As many of you know, John Bilotta and I recently organized and hosted a small group trip to a very remote Salmon camp on the Alaska Peninsula. Yantarni Salmon Camp is owned and operated by Crystal Creek Lodge whom I fished with last year which is how I learned about it.
From King Salmon, AK, it takes a breathtaking 125 mile bush flight over part of the Aleutian range and down the Pacific Coast just to reach the location. Angling pressure is non-existent, and the wildlife refuge status renders it off limits for commercial fleets as well, so the fish are in a truly wild and unmolested environment.
Our target species and focus of the trip were Silver (Coho) Salmon fresh from the salt. The run is later here than in other parts of Alaska, and this adds several more weeks of feeding time at sea resulting in some of the largest Cohos on the planet. Add this to the fact that we fished within 2 miles from the ocean at all times, and what you have are some very fresh, very large, and very hot fish!
On the trip with John and I were Alan, Charlie, Adam, Brian, and Chet. Our guides were Aaron (a.k.a. Chinker), and Carl. Jason was our camp cook and host, and Earl the Salmon chasing dog was our cherished friend and campsite entertainment.
While the fish and the fishing were truly spectacular as one might expect, it is the setting that was absolutely stunning! To fish with that kind of a backdrop in a far corner of the world is difficult to imagine, and even more difficult to forget. The pictures only begin to capture a glimpse of the beauty and grandeur which were our constant companions.
I feel blessed beyond measure to have experienced such a special place, and to have done so with some wonderful friends both new and old. John and I are getting our dates blocked off for a return trip next year, so anyone interested in joining us should get a hold of he or I directly. We expect to make this an annual journey for many years to come.
Hope you don't mind a ton of pictures! Adam got some awe-inspiring panoramas too, so I hope he hops on at some point and shares a few as well.
Dan Davala
P.S. Ironically, the group leaving the camp when we arrived were some of our friends from the Fly Fishing Film Tour who were on location shooting a short piece about this unique camp and experience. Hopefully as a result, we'll all get to see a well produced video short about Yantarni Salmon Camp at next years tour. I can't wait to see it again myself!
http://www.tpfr.org
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