pike.

we did a fly-out from willow to a not so secret lake for some northerns. it was a quick 20 minute flight on calm bluebird day. we got dropped off at the lake and threw a tiny 2 hp motor on our skinny boat. we loaded up, headed to the nearest weed line, and started chucking our froggy-looking topwater lures. within seconds they started smacking it. hook-ups were tough (i did way better after switching over to the fly rod and throwing a white bunny leech) and the fish were mostly hammer handles, but we saw some 4 footers swim by.
maybe another day.
i need my pilot license.

awesome site.

explosions and boobs.

the internet continues to reaffirm my faith in humanity. i dare you to click refresh less than 10 times. per hour. per week. until your next birthday.
thanks, saggy.
and you're welcome, world.

"shit, dude, that's a choker bowski!"

holy hell! now THIS is why i went to alaska!
this group of photos, to me, is pretty much the, um, climax of my trip. so, i'll keep posting, but you'll should just know it don't, no, can't get any better. click here.

this was a pretty sweet morning.

thanks to cam miller for the angles.

berries, the taco bell of the tundra.

more.

good god, i'm so sick of looking at my ugly mug. i'm think i should start pasting megan fox's face on my body?
anyway, if you like pescapornographia and can tolerate some more of my grill, here's some more shots from the middle of the week on the ktok. click here.

chilly mornings.

mornings were damn cold.
it didn't help that kevin usually left tent door open at 4am. yeah, kevin, i just called you out. i suppose this was the trade-off since he brought enough whiskey for the entire camp/village. anyway, the tents were pretty warm except when we were too drunk to figure out how to re-light the pilot.
getting up every morning was pretty easy knowing that hot breakfast was waiting and that our waders and boots were in the drying tent.
oh yeah, and we could hear fish slapping around in the river within earshot.

AK 09.

on the way to bethel.

WHAT A TRIP!
AKWest is quite a place.
definitely the best part is that it's far away from anything.
no, the best part are the crazy, aggressive salmon smashing flies on the surface.
no, the best part are the beautiful rainbows.
no, the best part are the tireless, killer guides.
no, the best part are the other random fishermen each completing their journey to fish mecca.
nope, the best part are the "choker bowski's", hands down.

the approach.

so, i've got quite a few pictures. and for the 5 or 6 of you out there that are hanging on the edge of your couches or cubicles, i will be utilizing a few different methods to show them off. i hope to keep the jabbering to a minimum and let the photos do the talking.
here are a few from the first couple of days or so on the wonderful kanektok and then also some en route to this wonderful place.
check out the first flickr set. click on the slideshow for the easiest viewing.
also, check out the very awesome, cam miller. this guy's the fish pic guru. he spends the week jetting around the river making everybody look like way better fishermen then we really are. the week's end slide show and disc full of sweet pics is a great little bonus that i wasn't expecting. cam speeds around with his million dollar camera tucked into his chest waders. and it's not unusual to see him unloading a giant step ladder onto the gravel bar to get that sweet angle. or to have him dunk his head under the icy water to get a cool look at something swimming.
alright, on to some photos:

officially a long way from home.

dolly.

the first morning. (photo credit cameron miller)

wow. (photo credit cameron miller)

silver bullet. (photo credit cameron miller)

meat. (photo credit cameron miller)

hey all.

i'm back. 21 days in AK. much to tell. and show. however, i'm off to the great plains for a family shin-dig. i'll do my best to get through some of my 400+ photos in the next few days. that being said, i'm doing nothing but finally watching some sweet, sweet football tonight. cheers.