The backdrop that I built may seem like a haphazard group of epic fish and scenery pictures, but I used a great deal of purpose when I put it together. I wanted to tell HPFC’s story and show all of the people who have become our family over the course of our travels.

I’ve increasingly learned to really appreciate our great and diverse group of traveling angler friends. Accordingly, as I look back on my days on the water during 2023, I’m fortunate that I have a lot of great memories on the water with friends to remember. Here are four friends’ catches that stand out.

Reuben Hastings has been guiding at Bear Trail Lodge in Bristol Bay for 13 years — and we’ve been lucky enough to fish with him on the Naknek as well as on several flyouts. He’s an amazing person and enthusiastic angler.

We traveled across the continent to Bear Trail Lodge and ended up fishing with a guide who hails from 90 miles away from our house. Cooper Neblett made our return to Bristol Bay exceptional. He has a great future in the fishing industry.

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.

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.