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The wisp of a fly line, the ripple and pop of a lure bouncing off the surface of a remote mountain lake, and the cool misty breeze found on a late summer morning are the definition of serenity for many anglers who frequent the mountain lakes of Kodiak Island in Alaska. In many of these locations foot is the only means of access, and the quiet scenery is shared only by those engaged in the ancient battle of man verses fish.
But once a year the peacefulness of the remote mountain lakes on Kodiak is broken by the sound of a Coast Guard helicopter on a unique mission; to stock remote mountain lakes with rainbow trout and bring to conclusion an otherwise impossible journey.
Editors Note: The Coast Guard has been assisting in the aerial stocking of remote mountain lakes on Kodiak Island in Alaska for more than a decade. The several lakes that are stocked with rainbow trout fry are popular destinations for local and visiting anglers who are willing to hike into these remote locations. The attached story and photographs detail the journey of the trout fry and document the end result of this unique Coast Guard mission. This feature story and photographs are free to use in publications with appropriate photo and author credit. Please visit the link below for the entire story. Feel free to contact the 17th District Public Affairs Detachment in Kodiak Alaska for further details. We would appreciate knowing if you plan on publishing the article.
A link to the story and photographs can be found below:
Feature: http://www.piersystem.com/clients/c780/62760.doc
For high resolution photographs click on the thumbnail photos below:
 KODIAK, Alaska - Fish culturist Greg Carpenter, with the Fort Richardson Hatchery in Fort Richardson Alaska, dumps a net full of rainbow trout fry into a bucket, which will then be poured into an aerated water tank in the bed of a truck for transport to local lakes in Kodiak Aug., 16, 2006. The trout fry from the Fort Richardson Hatchery were brought over on a ferry to Kodiak and some of them were distributed from the air into Heitman, Jupiter Saturn, Long, Tanignak and Dolgoi lakes by an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak. (Official Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Christopher D. McLaughlin)
 KODIAK, Alaska - Fish and Game biologist Suzanne Schmidt pours a bucket of rainbow trout fry from the Fort Richardson Hatchery into and aerated water tank aboard the back of a truck for distribution to local Kodiak lakes Aug., 16, 2006. The trout fry from the Fort Richardson Hatchery were transported by ferry to Kodiak. Some fry were distributed from the air into Heitman, Jupiter Saturn, Long, Tanignak and Dolgoi lakes by an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak. (Official Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Christopher D. McLaughlin)
 KODIAK, Alaska - Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Dyke, an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter flight mechanic from Air Station Kodiak, prepares to deposit a cooler of rainbow trout fry from the Fort Richardson Hatchery in Fort Richardson Alaska into Dolgoi Lake on Long Island near Woman's Bay on Kodiak Island, Alaska August 16, 2006. Members of Air Station Kodiak assisted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game distribute trout fry to Heitman, Jupiter, Saturn, Long, Tanignak and Dolgoi Lakes by helicopter. The lakes are in remote locations and without helicopter the fry would not have survived the journey due to the lack of oxygen in the coolers. (Official Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Christopher D. McLaughlin)
 KODIAK, Alaska - Dan Busch, 30 year resident of Kodiak Alaska and fly fisherman, holds a rainbow trout caught in Jupiter Lake earlier this year. Jupiter Lake is one of several lakes stocked by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game with the assistance of a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter.
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