Alaskan Fishing

Pick up any book on Alaska fly patterns - or better yet, rummage through a few fly boxes of any hard core Alaska fly fisher - and you'll quickly note that fly patterns for Alaska come in a wide variety of styles, sizes, colors and profiles.

Some flies are designed specifically to resemble key food items such as insects, crustaceans, fish eggs or small baitfish, and these patterns are commonly referred to as "naturals." On the other end of the spectrum are fly patterns that do not resemble any specific food items. These patterns, referred to as "attractor patterns," are designed specifically to elicit a predatory or aggressive strike response. Attractor patterns are usually brightly colored or garnished with hints of flash to advertise their presence, whereas naturalistic patterns tend to closely mimic specific prey items while complementing both their natural coloration and biological profile.

CapitalCityWeekly.com - Southeast Alaska's Online Newspaper

Technorati Tags: alaska, fishing, flies, tips

Alaska Celebrates Russian Culture

A little over two miles of water separates the Bering Strait islands of Little Diomede and Big Diomede, making the distance between Alaska and Siberia less than the stretch between downtown Juneau and Lemon Creek.

This proximity, called into doubt during the recent Presidential election, will be celebrated next weekend with White Nights, a festival of Russian culture organized by Alexander Dolitsky, president of the Alaska Siberia Research Center.

The event calls attention to both our physical closeness to Russia and to the long-standing historical connection between the two land masses. Organized as part of the Russian Compatriot Program, of which Dolitsky is a delegate, it serves to promote Russian heritage and culture, foster good relations between the neighboring countries, and to reach out to Russian diaspora.

The festival, sponsored by the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the United States and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and partially by the City and Borough of Juneau, runs from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. next Saturday, June 20, at Centennial Hall.

Warm days, White Nights - Juneau Empire

Technorati Tags: alaska, russia, summer, festival

Foodio54.com's Mike Van Heyde Hit's Alaska on US Tour

After arriving in Anchorage I made my way down to Alaska Salmon Chowder House downtown. I will make an omission here, I used to love that imitation crab stuff that you can get for $4 a bag at the grocery store, however sadly, after easting real Alaska King Crab legs I don’t think I’ll even be able to eat that imitation crab garbage ever again. It was absolutely delicious and fresh and the sauce they provided was excellent as well. The name of the place was Alaskan Salmon Chowder House, so I felt compelled to try that as well and it was just the perfect blend of Salmon and vegetables. Being from Ohio I don’t eat a lot of seafood that is just off the boat fresh (we’re cautioned not to eat too much fish from Lake Erie), and so this was a real treat.

Foodio54 Blog

Technorati Tags: foodio54.com, Mike Van Heyde, food, travel