Rylie Lyon has big shoes to fill. Not only is her mother Nanci the operator of Bear Trail Lodge and the holder of multiple angling records, but her father Heath is also considered one of the deans of the Naknek River guiding fraternity. She was raised in the town of King Salmon, population <400, although it swells substantially when the commercial fishermen (and visiting recreational anglers) arrive during the brief summertime period.

I was fortunate to be introduced to Nanci Morris Lyon in early 2019 through a friend-of-a-wife-of-a-friend and a few months later I was on a plane to Alaska for one of the best fishing trips of my life. But for that semi-random meeting, I might not have gone to Alaska the past two summers, nor would I have fallen so deeply in love with the fisheries of the Bristol Bay region.

Rick Barry is a basketball legend, not only a Hall of Famer, but a member of the 1996 list of the top 50 players of all time. Casual fans might recall him for his unorthodox underhanded free throw shooting (and resulting .900 free throw percentage), but his accolades and achievements go much deeper than that – the 6’7” Barry was the NBA Rookie of the Year, the 1975 NBA Finals MVP, an eight-time NBA All Star, a four-time ABA All-Star and the only player to lead the NCAA, ABA and NBA in scoring. Perhaps just as impressively, all five of his sons played or play professional basketball, including Scooter who won and NCAA title at Kansas in 1988 and Brent who not only won NBA championships with the Spurs, but also won the Slam Dunk contest in 1996.

Since changing my eating habits three years ago I have become Sally Albright, consistently asking chefs to change their dishes to meet my needs. Before visiting Bear Trail Lodge I wrote an email to owner Nanci Morris Lyon and briefed her on my restrictions. She said that would be no problem, thanked me for letting her know in advance, and told me that she would speak with the Chef. The results were incredible!

I knew about Reuben Hastings even before I got to Bear Trail Lodge in 2019. My friend Robb Yagmin had mentioned a young, extraordinary guide from another part of Bristol Bay, and how much all of the clients loved him, so when Keith Combs and I got in the boat with Reuben on our first day on the Naknek I was immediately at ease. Yes, we were on his turf, but not only were his skills immediately evident, but it was also clear that he shared our same sense of humor. It was like being in a boat with your longtime best friend.

When Keith Combs and I arrived in the small town of King Salmon, Alaska last summer, we had an afternoon to see the sights of the town. It didn’t take long. In fact, our hostess, who’d been raised there, told us that when she’d left King Salmon to attend college out of state her classmates had teased her because she didn’t know the difference between a green light and a green left turn arrow. Up until then, she hadn’t needed to know such a thing.