Bristol Bay Fly Fishing + Guide Academy
Learn how to fly fish. Get hands-on job experience. Find employment in our growing tourism industry. For young people ages 15-22 in the Bristol Bay region.
2009 academy is post-poned until summer, 2010.
The 2009 academy has been canceled due to a funding shortage. So, the August 9-15, 2009 academy in Ekwok will not be offered this summer. There is, however, a lot of support in the way of instructors, volunteers, organizers and young people in Bristol Bay. Therefore, organizers are taking 2009 to gear up and plan for a well-funded and much-supported regional Fly Fishing + Guide Academy in 2010!
Nominate a young person for the 2010 academy.
Nominate a young person from the Bristol Bay region for the summer, 2010 Academy which will be hosted again in Ekowk at the old village site of Akuluriqaalleq.
We're looking for motivated young people, ages 15-22, interested in learning more about guiding or other tourism and ecology-related career in the Bristol Bay area. Nominate a young person.
- fax: 907.222.5426
- email: shelly@agnewbeck.com
- mail: 441 West Fifth Avenue, Suite 202; Anchorage AK 99501
- or call Shelly at 907.222.5424
Priority placement will be given to applicants from the Bristol Bay region.
When + Where
Ekwok Lodge at the old village site of Akuluriqaalleq on the Nushagak River in Ekwok
Summer, 2010
2008 Academy
Last year, twelve young people, almost all from the Bristol Bay region, learned how to fly fish and guide on the Nushagak River during the rigorous four-day Ekwok Fly Fishing and Guide Academy Aug. 3-7. Seven young women and five young men from Aleknagik, Manokotak, Togiak, New Stuyahok, Portage Creek, Ekwok, Anchorage and Gakona, gained hands-on instruction from guide Nanci Morris Lyon and others. This first-ever academy, was part of a regional initiative to boost sustainable, local economic development in Bristol Bay and provide visitors with an authentic, local experience.
The academy included safety, first aid and CPR training, fly tying and knot tying workshops, Bristol Bay history lessons and local stories, tips on incorporating traditional knowledge into a guiding service, as well as client-guide role playing and many hours of fly fishing instruction on the waters of the Nushagak River.
Organizer Tim Troll, Executive Director of the local Nushagak-Mulchatna/Wood-Tikchik Land Trust, said this first academy was a success in that it fully engaged students in learning about what it really takes to be a guide. Most students arrived with “little or no” fly fishing and sport fishing experience, he said, “at the end of the academy, most didn’t want to leave.”
He attributes this to the instructors who were “skilled, loved their sport, enjoyed working with youth, and genuinely wanted to develop local guiding talent for the sport fish industry.”
ACADEMY 2008
SPONSOR A PARTICIPANT
This Academy is part of a Bristol Bay regional initiative aiming to train local youth who will become the next generation of home-grown leaders Bristol Bay's tourism industry. Those successfully completing the camp will have opportunities to work as a guide next summer. Funding has been generously provided by regional sponsors but it doesn't cover the costs of fishing equipment or the full airfare to Ekwok for some participants.
Waders, fishing equipment and a fly kit for each student costs about $250. Please share a small donation to help a local young person in a big way if you can. Any amount, $25, $50, $100 will help fund gear and travel scholarships. Students will learn to use their fishing equipment at the camp, and keep the gear to continue practicing their skills so they'll be prepared for a job next season.
Donations can be made to:
- Bristol Bay Fly Fishing + Guide Academy
c/o Nushagak-Mulchatna/
Wood-Tikchik Land Trust
PO Box 1388
Dillingham, AK 99576
Attn: Tim Troll
- Phone: 907.842.2832
- The organization is a tax exempt nonprofit 501(c)3 organization (Tax ID# 31-1721762).
Your support for the Ekwok Lodge Fly Fishing and Guide Academy helps aspiring guides develop practical skills and find a job in the region they know so well. If you'd like to make a donation to help sponsor an aspiring young Bristol Bay fishing guide, please contact the Nushagak-Mulchatna Wood-Tickchik Land Trust or e-mail Tim Troll.
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