2024 Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy Highlights 

This June, 14 students and a handful of instructors boarded bush planes from various locations across Alaska. Our destination? Igiugig, on the shore of the mighty Kvichak River for the 15^th annual Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy.  

Some students flew eastward to join us from Dillingham, Port Heiden, and New Stuyahok. Others flew westward from Anchorage, Wasilla, and Chugiak. We even had some of our furthest afield students yet with some flying in from Unalakleet, California, and Florida.   

The Academy was graciously hosted by the Sovereign Village of Igiugig and Last Cast Lodge. Village leaders Christina Salmon, Tatyana Zackar, Kiara Nelson, and others gave students an engaging village tour and coordinated logistics for client day. Tatyana and Kiara, both Guide Academy graduates, also served as instructors. Lodge owners Stephanie, Dagen, and Dylan Walton worked tirelessly behind the scenes, ensuring all was organized so that students and instructors could fully immerse themselves in the learning experience.  

 The Walton’s lodge is conveniently planted on the mouth Kvichak River where it begins in Lake Iliamna. The name of Igiugig, which is located on the adjacent bank of the river, is derived from a Yup’ik word meaning “like a throat that swallow’s water” which is one of the many amazing tidbits of cultural history that we learned throughout the week. 

The students were respectful, open-minded, and came ready to learn. And learn they did. Over the course of 7 days, we delved deeply into the many skills necessary to be a guide in Bristol Bay. Lessons ranged between lecture-based learning to experiential education, both in and out of the classroom. 

In lectures, students learned about conservation, land management, and fisheries biology. On the more interactive side of the spectrum, activities included fly fishing knot tying practice, customer service role play, and fly tying. The out-of-the-classroom activities were the students’ favorite. This included exploring the village of Igiugig, fishing on the Kvichak, and a very special trip to a historical site. 

The village of Igiugig is renowned across Alaska for its visionary leadership that balances sustainable progress with a deep respect for ancestral traditions. As a program, the Guide Academy strives to imprint these principles on youth as well, making Igiugig the perfect host village. Guide Academy participants were lucky enough to get a tour of Qinuyang, an old village site a few river miles downstream from present day Igiugig.  

In 1931, an archaeologist from Smithsonian Museum of Natural History dug up the remains of 24 men, women, and children buried at Qinuyang and took them to Washington D.C. for research. Igiugig village leaders worked with the Smithsonian to repatriate the remains of their ancestors and in 2017, after more than eight decades in the museum’s collections, they returned home. 

Guide Academy students got the unique opportunity to help in the repatriation process. Together, many hands helped bear the weight of a majestic, 10-foot-tall Russian Orthodox cross that now adorns the gravesite where the ancestors were reburied. The afternoon was both a history lesson and an act of community service. The students were glad to give back to the generous host village of Igiugig and honored to participate in such a sacred moment. This outing exemplifies what the Guide Academy is all about: behind each guide who graduated from the Academy is a deep understanding of and respect for the fish, wildlife, and people of Bristol Bay.   

The curriculum of the Guide Academy is rich in lessons on the natural and human history of Bristol Bay, designed to encourage students to recount tales of their connections to this remarkable ecosystem. The student’s narratives are not just personal; they are passed down from elders that have called this land home for over 10,000 years. Whether tales told are personal or ancestral, whether they chose to pursue guiding or not, Guide Academy graduates will lean on their storytelling skills for a lifetime.  

The Kvichak River, known as one of the fishiest rivers in the world, made an excellent classroom to learn the art of fly fishing. Despite an unfriendly weather forecast with nearly 5 days of wind, we made the best of what we had, and many fish were caught. It was amazing to watch students who had been novices on day one confidently assume the role of a guide a mere six days later. A testament both to the student’s willingness to learn, but also to Nanci Morris-Lyons and Triston Chaney, our lead fly fishing instructor’s ability to teach.  

Students tied their own flies, assembled their own leaders, and picked out their fishing spots on “client day”, the last day of the course. “Clients” were residents of Igiugig who so kindly volunteered their day to help our students put their newfound knowledge to the test. 

Client day culminated with a potluck style dinner and graduation ceremony. Star of the spread was a delicious main dish of pork roast, chefed up by guide academy graduate Justin Zimmin. Over a decade since his graduation, Justin has held many roles in the Bristol Bay lodge community and beyond. His journey demonstrates how skills honed at the Academy can be woven into a diverse array of roles. A spread of traditional indigenous foods also adorned the table including salmonberry tart, muktuk, smoked salmon and Pilot Bread, and of course the crowd favorite: akutaq. 

After dinner, we went around the room and each client gave their guide a piece of praise and one piece of advice. With smiles, hugs, and handshakes, students accepted their certificates for successfully completing the 2024 Fly Fishing and Guide Academy. 

We’re grateful for our donors, volunteers, and hosts who made the 2024 Guide Academy a success. A special thanks to the Sovereign Village of Igiugig and Last Cast Lodge for graciously hosting the academy, and to the many organizations who support this program: Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, Trout Unlimited, 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.   

We also want to thank our students. For showing up, being ready to learn, and setting yourselves up with the tools to ensure Bristol Bay’s bright future.