The first Wild Trout Symposium (1974) was sponsored by Trout Unlimited and the United States Department of the Interior. The second Symposium (1979) added the Federation of Fly Fisherman as a sponsor. Five years later (1984) the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Forest Service joined. In 1989 , the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the American Fisheries Society joined. These symposia began with a concentration on management, then recognized that more than 'management' was required in ongoing efforts to enhance wild salmonid fisheries. Subsequent symposia began to examine a broader range of environmental and social factors influencing wild salmonids. The originators hoped that each symposium would be a building block upon which the succeeding symposium could provide insights and research which future sessions could revisit. Along with the broadening of sponsorship, we have grown , we have gained recognition, and we look forward to expanding our contribution to the cause of wild salmonids. We hope these Proceedings will stimulate readers thinking and efforts on behalf of our wild salmonid resources , and plan to participate with us in Wild Trout V.

This report summarizes sport fisheries addressed in Bristol Bay proposals to the Alaska Board of Fisheries during 2009. Fisheries include Nushagak-Mulchatna Chinook salmon (king) Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, and Brooks River and American Creek rainbow trout O. mykiss. The sport fisheries are described, and estimates of sport effort, catch, and harvest, and escapement are provided. Overviews of management for each fishery are provided, such as pertinent sport fishing regulations and management plans, including the Nushagak-Mulchatna King Salmon Management Plan and the Southwest Alaska Rainbow Trout Management Plan.

This report summarizes sport fisheries addressed in Bristol Bay proposals to the Alaska Board of Fisheries during 2012. Fisheries include Nushagak and Naknek rivers rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, Togiak, Kulukak, Nushagak, and Naknek rivers king salmon O. tshawytscha, and Ugashik River coho salmon O. kisutch. The sport fisheries are described, and estimates of sport effort, catch, harvest, and escapement are provided. Overviews of management for each fishery are provided, such as pertinent sport fishing regulations and management plans, including the Nushagak-Mulchatna King Salmon Management Plan and the Southwest Alaska Rainbow Trout Management Plan.

The word “Alaska” conjures visions of jagged icy peaks, smoking volcanoes, vast crimson tundra, sweeping blue rivers and lakes, shaggy brown bears, bush airplanes and pilots, remote Native villages, flashing rainbow trout, and rivers teeming with crimson salmon. These visions are realized, on a stupendous scale, in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. Each year 60 million or more wild salmon pour into the Bay to fight their way upstream past nets, anglers, bears, swirling rapids, and cascading waterfalls in lake and river systems with magical names—Iliamna, Kvichak, Naknek, Alagnak, Becharof, Egegik, Nushagak, Togiak, and Ugashik. Sport anglers travel to the region to pursue all five species of Pacific salmon, dolly varden and arctic char, grayling and giant rainbow trout that provide unmatched thrills on the end of a line with their explosive runs and twisting leaps. This unparalleled fishing—driven by the salmon—makes Bristol Bay the place of fly fisher’s dreams. In this book, author Bill Horn provides a detailed and compelling account of the natural history and life cycle of these fish as well as a glimpse into the culture, management, and politics that are part of the sockeye salmon story. It also offers essential information for anglers planning a trip to the region, including best times of the year for fishing, strategies and fly choices, and planning your trip.