Fly Rods in Bristol Bay!

In August, we (Luke and Steve) flew to King Salmon, Alaska, where we climbed aboard a Cessna 185 floatplane, for a week-long remote flyfishing adventure in the wilderness of western Alaska. The plane left us at Gertrude Lake, in the King Salmon River watershed. There were northern pike in the lake near camp. A mile hike to Gertrude Creek took us to great fishing for Arctic char, rainbow trout, and Arctic grayling.

After 3 days at Gertrude, the plane came back and moved us to Ugashik Narrows, a short stretch of shallow, flowing water between Upper and Lower Ugashik Lakes, frequented by fishing guides from area lodges, with their clients. Sockeye salmon were holding in the reach, beginning to spawn, and the char and (jumbo-sized) grayling were standing by to gobble up salmon eggs (or beads resembling those eggs). Toward the end of the trip, we switched to large flies and caught coho salmon and a surprise lake trout.

This was un-guided, fly-fishing only; catch and release except for a couple of char and one medium-size grayling that we cooked for dinner (check out the video for a photo of a mouse we pulled from the grayling's stomach!!!). Accomodations were a small tent. Weather was variable, from full-on sunshine to hardcore rainstorm with fierce winds.

All around, a great trip. Our friends Ron and Dom in King Salmon gave us some great help with planning and logistics; Cecil Shuman of C-Air was our pilot - his expert knowledge of the area was particularly helpful in selecting final destinations.

Check out the video, below...

Ellen's 2011 Visit

In 2011 Ellen visited in June, about 2 months earlier than usual. It was another fun visit, this time with a ferry trip to Sitka, to check out the historic sites, the fun little shops, and a nice scenic cruise. Check out the video for some photos from her time here...

Christmas in Belize!

Another great Christmas adventure. This time (Christmas/New Year 2010/2011) we were in Belize, Central America for two and a half weeks. We spent the first 10 days on the island of Caye Caulker, where we rented a small house on the south shore. You'll see it in the first few frames of the video below. We had fun swimming, fishing, and hanging out on the dock in front of the house. Transportation around town was by bicycle, which worked out great.

Then we moved to Ambergris Caye, an island to the north, where we stayed with a family 12 miles north of the town of San Pedro. We stayed in a rustic wooden hut over the water - watch for several views of it about halfway through the video. The hut was primarily for sleeping, as it had no electricity (except a small, 12-volt light that charged with solar panels) or running water. We ate great family-style meals with our hosts, Greg and Rosemary Smith and their three kids (ages 4 to 12). Most days, Luke and Steve helped catch the fish that we ate for either lunch or dinner. Down the beach a couple of hundred yard was an upscale resort (Tranquility Bay), easily recognizable in the video by the brightly-colored cottages onshore, and a turquoise restaurant/bar over the water. Snorkeling on the reef was convenient and spectacular. Click the "Play" button to see some images from our trip. Make sure your speakers are turned up!