Alaska's famed Bristol Bay drainage is a fly-fishing paradise, where giant leopard-spotted rainbow trout grow to monstrous proportions, propelled by the region's prolific insect life and the presence of one of the last great sockeye salmon runs left on earth. The big trout grow fat on salmon fry, salmon eggs, and, later in the season, decaying salmon flesh — from start to finish, the fly-fishing season in Bristol Bay is fast and furious. Simply put, it's the best place in the world to chase trophy rainbows in their native waters. 

Ever wanted to experience what it might be like to live on your own private island amid a Caribbean fly fishing paradise? Even for just a week? Heck, even for just a few days? Well, it's doable, and it's not as prohibitive as you might think. Long Caye Outpost, situated in the outer cays off the coast of Belize, might be the perfect paradise retreat, where guests can enjoy all of the comforts of home, as well as top-notch hospitality and guided flats fishing in some of the most productive bonefish, permit and tarpon waters in the world.

The first-ever Belizean lodge constructed exclusively for fly fishers 60 years ago is still a classic destination for anglers of all stripes. Over the years, Belize River Lodge has only gotten better with age. Its beautifully manicured grounds are breathtaking, and conjure up a bit of old-school fly fishing nostalgia amid a touch of Caribbean class. Comfortable, updated accommodations and over-the-top service greet anglers upon arrival, but it's the easy access to some of the best tarpon fishing and flats fishing in Central America that will keep fly fishers coming back.

The mighty Rio Baker is perhaps Chile’s most iconic and beautiful river. Well-known to fly fishers, kayakers and rafters which have floated its glacially-tinged waters for decades, the Baker received worldwide recognition in 2014 when an enormous civic action campaign saved the river from a massive dam and hydroelectric power project that would have destroyed the river’s raw, wild nature and untarnished ecosystem. Thanks to that campaign, today the Baker still flows free and wild.