Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy

Guide academies offer aspiring fishing guides hands-on training, combining technical skills with a deep understanding of local ecosystems. The Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy is setting the standard in Alaska, inspiring not only their students but also anglers and communities statewide.

Story By Tica Drury

Bristol Bay, Alaska; a last bastion of livelihoods inextricably tied to salmon. In a world where salmon numbers are on the decline, this region stands as an exception, still home to prolific runs that support vibrant indigenous cultures.

Youth in Bristol Bay are often raised with deep connections to both subsistence and commercial fisheries, but many have not tried sportfishing. Sportfishing has long been an important economic player in the region. Anglers from across the globe invest thousands for the chance to catch Bristol Bay’s legendary trophy trout and salmon. While native fish are many, Native guides are few. The Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy looks to narrow that gap. The Academy’s goal is to foster the next generation of Bristol Bay guides to share and steward their home fisheries.

The Guide Academy Experience at Last Cast Lodge

The 2024 Guide Academy brought us to Last Cast Lodge in Igiugig, a village at the mouth of the Kvichak River where it drains Lake Iliamna. It’s a lake so clean you can drink straight out of it, so chockfull of salmon it’s home to freshwater seals, and so large it is home to a fabled lake monster. While the lake monster remained elusive, a different brand of aquatic monster brought excitement to our trip; silvery, tenacious, trophy trout.

At the start of June, students boarded bush planes bound for the Guide Academy. Some students flew east from Dillingham, Port Heiden, and New Stuyahok. Others flew west from the Anchorage bowl. We even had some of our furthest afield students yet joining from the Lower 48. Despite their diverse backgrounds, all students are linked; somehow tied to the lands and waters of Bristol Bay. Some grew up there, others are shareholders of local Native corporations, and a handful had previous employment in the region.

Like most summer days in Alaska, our daily schedule for the guide academy was crammed. Lectures delved into land management, fisheries biology, and regulations. Interactive lessons included fly tying, customer-service role play, and knot-tying practice. Yet it was beyond the four walls of the classroom where the most memorable activities took place: exploring Igiugig, a tour of the historical site of Quinuyang, and fishing on the Kvichak.

Stewardship and Success in Bristol Bay

Igiugig locals, Instructor Kiara Nelson with student (and sister) Shea, flyfishing on their home river. © Leslie Hsu Oh

Since its inception over a decade ago, success stories of Guide Academy graduates abound. Nearly two dozen students have taken what they learned at the Academy and turned it into jobs as fishing guides, lodge managers, chefs, pilots, flyfishing instructors, and many other roles within the tourism industry in Bristol Bay.

Time after time we’ve gotten positive feedback from lodges who employ Academy graduates. Surprisingly, clients sing their praises not because of their angling skills. It’s the stories they tell. Of the land, of the culture, and of their personal and ancestral connections to Bristol Bay. Students have many of the prerequisites to make excellent guides before they so much as a look at a fly rod. Many drove boats before cars, most have a wide-ranging understanding of the local fisheries, and all have a deep respect for and kinship with the land. Stewardship is the true hallmark of the Academy, creating guides who are not only skilled in their trade, but custodians of the nature and culture of Bristol Bay.

Expanding Across Alaska

Seeing the Academy’s success in Bristol Bay has catalyzed similar programs in other Alaskan communities. The inaugural Tongass Academy took place this June in Angoon. With the support of a diverse group of partners, students were provided with soft- and hard skills to prepare them for jobs in the robust tourism industry in southeast Alaska. In a region boasting world-class salt- and freshwater fishing options along with high tourism numbers, this program has ample opportunity to grow.

As for the future of the Bristol Bay Academy, we look forward to next summer on the Naknek River with Bear Trail Lodge. Know a 14- to 24-year-old that may be a good fit? Applications will open shortly after the first of the year. Look for updates on the Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy Facebook and bristolbayriveracademy.org. Priority goes to youth that live in region, or are Bristol Bay Native Corporation shareholders/decedents.

Students Become Teachers

In a full-circle moment, several past academy students returned this year as instructors. Triston Chaney, head flyfishing instructor for the Academy now guides at Bear Trail Lodge and even starred in the Orvis short film, School of Fish. Tatyana Zackar, who works for various lodges throughout the region, also served as an instructor. Kiara Nelson, a village leader in Igiugig, taught Yup’ik language and culture to the students. Simply listing their resumes doesn’t do these graduates justice—they are all dynamic, incredibly competent, and wise beyond their years.

School of Fish, the film starring instructor Triston Chaney and his family, brought the Guide Academy to a national audience. The film garnered extensive awards and toured the film festival circuit this past winter. The story of the Academy resonates with people. Keeping local jobs in local hands, integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and looking at sportfishing through a refreshed lens are threads that seem to stick.

Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy Supporters

The Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy is sponsored by Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, and Trout Unlimited with support from Orvis, the Alaska Community Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, University of Alaska Bristol Bay Campus, United States Fish and Wildlife Service through the Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership, Alaska Fly Fisher’s Association, and Mossy’s Fly Shop. This year we’d also like to extend a special thanks to the Sovereign Village of Igiugig and Last Cast Lodge for graciously hosting the Academy, and Nanci Morris Lyon of Bear Trail Lodge for leading instruction.

 About the Author: Tica Drury co-facilitated the Guide Academy through her work for Trout Unlimited Alaska as their Bristol Bay Engagement Manager.