Win a Fly Fishing Adventure in Alaska!

by Kirk Deeter

That time you spend behind the computer daydreaming about fishing in wild and exotic places (like right now) might actually pay off! In celebration of the release of the book Fifty More Places to Fly Fish Before You Die, by my friend Chris Santella (pictured here), Fly Water Travel and Fishing Bear Lodge in the Wood-Tikchik State Park in southwestern Alaska have started the "Where Would You Fly Fish Before You Die?" contest.

All you have to do is write--in 200 words of less--about your dream fly fishing trip. Where would you go, and why? Simply visit www.flywatertravel.com and click on the "contest" prompt. You can also learn more about the lodge here.

All entries must be received by January 15, 2012, and you have to live within the United States to enter. Santella himself will be the judge, and he'll announce the lucky winner on March 1, 2012.

Fishing Bear Lodge is a family-run operation at the mouth of the Peace River. The fishing here is some of the most diverse and rewarding to be had anywhere, with grayling, char, sockeye salmon, northern pike, and yes, plenty of the fabled Alaskan "Leopard" rainbow trout to be caught in myriad lakes and rivers near the lodge. The winner will have to arrange his/her own air travel, but the value of the stay at the lodge is $3,600. (Not a bad reward for 200 words.)

Knowing Santella like I do, I'd say you don't have to limit your wishes to Alaska (though that's never a bad place to start). He's looking for honest, compelling thoughts on fly fishing, and based on what I've read in the FlyTalk comment threads over the years, I'd say there are some strong contenders in our midst.

Good luck.

from YooperRyan wrote 15 hours 43 min ago

Deeter, thanks for the hot tip.

For Fly Talk consumption, here is my submission, just under the wire at 199 words...

I must say, I find it a bit ironic that the prize for best "Dream Fly Fishing Trip" will, in all likelihood, involve the technique-optional drifting of miniature tennis balls under a strike indicator, er bobber, to the most enthusiastically cooperative trout under the sun, forgiving even to casts delivered with the mechanical grace of a rusty lawn chair and presentations that would make a bulldozer jealous - about as close to fly fishing as a Toyota Prius is to a formula one race car. No Sir, I don't much care for that plastic-bottle brand of stick waving that passes for "fly fishing" in some circles. That grown men claim to get their jollies at such adolescent activity is beyond me. Please pardon the purist attitude, but let the record show that I prefer my angling pursuits sans training wheels.

Now, to answer your question,my dream fly fishing trip would be to chase rainbow trout in southwest Alaska, at the peak or near post of the salmon spawn, utilizing patterns that have names like "failed souffle" as in too many eggs and not enough rise.

Hey, who doesn't fancy the occasional game of checkers after countless rounds of chess?

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from weedless97 wrote 15 hours 3 min ago

I can't find out how to enter the contest, I don't see any any contest button. Please help!