Michela Carriere

Where eight of her nine castmates packed a fishing line and hooks kit, Michela Carriere brought a fish net. That one substitution is the signature of her list, and it fits her precisely: a Cree Metis adventure guide with Aski Holistic Adventures, working a Mackenzie Delta site roughly 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle whose braided river system rewards anyone who can read water. The net joined a bow and snare wire to form three simultaneous food approaches, backed by the standard sleeping bag, axe, saw, ferro rod, multitool, 2 quart pot, and paracord, none with recorded brands.

We rate the net call highly on its merits. Passive volume fishing in a delta beats hook-and-line for energy economy, and trusting your own read of the water over the default kit item is the kind of conviction that tends to correlate with strong runs. Only one other person in this field made a comparable move away from the standard fishing kit, which puts her in thin and interesting company.