Vintage Alaskan video from Katmai National Park and the Brooks River Camp.

We lived in the bush, got eaten alive by bugs, boated and hiked into the remotest spots we could find, and ran out of booze, all trying to get the footage we needed.

The pursuit of what some micro-midge tossing, 7X tippet tying, trout purist acquaintances refer to as “ditch pickles,” turned out to be about as much fun as you can have with a fly rod. Just to give a little taste, picture dragging a Gurgler across a solid putting green of vegetation and watching the grass explode...

Word has gotten out and folks are catching fish all around the Island.

My cast is horrible (due to the wet sock tied to the end of the line), a slow sinking fly line, and the heaviest fly rod I have yet to handle. After an hour my shoulder feels like jelly on burnt toast.

Photo: Copi Vojta

Bears, bugs, wind storms, clients from hell, back and olfactory-breaking (latrine cleaning) labor, infrequent fishing revelations (as it should be), and a healthy mix of well-written yarns all recounted with copious detail and a refreshing honesty.

Pick any pattern you like, or ask the boys at the shop, then tie it bigger. Like rusty spinners four or five inches long. The best time of the year is now until the hatches taper.