The Crystal Creek Lodge Blog is a place of possibilities, where you can learn deeper insights into how to explore the tens of millions of acres of wild Alaska surrounding us. Whether you’re after fishing, wildlife, the perspective of history or simply feeling the awe of being in wide-open spaces, it’s all here. Enjoy the journey.
A Day on the Brooks River: Fishing with Bears in Katmai National Park & Preserve How about a day of watching brown bears and fishing the Brooks River? As a centerpiece of the Katmai National Park, the world-famous Brooks River is a short aircraft flight away from Crystal Creek Lodge and a must-see/must-do experience. Crystal…
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2022 Alaska Fishing Season and Adventures with Crystal Creek Lodge While we’ve noticed outdoor clothing, hairstyles, fishing equipment, and even the paint schemes on our venerable Beaver aircraft constantly change during our 35 seasons at Crystal Creek Lodge, some things haven’t; namely the large fish in the photos and the smiling faces behind them. The…
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The native and wild Alaska Rainbow Trout is a fish that evolved as an opportunist and, accordingly, is built for speed and aggression. They migrate scores of miles each year, moving in, out, and through the rivers, streams, and lakes of Bristol Bay in search of salmon fry, small fish, lampreys, salmon eggs, salmon carcasses,…
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Catch-and-Release When Crystal Creek Lodge first opened its doors in 1988, we were early adopters of the “Catch-and-Release” policy for native fish such as rainbow trout, char species, and grayling. Despite initial resistance, this practice has proven to be a highly successful conservation strategy, ensuring the survival of fish populations and maintaining healthy fisheries. Now,…
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Fishing Monument Creek, Alaska At Crystal Creek Lodge, finding wild and unique adventures for our guests is just as important as the quality of the fishing. While we do offer our guests the opportunity to visit the “classic“ locations of Katmai National Park, we constantly search for and then offer destinations that provide the true…
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Alaska Fly Fishing with Max What’s the secret to a good day? Big smiles? Laughter? Great company? Doing something out of the ordinary? All of these things? There are many ways to have a good day – at Crystal Creek Lodge you’ll have the opportunity to combine all of the above plus more. Come with us to explore wild,…
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Find your calm with this episode of our One Minute Alaska Vacation. Fly fishing in Alaska is not an escape from life, but often a deeper immersion into it… Harry Middleton. For many, fishing is a passion and an activity they would rather be doing than almost anything else. They say that fly fishing is…
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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….
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Best practices to catch, handle, and release fish. High fives for Fish Need Water! Check out some amazing shots of catch-and-release underwater footage of rainbow trout, char, and dollies. Thirty years ago, when Crystal Creek Lodge was founded, it was one of the first Alaskan fishing lodges to fully embrace catch and release, with zero…
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Kalispell Montana’s The Daily Inter Lake published a wonderful article on the Oberholtzer’s. Please check it out. Every summer, Heather Oberholtzer and her family migrate from Coram further north. It’s for a season spent running a remote fishing lodge in Alaska, a lifestyle she said she never envisioned but would never change. Growing up in…
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