Heading “North to Alaska”
By Larry Csonka 
Airs: March 18, 2001 7:00 PM, Eastern & Pacific

BETTLES
Way up North this week to Bettles and a chance to catch Tundra Tarpon, the elusive Sheefish! Bettles is a little off the beaten path and it takes a little time to get there, but it’s WELL worth the effort! Believe me! The accommodations were superb, as was the food. But the real treat was getting a shot at some Sheefish, the Tarpon of the North!

Alaska’s Governor, Tony Knowles, joined us. Governor Knowles is a fly- fishing enthusiast. In other words, if he catches a fish (any fish), it will be on a fly rod. Unfortunetly, the Sheefish were just too far out from shore to use a fly rod. I traded my fly rod for a spin cast and it wasn’t long before I had hooked into several large Sheefish. I landed and released perhaps a dozen fish and we got great shots up close and personal, as well as, several underwater shots of these exciting fish.

Governor Knowles and Dan Klaes, the owner of the Bettles Lodge, as well as, the Mayor of Bettles, had several late night chats. Governor Knowles was very interested in the ideas presented to him regarding ways to improve the outback population centers of Alaska.

We had one day of no-fly weather where my crew and I had to stay at the Bettles Lodge. But thanks to Tyler Klaes (Dan’s son) and his stack of prime time movies, a bushel of popcorn and sweet treats obtained at the Bettles General Store, we didn’t mind the off day at all. As a matter of fact, I think it gave my crew a richly deserved 24-hour rest period.

The third day of fly out, we finished up our shooting very quickly and the entire crew, Tami Murray, John Dietrich and Tom Pillifant all had a chance to hook, fight and release a number of Sheefish. This week, however, I DID catch the largest fish! 

Stay tuned for more adventure in the Last Frontier . . . Alaska!