Making time for adventure: A Basin employee pursues a dream catch

Jotting down a bucket list is easy, but finding the time and opportunity to make it happen is often the real challenge.

Jesse Erhardt has been fly fishing since he was eight years old. “I learned how from my dad, and after I caught my first largemouth bass that summer, I was hooked.”

Most anglers have a dream fish they hope to catch someday. For Erhardt, it was a Dolly Varden. The only problem is that this species of char isn’t found anywhere near North Dakota. In fact, from his home in Bismarck, the closest waters holding Dolly Varden are more than 700 miles away.

But Erhardt took things even farther. Along with his wife and in-laws, he traveled more than 2,000 miles to Cooper Landing, Alaska, for a family fishing adventure.

It was a chilly, sunny, and calm morning when the group met their fishing guide, Henry, at the river access near the confluence of the Russian and Kenai rivers.

“Henry quickly got to work with a casting lesson for my sister-in-law,” Erhardt says. “She was hooked up on a native Kenai rainbow not long after.”

Some time and a few rainbow trout to the net later, they arrived at the final fishing hole for the day. They found the turquoise water filled with fluorescent red spawning sockeye salmon. Lucky for them, rainbow trout and Dolly Varden were close behind, feeding on eggs drifting downstream.

“I had caught only rainbows up to this point and had really hoped I could get a Dolly,” Erhardt says. “Henry told me that he was surprised I had only caught rainbows all day, because it’s a 50/50 chance to catch either a rainbow or Dolly.”

As fate would have it, on his final cast of the day, Erhardt’s pursuit came to an end as he caught the sought-after Dolly Varden.

“I was busy taking pictures and soaking up the experience, and at the same time my sister-in-law hooked up with a Dolly, too,” Erhardt says. “Henry was able to net hers at the same time mine was still in the net. We celebrated with cheers and a high five.”

While catching a Dolly Varden checked a long-standing item off his bucket list, fly fishing represents more than the pursuit of a particular species.

Erhardt says fly fishing is the most traditional and challenging fishing style he’s tried.

“When I fly fish, it kind of feels like I’m traveling back to simpler times before boats and advanced sonar systems,” he says. “I keep coming back for the challenge and satisfaction that comes when I can fool a keen-eyed trout or the fiery strike from an angry northern pike.”

For Erhardt, time on the water also provides an opportunity to disconnect from the demands of everyday life.

“Not often in our crazy world can I fully escape screens and business from my everyday life,” he says. “Standing in a river, my mind goes quiet and I’m fully in the moment.”

He credits time outdoors with helping him recharge and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

“I spend as much time as possible outdoors,” Erhardt says. “It’s a requirement for me to get away from screens and the noise that comes with them. Peace from nature helps me recharge and refresh.”

Fly fishing has also taught him lessons that extend far beyond the river. Patience, attention to detail, and the ability to step back and see the bigger picture are skills he carries into his work at Basin Electric. Most importantly, he says, the sport has reminded him to appreciate the people and experiences that matter most.

“I understand that our time here is finite, and all we take with us is memories of those we love and the time spent with them,” Erhardt says.

Looking back on his Alaska adventure, Erhardt says catching a Dolly Varden was everything he had hoped for. But sharing the experience with family, surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery he had ever seen, is what made the trip truly unforgettable.

“I enjoy the satisfaction of a great career that provides me with the opportunity to pursue my bucket list,” he says. “I just have to remember to take the time away from the grind.”