can pass without hearing the sound of an aircraft and the only fishing competition is from your fellow campmates.
Fishing Program

The fishing experience at Yantarni is high- volume salmon fishing for Chum, Pink and Silver Salmon in small coastal streams. Fishing time while at the camp is unlimited. The main stream, within walking distance from the camp, fills with ocean-fresh salmon as well as sea-run Dolly Varden. Two other prolific salmon streams are close by to give a total of three streams within easy reach of camp.

The best salmon holes are those at tidewater, about a mile from camp, and the guides transport fishermen from the camp to the tidewater holes using ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles). The streams are small enough to wade across most places at low tide and at high tide a good fly caster can reach well past the center.

As the salmon enter the stream from the ocean, they can be seen porpoising the surface as they arrive with the tides. The water clarity is often so clear it is possible to see and cast to specific fish. The roar of the nearby surf before you and majesty of the mountains behind you only add to the sweetness of the experience.

Being so close to the Ocean, the salmon are very aggressive; willing to hit a fly with abandon, often within moments after it hits the water and before the angler is ready. Persons who do not fly fish can use jigs with similar results. If weather and water conditions are right the fish will strike surface poppers.
Accommodations & Dining

As one would expect from a camp managed by Crystal Creek Lodge, it is a comfortable place featuring heated wall tents, hot showers and delicious food. The accommodations consist of heavy-duty wall tents with wood floors. The guest tents feature wood burning stoves, electric lights, carpet, and comfortable beds with sheets and down comforters. The kitchen/dining tent provides ample space for comfortable dining and evening social activities. The shower tent and lavatory facilities have an inexhaustible supply of hot water, and the water, which is pumped from a well, is as clean and pure as you will ever find. There is a flush toilet for guests.
Meals are cooked and served "home style" in the dining hall. Breakfasts can be chosen hearty as sausage and eggs or light as oatmeal or fruit. Streamside shore lunches of fresh salmon are a camp specialty. Dinner entrees include prime rib, roasted chicken and fresh salmon with side dishes.

Discount Code FOM50

Contact Us: [email protected] | 406.781.7184 | AlaskaFlyOut.com | Yantarni.com

From thingstolucat.com

Derek Collins and I skied from Aniak to Dillingham through Wood-Tikchik State Park (Alaska). Our route was 250 miles, and it took us 14 days. The highlight of the trip was ice skating ~50 miles of the route on nordic skates. We were stomped by a storm the entire second week.

Earlier this winter Joe Stock proposed we do a fly-in ski traverse of the Wood-Tikchik mountains in Southwest Alaska. The Wood-Tikchiks are a freshwater fjord system, big mountains to the west, U-shaped glacial valleys (the lakes), and rolling hills (moraine) to the east. I was really excited to do another trip with Joe because I can learn so much from him. After scoping the area in Google Earth, I was really impressed with the 4000-ft relief, granitic and glaciated, at the northern end of the mountains, so I proposed we fly in for steep skiing, then tour out to Dillingham. At the last minute Joe had to bail, and without him there was no funding to fly in.

I met Derek Collins a few years ago when he came to the Brooks Range for the Winter Classic. We didn't travel together, but Thomas Bailly and Roman Dial were really impressed with him. Early in the course Roman borrowed one of Derek's ski poles and accidentally broke it. Derek just shrugged it off. Since hearing that, I've invited him on a number of trips, but living in Jackson Hole with two kids, he hasn't been able to make other trips.

Derek was particularly interested in this route because he spent 6 years growing up in Aleknagik, the village at the southern end of the Wood-Tikchik lakes, and Dillingham. We discovered an almost spooky number of similarities. Derek moved to Aleknagik at age 4, from Salmon, Idaho. I moved to McGrath (up the Kuskokwim River from Aniak) at age 4, from Missoula. He moved into Anchorage for 4th grade, I moved in for 8th. We are both quiet, a little socially awkward, and uncomfortable with the party scene. It gets even weirder... our older brothers, Dirk and Burke, are both pro videographers. Dirk was a co-founded of TGR, now sole owner of One Eyed Bird, and Burke has Things to Look At. It was fun thinking of what project they would put together... Girls Gone Wilderness?

Read More 

By Juliet Eilperin, Updated: February 28 at 10:48 am

The Environmental Protection Agency will announce Friday it will examine whether to block a massive gold and copper mine proposed in Alaska, according to people familiar with the issue -- a major win for environmentalists, native tribes and commercial fishing companies that have been seeking to kill the project for more than three years.

While the announcement does not mean the Obama administration has made a final decision to prohibit Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., a Canadian-based firm, from starting construction on the Pebble Mine project, it will delay it for months and make it much harder for the controversial project to move ahead at all.

Read More Here

The Bristol Bay River Academy is now planning for its sixth year. The mission of the Academy is to impart to the youth of Bristol Bay - the joy of fly fishing, the practices of a professional fishing guide, the skills needed to work at a fishing lodge, an appreciation of the habitat complexity of the Bristol Bay salmon ecosystem and an understanding of the conservation tools available to protect that ecosystem. The annual Academy accepts 12 to 15 participants.

How You Can help - Sponsor a Participant

There is no charge to the young people accepted into the Academy. There is no charge for the assistance we provide to graduates of the Academy who want to pursue opportunities to work in conservation or the recreational fishing community of Bristol Bay. We can do this because of the the generous support of many individuals, businesses and organizations. A simple way to help is to sponsor an academy participant for $250. That donation helps cover the cost of air transportation for a participant from his or her village to the lodge hosting the academy.

You can donate online directly here --------------> DONATE

If you are an Alaskan resident you can provide a donation to the Academy by designating the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust for a portion of your Permanent Fund Dividend under the Pick, Click, Give program.

If you are interested in helping in other ways email us.

Help us create opportunities for the next generation of Bristol Bay residents that are linked to healthy fish habitat.

I've been seeing these really cool fish illustrations pop up on the Fly Out social media feeds for the past year or so from an Andrea Larko. I kept seeing these really unique pieces of digital art, paintings, color pencil, etc. I'm not an artist (in the traditional sense), but her work really struck me. I asked Andrea if we could do a progression series on AlaskaFlyOut.com with a steelhead piece she would be commissioned to do. The video above is the result. 

Find out more about this super talented artist at AndreaLarko.com. And, you can purchase Andrea's art at her etsy site. 

Brad Waitman at Igiugig Lodge graciously invited us to his lodge for a couple days of fishing and filming for our recent fly fishing film, Long Live the King. Located at the mouth of the Kvichak River and the outlet of Alaska's famous Lake Iliamna, sits his humble, family-run fishing lodge. The beach front location on the giant lake makes it feel you are on the ocean somewhere - maybe the Oregon Coast. Waves were licking the shore, and we really felt like we were out there - in the REAL Alaska. Brad runs a small operation, hosting just 4-6 guests per week. Brad is a pilot and a guide. So, he flies a Cessna 206 to many different fisheries in Bristol Bay and Katmai National Park, where he puts his 29+ years of Alaska guiding experience to work for you. The truth is, the guy is a fish hound. I mean he is fish nuts! One of those guys that has a sixth sense, and just knows how find fish, with every type of tackle and skill level. We asked Brad to try put us on King Salmon on fly rods on the very large Nushagak River, which does not naturally lend itself to fly fishing. Nevertheless, Brad was able to put us in the right spots at the right time for outstanding success. Nothing like having an ocean bright King Salmon tearing line off your reel at slack tide! 

In addition to Brad's skills as a guide/pilot, he and his wife Brenda were incredibly generous hosts. The family atmosphere, good home-cooking, and comfortable accommodations made for a fantastic apres-fish experience. If you're looking for serious fishing, comfortable accommodations, with a first-class family owned lodge - consider Igiugig Lodge. 

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What's Special about Igiugug Lodge: 

• Homewater - Located on the Kvichak River, their operation is based on one of the most productive fisheries in Bristol Bay for both salmon and giant rainbows. When weather doesn't allow you to fly, it will not affect your day of fishing. It just might improve it. 

• Small Group Exclusivity - The lodge is available as exclusive with just 4 anglers. 

• Serious Anglers Take Note - If you're interested in fishing and fishing hard for a solid week, you've found the right place. If you want to swing for the world's hottest rainbows on the Kvichak with one of Alaska's most experienced guides, Igiugig Lodge. 

• Price - As a Bristol Bay operation offering fly outs, Igiugig Lodge's week rate sits at a modest $6,200. With special pricing available through us at Fly Out. Questions? Contact Us

By Cory Luoma

Oh no, not another post on C&R tips and techniques! I know, I know, everyone knows about these bullet points. But in my experience, many of these best practices for catch-and-release are ignored during the excitement of the moment. It's just natural - I'm guilty of some slip ups also. Fish are brought in and banged against rocks. Big rainbows are held out of the water for 5 minute photo sessions. Hasty hook removal rips cartlidge on small fish. A fat char's guts are squeezed and compromised for the one-hander shot. There's no time to rescucitate because there are so many more fish to catch - how about just under hand tossing it into the fast current. 

The truth is, if we're goint to practice successful C&R, we need to follow the commandments - religiously. For most of us, that means slowing down, and doing the things that we already know about taking good care of fish. Don't get in a hurry. The photos can wait. The long cast, the secret spot, the big fish, and the hero photos mean nothing without the resource. Here are a few bullet point reminders: 

• Pinch the barb on your hook flat so it's easily removed.  

• Choose your tackle wisely, plan ahead.

• Land the fish as quickly and carefully as possible to avoid extreme exhaustion and injury near shore/boat. 

• Keep the fish in the water and resuscitate it. Handle the fish gently with wet hands or moist gloves.

• If you must net it, use a release net made of soft knotless fabric and keep the fish under water in the net. Don't lift the fish up in the air or squeeze it. Minimize time out of the water.

• Don't sacrifice the fish for the photo. Never squeeze your fish. Keep fingers away from gills and eyes. Minimize handling.

• If you plan to keep a fish or two for the table, let the hook-up decide what you kill. Many people who claim to practice catch and release are in fact doing what commercial fishermen call "high-grading". They are sorting out the smaller fish, looking for the bigger fish. If a trophy size fish is hooked in the lip for an easy release – let it go. If you catch a smaller fish that is bleeding – keep it.

• Locate the hook, then decide how to approach it. Back the hook out with hemostats or other hook removal tool. 

• Fish responsibly. Alter your method or your gear to minimize hooking mortality. That may mean going to circle hooks or setting the hook a little sooner. Apply deeply hooked fish to your bag limit and release the fish with good survivable hookup. If we are responsible in our approach today, it will mean more fish in the future for everyone.

Our friend Ryan Peterson from Alaskanist Stories participated in "End of the Line", a story telling event put on by the Salmon Project in Anchorage. The stories are about fishing, eating, and living with wild Alaskan salmon. If you're a guide, you'll probably relate well to this story. 

Also, if you haven't seen Ryan's short film "sea-swallow'd" - check it out. 

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What strikes most visitors to Alaska is the sheer scale of things (Sorry, Texas eat your heart out). The mountain ranges go on forever, appearing to be spilling over the edge of the Earth. The rivers and tributaries meander across prehistoric landscapes, colliding with giant glacier ice fields that mimic something from a science fiction movie . Moose, bears, dahl sheep, and other large mammals dominate the state's population, and meander without notice of civilization. Let's face it, it's hard to look past the enormity of Alaska. It drives home a brand of humility that is difficult to find in the human-centric world of smart phones and rush hour.

Occasionally (actually quite often), I thumb through our large gallery of Alaska photos from many different areas of the state. In those images, I find examples of the more subtle beauties of Alaska. A close up of the scales on a big Coho Salmon or a grizzly track impressed sharply into a river bank. It is quite amazing to encounter these tiny miracles and glimpses of infinity at the smallest micro scale. One moment you are soaking in the grandeur of an Alaska sunset, the next you are looking at the intricacy of bear scat. There is beauty at every scale in The Last Frontier.