FISHING THE 49TH

enjoy life yes enjoy life with miller high life as the Miller Brewing Company brings you the special film presentation meet Joel Smathers average fisherman opening day finds Joel and every other fishermen in the neighborhood hopefully beating the stream uh-oh another fisherman oh well the more the merrier what's this a strike watch carefully Joe don't let him get away that's worse than an old shoe wait a min Alaska that's the place to go fishing Joe and his wife Sally are in Anchorage in a matter of hours and are headed out for the section of alaska known as anglers paradise it seems joe is a little more anxious than salad that is until he meets the pretty stewardess come on lover boy we're going fishing remember Alaska is in the forefront of the jet age and jet-powered aircraft are used to cover the vast spaces of our 49th state safely and quickly Anchorage Alaska's largest city is one of the fastest growing cities in the entire country sally was a little reluctant to make the trip until she saw the magnificent scenery offered by our new state sites like Mount McKinley the highest mountain in North America can be seen and route to the southwest alaska peninsula rugged and untamed is the perfect description of this magnificent country on the landing strip at the Brooks river camp the camp manager Johnny Wilson his daughter Rose Marie and Teddy the guide wait to greet Sally and Joel maybe this isn't Idlewild International Airport but then this Idlewild have this scenery Teddy tells Rosemarie that he has picked out some special fishing spots for Joe and Sally rosemarie John and teddy greet the cheechakos that's Alaskan for newcomers and they all head down the hill for the lodge incidentally the Jeep and everything else needed to run a comfortable fishing lodge had to be flown into this country at the camp Sally gets her first look at the renowned Alaskan Wildlife couple of ground squirrels tangling with an old can of peanut butter low voice bears John calls open but we came here to go fishing and it can't be soon enough to suit joke Joe has been ready for half an hour and still the girls haven't shown up for crying out loud the fish will chair how they look well maybe Teddy can show something to Joe that'll take his mind off the waiting here catch Joe is initiated into the secrets of pumice stone the fantastic rocks that way very little and float in water this whole area is filled with pumice stone since nearby Mount Katmai literally blew its top in 1912 showering pumice stone like raindrops all over the surrounding countryside well it's about time come on girls let's have at because there are a few highways and fewer railroads in Alaska transportation is either by airplane or boat Alaska has more pilots per capita than any other state and almost everyone owns the boat of course in the winter a dogsled may come in hand Teddy heads up the Naknek River to a quiet poop a perfect spot for beginners come on Joe you know better than that easy doesn't just an easy for our motion Sally knows enough to ask for help not bad for a beginner you can't get a backlash with a spinning reel so there's really nothing to it there you go a strike a nice little rainbow keep your right up Sally and keep that line tight too bad of course Joe with no loss aha now the Lord and Master hooks one take it easy Joe remember what happened to Sally's fish what was that you were saying you hey another one that's it oh come on Sally grab ahold of it it will bite you the second day teddy takes the group to a spot below the falls on the neck neck for some sporty grayling fishing this part of the river is restricted to the use of flies only and fire bliss hooks a true test of the anglers skill teddy is using a fly rod and he demonstrates its use it's a little too tricky for Joe he'll stick to the spinning outfit which can be used very successfully for fly-fishing although the grayling is a relatively small fish rarely exceeding two or three pounds he is inch for inch one of the scrappiest fish that swims he's lightning fast and never gives up Teddy gets ready to land this little fighter notice that he wets his hand before handling the fish a true sportsman Teddy never keeps more fish than he can eat and by handling the fish with wet hands he can release the fish without damaging the sensitive scales okay Joe now show us how good a fisherman you are look at that little rascal jump keep that right up no barbs on the book and if you give them one inch of slack you'll shake free that's it remember the hand good show let him go and maybe the next time it won't be so easy to land that fella this is fishing at its best no wonder they call this area anglers paradise two hours of fishing produced this catch plus twice as many fish that were released the grayling has another fine attribute it's one of the best eating fish ever pulled out of a cold clear stream Joe knows how to make it taste even better our two couples are joined by slip a real Alaskan sourdough who can spin some pretty fancy fish tails even though it's quite late the Sun is still around and why not this is the land of the Midnight Sun after dinner Joe and slim get to swapping fish stories it looks like the first layer just doesn't have a change Joe soon learns that when it comes to telling yarns old sourdoughs like slim can teach even the Texans a thing or two tall tales are not Sally just can't stay awake all that fresh air and exercise finally catch up the next morning Sally and Rosemarie feed some of the nutty squirrel hey watch it buster that's a finger not a painting Joe and Teddy head up into the mountains to funnel Creek the spawning sockeye salmon have entered the streams up here followed by swarms of huge rainbow Trump the trout like nothing better than salmon eggs and they'll chase the salmon right up narrow streams to get this trout delicacy look at that trout jump it's a little like having 10 pounds of dynamite on your life how's that for a rainbow hey look we aren't the only fishermen in the stream the big Alaskan brownie or Kodiak bear also loves salmon and rainbow trout the super abundant fish help these fellows grow to be the largest carnivorous animal in the world they're usually pretty timid but here's a word of advice never get too close especially while Bruins eating they can move faster than a racehorse and their strength is unbelievable they are easily spooked and any loud noise will usually send them on their way now that the Bears have gone let's get back to the business at hand fishing for rainbow trout where else in north america and you get fishing action like this 10 and 12 pound rainbows on almost every cast here's a day's catch that Joe will long remember and still they release twice as many as they kept while Teddy and Joe fished the funnel the girls do a little Ariel sightseeing with the help of one of Alaska's renowned bush pilots this is the famous valley of ten thousand smokes formed when the volcano Mount Katmai exploded in 1912 the floor of the valley is covered by volcanic sand ranging in depth from 500 feet to a half mile and stretching 40 miles to mount Katmai here's the inside of the Mount Katmai crater which incidentally is also the name of the surrounding area the Katmai National Monument America's largest national park bigger even than famed Yellowstone it's hard to find a more beautiful wilderness area today Teddy takes Joe to a spot on Naknek lake he calls the char hole thereafter the famed arctic char the fish school up off the mouths of small streams in late summer the arctic char a true member of the trout family is closely related to the Dolly Varden trout and is one of the most elusive of all Trump no using barbless flies here use all the hardware you've got because these babies are big oh no he almost took the lure but decided he'd wait he went for it this time looks like Teddy hooked a big one look out you'll run you right up on shore how's that for a trophy fish a 14-pound arnoc char try casting over there Joe now Joe hooks one another giant the bright colors of the char indicate they're ready to spawn soon and when that happens they'll stop feeding but they're after the bait today it'll take two of them to land this old boy another trophy during the next few days Joe Ali really learned what it means to live in a wilderness area they visit places few white men have ever been and fished in streams where the fish have never seen a steel fishel Sally is now a confirmed fisherman and Joe well he'll never forget this experience you America's last frontier and yet but a few hours by jet from anywhere in the United States you the world's finest fishing amidst spectacular scenery the day before they are to leave Teddy prepares an Alaskan cookout for the guests no trouble keeping the beer cool the clear icy streams keep the beer at just the right temperature Joe isn't to leave the water but once he gets a whiff of the crisp fresh caught trout he'll forget catching fish for a while a perfect outdoor meal in a perfect outdoor setting but all good things must come to an end and Sally and Joe head for home two weeks in Alaska's anglers paradise is enough to convince them of one thing this is where they're going to spend their summer vacations from now on in the heart of America's last great frontier this has been a special film presentation by Miller highlight the national champion of quality