NAKNEK RIVER
AFTER THE SALMON: Shoulder Season on the Naknek
As the week lingered on at Katmai Trophy Lodge on Alaska’s Naknek River, our start times creeped later into each day. The consensus among guides and guests was that it wasn’t quite worth it to brave the cold early morning dark to chase fish that may or may not be there. As anglers Nick Ranzau and Jake Streaker look on, guide Dylan Dehning preps a boat for the day.
Words: Cameron Evans. Photos and Captions: Aaron Agosto
"There’s just so much death everywhere,” James said, reading aloud from a guide’s text. “It’s so depressing.”
We were standing on the deck overlooking the Naknek River, drinking red wine and Alaska-priced Rainier from the general store. The air had gone cool with the first tease of fall. The guides leaned back in chairs or against the railing, their tanned faces marked by the pale outline of sunglasses. Everyone was easing into the slower rhythm that comes near the end of a season when mornings begin later and fewer boats crowd the river.
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