Archives: Travel Pages

Justin has traveled the globe guiding and learning the The Fly Shop’s international destinations. He has guided the Kamchatka Peninsula every season since 2008, fishing the world with a spey rod, for every sea run fish he can find. After graduating from Chico State University, Justin started his career at The Fly Shop as a (more…)

Mike is the nicest person in the world. If you don’t agree, we’ll eat a #8 Gold Bead Biot Poxyback Stonefly. Mike Mercer is one of those guys who gives the world around him his full, undivided attention. Imbued with grace and tireless in his lifelong pursuit of fish on a fly, he’s a danger (more…)

If there were a qualifications list for the job as director of The Fly Shop Travel Department, the resume for that position would read like Pat Pendergast’s biography. He came to The Fly Shop® a little more than twenty years ago in 1996. He first met Mike Michalak, the owner of The Fly Shop®, while (more…)

Bulkley Basecamp is a simple, comfortable steelhead camp built for the anglers who put the fishing first. The magnificent sea-going trout of of Northern British Columbia enter their natal Skeena drainage in late July, and move upstream into the clear headwaters of the Bulkley River by the end of August. Fresh fish continue to accumulate (more…)

Fishing the mighty Babine River is a steelhead experience you will never forget. This is one of the greatest rivers on the face of the Earth, hands down. If you ask any hard-core steelheader to list the best rivers on the planet, the Babine will be at the top of the short list. The Babine (more…)

Some of the best salmon fishing we’ve found in Alaska; only 8 guests a week! Lava Creek Lodge is a small outpost lodge on the Aleutian Peninsula of Alaska, south/southwest of Bristol Bay, Alaska. The lodge accommodates a maximum of eight guests during king, chum, and silver salmon seasons. It is custom-tailored for the serious (more…)

The taimen (Hucho taimen), also known as Siberian taimen and Siberian salmon, is a species of fish in the salmon family (family Salmonidae) of order Salmoniformes. Taimen are perhaps the world’s most incredible fly fishing experience. Every taimen you encounter – whether you miss it or land it – is sure to create a lasting (more…)

The steelhead is a rainbow trout that migrates from the river to the sea and back again, with much size and power to show for it. Rainbow trout and steelhead are the same species, but completely different animals. Considered one of, if not the most noble of sportfish, the steelhead is famous for its beautiful (more…)

The brown trout (Salmo trutta morpha fario and S. trutta morpha lacustris) and the sea trout (S. trutta morpha trutta) are fish of the same species. They are distinguished chiefly by the fact that the brown trout is largely a freshwater fish, while the sea trout shows anadromous reproduction, migrating to the oceans for much (more…)

The species (Oncohynchus mykiss) was originally named by Johann Julius Walbaum in 1792 based on type specimens from Kamchatka. Rainbow trout are predators with a varied diet, and will eat nearly anything they can grab. Their image as a selective eater is only a legend. Rainbows are not quite as piscivorous or aggressive as brown (more…)