This video reminds me of the summer of 1992 when I guided in southwest Alaska, specifically Bristol Bay Lodge  (BBL). I spent most of the summer in a 10x20 tent along the bank of the Togiak River in the remote Togiak National Refuge Area (about 60 miles west of Dillingham, Alaska).

Clients didn’t stay overnight in my camp; float plane pilots dropped them off in the morning and then we’d fish the Togiak (and connecting streams) throughout the day, then the pilots would fly the anglers back to our main lodge or one of our larger outpost camps with overnight accommodations.

My role as a fishing guide was to put my clients on fish, provide instruction if needed, and prepare them a delicious shore lunch. More importantly, it was my job to keep them safe in the Alaska wilderness. The two primary dangers were drowning and brown bears.

The Togiak itself didn’t have dangerous fast-water like other big rivers in the area, but its connecting streams had tight turns and unknown obstacles such as learning or downed trees (we called them widow-makers) that could suddenly appear due to overnight rains. Running these shallow, twisting streams in a johnboat powered by an outboard jet was thrilling — with safety always the top priority.

When running these small streams, my biggest concern wasn’t a leaning or downed tree — it was brown bears. Much of the water we raced through was only inches deep in spots, and we had to go fast (stay on plane) to keep the jet from sucking up gravel and wrecking the motor.

Like all BBL guides, I stood in the far back of the johnboat when running the outboard. This helped me see over the clients and also gave me a glimpse of what was around a tight corner. The LAST thing I wanted was to roll into a sow brown bear with cubs standing in the stream. Thankfully that never happened.

We often saw brown bears along the shore of the Togiak when we were fishing. This wasn’t a nervous experience when my clients were casting from the boat, but when they were wading, it raised my stress level. The rule was the anglers never walked or waded more than 15 yards from the boat; that way, if a bear suddenly appeared from the thick willow brush along shore, we’d be able to quickly retreat to the boat and push away from shore.

I would have NEVER confronted a bear of any size over a hooked fish. Smaller bears were often more aggressive than larger ones, and when I say "aggressive" I think a better word might be curious. But if a 300-pound brown bear (a smaller young one!) is quickly walking or running toward you, I’m thinking you’ll perceive its actions as aggressive and not simply curious.

Several times I told my clients to quickly reel in their fly lines and get into the boat because a bear showed up at a distance that was too close for comfort. I didn’t ask them — I ordered them. And I was prepared to quickly cut a line if an angler was fighting a fish when a bear surprised us.

In my opinion, the young angler in this Instagram video is lucky the small bear backed off. The next one might not be so cooperative. This bear also could have been an older cub, and the sow could have been lurking back in the brush; not good.