Just did it from Long Beach to Catalina today. Didn’t know what to expect, 10/10 would do again. Next time in Hawaii gonna do it for sure.

One nice flight around Kauai; best way to see the interior. Couple times in the Fraser to see the Adams and Horsefly sockeye spawning. Well worth it.

Sounds very cool CM, especially the spawning sockeye.

Saigon City to Danang CH-47

Thank you for your service.

+1

In all seriousness illahee, thank you for your service. Nam couldn’t have been easy.

From Bella Coola to Tall Timbers or the Bluff Hole is money well spent, the chopper ride alone is worth the price of admission, fly over 7000' passes then watch the bottom drop out, land on a blue ice glacier, then follow the river down to the gravel, land and unload 10 days worth of [Bleeeeep!], or your 65 lb pack....whichever comes first, because fuckit.
The steelhead fishing is a nice bonus.

The sockeye flights were back when there were sockeye in the Fraser. The Adams was plugged, as was the lake where the river came in. Bottom of the lake was simply a large red blob. The Horsefly was in its first really big year, a million fish distributed evenly over miles of river. It was at peak spawning with few schools waiting for space and few carcasses. Just even distribution. The At the Chilko were were a tad late for a all the sockeye but the river looked like it had been carpet bombed by Chinook. Huge holes, 5-6' deep, where they Chinook had spawned. There were still Fraser Chinook back then.

Back in the mid-80s WA had a really huge pink run, at least in the the Skagit, Stilly, and Snoh. I took the folks I worked with up in the WDF Beaver and we flew those rivers so they could see what escapement is supposed to look like. A Beaver is almost a fixed-wing helicopter in the hands of a good pilot.

So Stam has a backpack that weights 5 pounds more than Evo? Interesting.

Never been in a Choppa! But I know to get to one fast when Arnie barks for us to do so.

Thank you for your service Illahee.

Yes. A helicopter is the ultimate fishing machine.

But they're expensive. And they cost a lot of money.

One upper that I am, I thought it necessary, but.....since I weigh approximately 100 lbs less than evo, that would extrapolate out to exactly 10 lbs more.....hence, actually making me a two upper.

A couple of times for short cruises...noisy af, but the views are tough to beat.

Fish on...

Todd

Spent some time and trips in the whirlybird.... Good times.

Keith

My most memorable rides were with one of my Dad's best friend whom was a higher up in LVMPD over Vegas and the surrounding areas. The cameras are insane on those.

Night time was always my favorite.

Flown in choppers several times mostly when I was in the Army, also on sightseeing flights in Maui and Alaska, the civilian choppers are much smoother and quieter than the military ones. For a real treat take a glider ride in Hawaii on the northshore of Oahu. It was awsome!

Mostly doing spawning surveys on the Skagit, Sauk, and Stilly. The ride Stam mentions is the most spectacular, going from sea level up to 6 or 7,000 feet over the mountains to the Dean River. I'm signed up to do it again this summer, but might get canceled like last year due to the Canadian border restrictions.