Here we are, stuck between preparing for the opening, constantly checking our fly boxes (do I have everything?), the Winter Olympics, and weather reports predicting unprecedented flooding of our rivers… In short, we’re completely overwhelmed! But now we’ve found something that will calm us down. Oh, not for long, just long enough to take your mind off your life, which for most of us is pretty sedentary! Head to Sitka, Alaska… If you’ve watched Outlast on Netflix, you’ll know what we’re talking about! Be warned, it doesn’t last very long, but it’s really good, and beautiful!
Sitka, Alaska, is home to some of the world’s greatest hunting and fishing. A paradise for outdoorsmen chasing the endless pursuit. It’s a place whose rugged beauty and raw power resonate in our souls and inspire us to create gear that lives up to the area’s namesake. However, reaching the richest habitats often mandates more than a day trip. It’s typically an outright expedition that requires planning, patience and tenacity. Fishless days happen often. Lessons are learned. But when the stars align, the payoff is monstrous: no one around, new fish pouring in off every tide, and you’re three casts from a steelhead ripping your arm out of its socket. That’s the stuff dreams are made of to local legend, Woody Cyr. Of all the incredible opportunities that Baranoff Island has to offer, it’s steelhead that Woody sees on the back of his eyelids every night. The fisheries he calls home are unbelievably difficult to access, yet he knows every run, every trail in, and every bucket that spits fish. He’s learned it all by putting in time, knowing exactly when to be where and often venturing out to currents rarely waded by mere mortals. This is what commitment looks like.