Hello, Dan Michels here. It's been said that after 36 seasons at Crystal Creek Lodge, I am the only constant. Yet, that being said, it's not about me. It's about our guests, and the staff, of Crystal Creek Lodge. Our guests dedicate their free time to experience what we do and our staff dedicate their careers to serving our guests. This blog series is about snippets of insight as to what we do, and how our guests experience Crystal Creek Lodge. Enjoy.
We are excited and humbled to have been given the Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Lodge of the Year award for 2019. Our long-standing partnership with Orvis (since 1991) has been a phenomenal experience for us. Their commitment to service, respect for natural resources, and unparalleled quality fits our own mission at Crystal Creek Lodge, as…
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It’s been one of those drizzly summers. This year, we’ve experienced a handful of “no-fly” weather days, where we won’t fly due to extreme wind, low ceiling, poor visibility or all of the above. This has inspired me to write a little bit about flying, weather, safety, and the unpredictability of our wild Alaskan environment….
Read more »A herd of Pacific Walrus has relocated themselves to the nearby Bristol Bay coast at Cape Grieg, about 60 miles south of Crystal Creek Lodge. We went for a quick scouting trip yesterday and saw 1500-2000 animals either beached or in the water. Shown is the herd after a rain squall came through and the…
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Miss Rosanna Trestman of Connecticut returned to Crystal Creek Lodge in search of a King Salmon to exceed her personal record of 42 inches, set in 2014, but, alas, she didn’t beat her record, yet she still caught some nice Kings and Sockeye Salmon. Here is Rosanna with her best King of the week, held…
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The bar at Crystal Creek Lodge has been rechristened as “The Beaver Bar”, a tribute to the hard working DeHavilland Beaver aircraft that have served us and the north country since 1947. Have a sneak preview of the modifications at the album at our Facebook page, or, better yet, be our guest and enjoy…
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As we are busy preparing the lodge for opening, a series of earthquakes has been shaking the Alaska Peninsula. We were woke last night to the lodge rolling and shaking to an earthquake of 6.7 magnitude, centered about 100 miles south of the lodge near the Yantarni Salmon Camp. The Peninsula is essentially a…
Read more »The weather has been spectacular during the final week of our season. Realizing we had a rare opportunity at hand, we invited several guests to visit Aniakchak National Monument to witness the fall colors and light. A truly inspirational day.
Read more »On September 19 five Crystal Creek Lodge guests took a hike and enjoyed the incredible scenery of the Kanatak Trail in the Becharof National Wildlife Refuge. The Kanatak Trail rises 1000 ft into a pass within the Alaska Peninsula Mountains to connect the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay. It has been used for over…
Read more »A Crystal Creek Lodge Hat Trick is three fish in the net, and that’s about 20 lbs. of Rainbow Trout in the bag courtesy of (left to right) Dan Michels, Shannon Ward and Cole Marston. What a magnificent September day!
Read more »Katie E. of Kalispell, MT is holding one of the many Silver Salmon rushing into the streams at Yantarni this week. We expect the run to peak in the next 14 days. This year we have been blessed with spectacular weather and abundant runs of Silver Salmon. Be sure to visit Yantarni next year during…
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