Fishing Academy

Posted by Elizabeth Bluemink

Posted: July 9, 2008 - 5:25 pm

An effort is afoot to train young Bristol Bay villagers in the business of sportfish guiding. As you will see below, a few groups that have staked positions in the Pebble debate have partnered up with a few others who have not. The idea is to spur jobs and generate more local participation in an industry that -- at least for now -- employs mostly non-residents.

Here's the press release.

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First Ekwok Lodge Fly Fishing and Guide Academy accepting applicants
for Aug. 3-7 Academy in Bristol Bay

The first Ekwok Lodge Fly Fishing and Guide Academy is accepting applications now for the Aug. 3-7 academy in the Bristol Bay village of Ekwok. Young people ages 15-22 are invited to spend four days on the Nushagak River with experienced Bristol Bay fishing guides learning how to fly fish and sport-fish guide while gaining hands-on job experience.

Guides will teach academy participants how to incorporate traditional knowledge into a guiding service, how to interact with clients, and what to expect as a Bristol Bay fishing guide. Other camp activities include safety training, river ecology, storytelling, and skiff rides. Opportunities exist for employment as a guide the following summer for those who successfully complete the academy. Priority placement in the academy will be given to applicants from the Bristol Bay region and scholarship opportunities will be available.

This educational program - a four-day fly-fishing academy - aims to provide young Bristol Bay entrepreneurs with instruction in the basics of fly fishing and sport fish guiding. The camp will share the experience of professionals with motivated young people, giving them the chance to prepare for future careers that can be based in their home communities. The program aims to keep more benefits of Bristol Bay tourism in Bristol Bay, in hopes of generating a more diverse, sustainable local economy while benefiting future visitors. Instruction will include respect for the land, the water and will encourage proper care of the environment. Applications are being accepted now through June 30.

Expert Bristol Bay fishing guide Nanci Morris Lyon will be on hand to instruct young participants. Nanci's been fly-fishing and sport guiding in the Bristol Bay area since 1986 and in the Kenai Homer area for a few years before that. Her passion for fishing secluded streams and the Naknek and Nushagak rivers as a professional guide is paired with her passion for caring for the waters she loves and the people who depend on them. She speaks to students, offers seminars and gives fly-tying and casting demonstrations nationwide. Nanci founded and owns Katmai Fishing Adventures in King Salmon, is on the G. Loomis professional fishing team and has been featured in major, national fishing magazines and television shows. She's also a pilot and holds numerous saltwater fly-fishing world records.

The academy is sponsored by the Nushagak-Mulchatna / Wood-Tikchik Land Trust, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, Trout Unlimited, Ekwok Natives LTD, Nunamta Aulukestai and the University of Alaska Bristol Bay Campus. Sponsors have donated and volunteered resources so that there should be no cost to Academy participants.

If you are interested in being a camp sponsor, want to volunteer, or to make a donation, please contact Agnew::Beck Consulting at 907-222-5424 or e-mail shelly@agnewbeck.com or Tim Troll at ttroll@tnc.org. Please visit www.visitbristolbay.org for more information, click on "Ekwok Lodge Fly Fishing & Guide Academy."

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