YES, Mr. President

My good friend, Brian Harry, owner of Intricate Bay Lodge in the Bristol Bay region, gave me a call at the end of his 2016 season. He asked if I could set aside some dates ten months out, and if so, did I mind having a background check…from the Secret Service!?!? “Who is it?” I asked. “Can’t tell you right now, but can you do it?” Brian said. “Sure, why not,” I told him, now fully committed to the unknown.

Fast forward those ten months, and a lot of paperwork. I got to the lodge, still in the dark about who exactly would be arriving the next day. After the Secret Service finished debriefing me about safety protocols, strict rules and etiquette, I learned I would be photographing President Carter, the 39th President of the United States!!!

The following morning, with introductions made, we were off. President and Mrs. Carter and their guests were joined by four Secret Service men, Brian Harry, two other guides, and me, the photographer. We charged out in a monumental jet boat assault, as if preparing to fend off the entire Alaskan brown bear population! Before President Carter stepped out of the boat at the first fishing hole of the morning, the guides discussed the best way to get their highest profile client a trophy trout. No pressure, right?

The Secret Service quickly spread out, sending men up stream and across the river, with one by the former President’s side at all times. Our group fell silent as President Carter stepped into the run to make his first cast. It was like watching Arnold Palmer teeing up for a birdie on the 18th hole for a championship.

With everyone’s attention riveted, the guides spotted a few fish just down river. Strategic casts needed to be made. President Carter stepped up and replied in good measure, and the fight was on! A large Copper River trout met his fly and wanted to head back to the lake in a screaming run downriver. President Carter was into his backing in mere seconds, tactfully managing to turn the fish and begin a 30-minute Clash of the Titans battle on the river.

I saw other boats choosing to stop downstream, to give President Carter and his big trout a wide berth. The job of netting fell to Brian Harry. While this task is routine and often an easy, natural reflex for a lodge owner or guide, netting a former President’s trout was a whole new level of pressure. You don’t want to lose a fish at the net for a man who once held a hand over the big red button in the White House! Brian rose to the occasion and netted 26 inches of Copper River rainbow. According to the group, it was one of the largest trout President Carter had ever landed!

With the first big fish taken on the first day and at the first hole, the stage was set for the amazing week that followed. We experienced interesting conversation with President Carter and the Secret Service agents, made new friends and captured countless fish on the fly for the President and all his guests. We celebrated President & Mrs. Carter’s 70th wedding anniversary and the Fourth of July holiday on the river.

By the end of the week, our group had become a team of sportsmen enjoying the outdoors together. No titles or positions, just people casting fly rods and savoring the time spent in Alaska’s fly fishing paradise…one of the last true wilderness areas in the world. That was truly a once in a lifetime experience, one that I will never forget.    

-Abe Blair