The incredible ecosystem that is Bristol Bay Alaska had another record breaking year in terms of salmon numbers. According to KDLG, 56.3 million salmon returned to Bristol Bay in 2019. The commercial harvest was the second largest ever at 43 million fish. The total run for the Bay was 33% higher than they forecasted giving…
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Rapids Camp
Sight Fishing Tip
From Alaska to the Rocky Mountains, by this time of year, stream flows have dropped and the waters are clear. This gives us some perfect conditions to sight fish. Different from sight fishing to a tailing Bonefish on the flats, here we have to play the current, and use that moving water to bring our…
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“Pano” Mode on your Phone
Now a days any 8 year old with an iPhone can take a great photo. The technology of the cameras on our phones is becoming so good that it takes DSLR quality photos, without having to have a degree in photography. A lot of these phones have various camera settings that go unused by the…
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Reminder: Tomorrow is a Day for Bristol Bay!
Just a reminder that tomorrow, August 24th, is AFFTA’s a Day for Bristol Bay! We have a big fight ahead of us and need to be united as an industry. Fly shops, manufacturers, guides, outfitters, lodges and more industry professionals nationwide have banded together for A Day for Bristol Bay to raise much-needed funding for…
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Target Species // The Lake Trout
Here is an underrated species for you that also happens to be Alaska’s largest freshwater fish. The Lake Trout is a fish that loves cold and very deep water so they are not always easily accessible to anglers with a fly rod which leads to their lack of notoriety. In areas where Lake Trout have…
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The 2019 Great Alaskan Heat Wave
It has been a warm one up here in Alaska this year. 3 different Alaskan cities experienced record high temperatures on the 4th of July, one of which was King Salmon, the home of our fly out lodge, Rapids Camp. It reached 89 degrees on Independence Day this year (for your reference, the average high…
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Welcome to the Mickey Mouse Club
In most parts of the world, Rainbow Trout eat aquatic insects that are brought to them by the current. They can sit effortlessly in a river, expending little energy as they get their calories by eating bugs like mayflies or midges. This is not the case in Alaska. Trout here do not act like Trout….
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Upcoming Event: A Day for Bristol Bay
The American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA) is trying to bring the fly fishing community together on August 24th in full support of Bristol Bay. Fly shops, manufacturers, guides, outfitters, lodges and more industry professionals nationwide have banded together for A Day for Bristol Bay to raise much-needed funding for the Bristol Bay Defense Fund…
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When Bead Hooks Go Bad..
This photo is of RCL guide Jake Bishop after he got whipped with a bead hook on a recent guide trip. Jake had always wanted a face tattoo of a stinger hook so this incident worked out surprisingly okay but it does show how important it is that we prioritize safety out on the water….
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Breaking Pebble News
From Nelli Williams, Alaska Trout Unlimited Program Director, “Tough news on the Pebble front this week. Despite millions of people weighing in, and the scientific evidence (as recent as a few weeks ago) clearly confirming that Pebble will have unacceptable impacts to Bristol Bay’s fish, wildlife, and recreation opportunities, the EPA announced that they were…
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