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 truly exceptional wilderness experience offering diverse scenery, wildlife viewing, and some of the most amazing fishing in the world is at American Creek. It is a world-famous, prolific rainbow trout, dolly varden, and grayling fishery. Located in Katmai National Park, the American is deep in the Naknek River watershed but is a short 20-minute seaplane…
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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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Take action now! Pebble Mine – Wrong Mine, Wrong Place The One Minute Alaska Vacation is usually about inspiration, relaxation, and enjoyment. Today, we bring a message to inspire a call to action: It’s about The Pebble Mine. Again. Pebble, the proposed mega-mine at the headwaters of the two richest Bristol Bay salmon rivers, which…
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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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Autumn in Alaska is full of Wonders The best time to visit Alaska depends on many things, but September is always considered a wonderful time of the season. The truth is, this time of year has some special things going for it. Whether it’s for solid fishing, uncrowded adventuring, or amazing sightseeing, you’ll leave blown…
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Check out this months edition of our One Minute Alaska Vacation with footage provide by guests from the 2017 season. Guests at Crystal Creek Lodge are encouraged to share their collected media during their stay. Both images and videos are welcome and are easily uploaded to our media station located in the bar. It’s a…
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Perhaps you have heard of the “Grand Slam” in fly fishing. A grand slam is an achievement of catching a collection of game fish in a single day. The most notable is the inshore grand slam where a saltwater angler catches a tarpon, permit, and bonefish in a single day. It’s a common target in…
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Two fish, caught from two rivers, two days apart. One, a 20-inch fish that lives it’s life year round in a stream far from a lake connection, turns pigmented, spotted, green and bright red from exposure to sunlight. The other, a 29-inch fish, remains chrome and without pigment from living it’s life year round in…
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Shown are Charles and Mindy of Wasilla, Alaska holding two fat Naknek River Rainbow Trout caught on August 4. We had a slight weather delay, waiting for the morning fog to burn off before we could fly out. Charles and Mindy chose to opt out of their fly-out day to spend the day on the…
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The streams of Bristol Bay are turning red as the bright-red Sockeye Salmon swims into the gin-clear water. It’s an amazing sight to see from the window of an airplane flying 500 ft. overhead. The Rainbow Trout are coming out of the lakes to follow the salmon and gorge on their eggs. The first spawning…
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