Young guides-in-training spent the week tying flies, practicing safety skills, and finally taking "clients" out for a test run at the 8th annual academy.
A dozen young people spent this week at the 8th Annual Bristol Bay River Guide Academy, hosted this year by BBNC's Mission Lodge in Aleknagik. The 14-through-24-year-olds learned the ins-and-outs of the fly fishing industry - everything from boat safety and biology, to fly-tying and customer service.
The students got to put their new skills to the test on "client day" Thursday, when they took a group of lucky volunteers up the lakes for a day of world-class angling.
The annual week-long academy is supported by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation, the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, Trout Unlimited, the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, and the Conservation Fund, among other organizations.
