Fly Fishing the Naknek River

Outdoor Metal Wall Art with Fish, Bear, and Fly Fisher

I flew to King Salmon a couple of Sundays ago to install this 16′ wide layered stainless and weathering steel outdoor wall sculpture on the exterior wall of Bear Trail Lodge along the Naknek River.

I’d made a heat-colored steel and birch decorative coffee table for them a few years ago. When I contacted the owner this spring, she said she’d been thinking about having a piece made for one of the large exterior lodge walls.

It was a particularly fun design to work out; to give a feeling of the area and lodge experience, without making a literal picture.

I drew it on my iPad. I wish I had a time-lapse of its evolution. 24 hours of drawing, erasing, rearranging, scaling, and nudging elements, along with general refining.

Despite their status as a world-class fishing lodge, I didn’t make it fishing, as I was only there overnight and finished the installation with a couple of hours to spare before my return flight.

Nonetheless, I had plenty of time to enjoy their excellent hospitality.

Just saying, if you’re considering an Alaskan fishing trip…

I also made a heat-colored steel engraving of the same design.

Heat-colored steel engraving depicting fly fishing in the early morning along the Naknek River. A fly fisherman casts his fly in the early morning light. — Fly fishing in the early morning along the Naknek River.

PS. If you’re looking for art for exterior walls, and you have a special spot in mind that you’d love to breathe new life into, I’d love to hear about it and discuss the possibilities.