BY KAREN BOSSICK
Backwoods Mountain Sports owner Paddy Mcllvoy will tell of his fishing adventures in the Alaskan Wilderness in a presentation called “Packrafts and Spey Casts.”
The show will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, at The Argyros in Ketchum. It is being presented by the Trout Unlimited Hemingway Chapter.
Paddy Mcllvoy’s adventures read like chapters from an epic tale, where wild rivers and remote landscapes become both playground and a proving ground. He traversed the rugged Alaska Peninsula, which separates the Pacific Ocean from Bristol Bay, in pursuit of elusive chinook salmon.
And he spent 25 days alone on Nunivak Island—a permafrost-covered volcanic island--charting untouched rivers with a fly rod in hand.
His journeys reflect a deep reverence for exploration and solitude. Mcllvoy’s multi-river expedition through Western Alaska reflects his unwavering drive to explore uncharted waters, encountering elusive mouse-eating grayling and ancient rainbow trout along the way. These adventures exemplify his passion for discovery, where the real reward lies not only in the fish he catches but in the meaningful stories and experiences gathered along the way.