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Eighty-fivemilesnorthwest
ofAnchorage,Alaska,
theTalachulitnaRiver teemswithsalmon, rainbow
trout, andothergamefish thathaverarelyseenahook.
The fortunateanglerswhodropflies into thesecrystal-
linewatersareamong the fewwhocandescribewhat
theyaredoingascatching, rather thanmerefishing.
Thereasonso fewhookshavehit thesewaters is
that theyareexceptionallyremote.Therearenoroads,
and fewplaces forbush-pilotedfloatplanes to land.For
themostpart, thepeoplewhofishhereare thosewho
combine theancientartofanglingwith21st-century
aviation.Thesport iscalledheli-fishingand, like its
cousinheli-skiing, ituseshelicopters todeliverenthu-
siasts toplaces thataresimply inaccessiblebyany
othermeans.
Heli-fishershavebeendrowningwormsfor30years
orsoalongwildernessstreamsinNewZealand,Canada,
Alaska,Chile,andtheRockies.Asfarasfishingfantasies
go, itremainsthemostexpensive,mostself-indulgent,
andmost likelytoplopananglerdowninararely-if-ever-
fishedspotteemingwithnaïvelunkers.
RickO’ConnellofSedalia,Colorado,heli-fishedPata-
goniatwoyearsagowithChile’sNomadsoftheSeas.This
boat-basedoperationferriesguestsfroma luxurious
ocean-goingyachtbyhelicoptertoremoteAndeanfishing
spots.OnedayO’Connellandhiswife,MaryJane,were
chopperedtoanalpine lakeringedwithwaterfalls.
“Betweenmywifeandmeweprobablycaughtahun-
dredfish,”O’Connellrecalls.Butthetrulystunningas-
pectwasthescoresofcascadespouringintothewater.
“You’refishingrightintoawaterfall,”hesays.“Thatwas
themostbeautifulplaceonEarthI’veeverseen.”
O’Connell’sassessmentneatlysummarizesthechief
appealofheli-fishing,namelythat itquicklyandconve-
nientlytakesyouplacessoremotealmostnoun-
chopperedvisitorseverseethem.And,onceyouget
there,youfindfishthathavealmostneverseenahook.
“Fly-fishingmadesimple,”ishowveteranheli-fishing
guideandAlaskanlodgeownerMarkMillerputsit.Basi-
cally,heli-fishingcanputananglerdownbyastreamor
lake fulloffishthatdon’trecognizehumansaspreda-
tors.Anyonewho’severdangledaworm in frontofafish
thatscarcelygave itaglancebeforecontemptuously ig-
noring itcanprobably imaginehowthischangesfishing.
73
celebratedliving.com
SUMMER2013
Talaheim Lodge inAlaska
takes fly-fishermen to rarely
fishedwaters viahelicopter
(far left) tohookfish like this
largeking salmon.
