SPORT
Hook, Line, andChopper
LARGEPHOTO:
© TALAHEIM LODGE&AIR TAXI; INSET:
© TORDILLOMOUNTAIN LODGE
SUMMER2013
celebratedliving.com
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Talaheim Lodge takes
fishermen to rivers
where salmon can be
spotted 15 feet down.
Left: Minturn Anglers’
catches of the day
Coloradoo ersayear-roundfishingseason.InAlaska, it’smore
likemid-June,whenthekingsalmonrunbegins,toearlySeptem-
ber,whenrainbowtroutfishingisatitspeak.AtSouthernHemi-
spherefisheries,naturally,theseasonsareopposite,runningfrom
lateNovembertoApril.
Sowhoarethesepeoplewhotravel theworld inordertoboard
helicoptersandwing intotheremotestfishingholes?Someare
heli-skiingenthusiastswhohearaboutheli-fishingwhilepatron-
izing lodges, likeTordrillo, thato erguestsbothaviation-assisted
sports.Others includeadventurevacationaddicts, looking forthe
mostexoticand,perhaps,expensiverecreationtheycanfind.
But for themostpart,heli-anglersarefishing fanatics follow-
ing theirobsession. “It’speoplewhoare fairlyexperiencedan-
glers,whohavebeenaroundandmayhavebeen toAlaskavia
floatplaneandsomeU.S. riversbyfloating,”Klugsays. “They
want to take it to thenext levelandaccesswater thatnooneelse
isaccessing.”
O’Connell, forhispart,recentlyreturnedfromhissecondtripto
thePatagonianwatersasaguestofNomadsoftheSeas.Heand
MaryJaneareseasonedfly-fishers,havingmadeannualjourneysto
Alaskafor25years.TheChileanexperiencetwoyearsagowashis
firstheli-fishing,hesays,and,whilethecostwashigh,thememory
ofthatwaterfall-ringedAndeanhoneypotprovedirresistible.
“It’salmostonce ina lifetime,”O’Connell says. “I justhad to
do it twice.”
