Building the kind of business people dream of.

At 24, most are fresh out of college, struggling to find a job, and saving the little money they have to get out of their parents’ guest room. But for Ya colt-native Shane Ring, traversing through oceanic storms and planning the opening of his fishing lodge top the list of his concerns. 

Despite Ring’s young age, his passion for fishing and drive to be successful has shot him to the top of the Alaskan fishing scene. In June 2019, he and his business partner Ephraim Lohrey will open Apex Lodge and Charters, a fishing lodge the two built from the ground up on the shores of Pelican, Alaska, with the slogan “Built by fishermen, for fishermen.” 

Ring’s thirst for knowledge eventually led him to Alaska, working a summer job as a deckhand for his neighbor’s fishing lodge in Elfin Cove. Spending three, sometimes four, months out of the year reeling halibut, salmon, and rockfish out of Alaska’s frigid waters gave him the opportunity to familiarize himself with the new territory, and after a couple seasons he realized he’d gained the skill to cut out the middleman and become the captain of his own ship. At 19, the youngest age allowed to do so, Ring went out, got his Master Captain’s License and began making a name for himself.

It was shortly after Ring’s accomplishment when he met Lohrey, a fellow captain who was running trips out of the Highliner Lodge in Pelican. The relationship was easy, finding camaraderie in their passions and feeding off each other’s skills and experience. 

Their success on the water and growing clientele was increasing, so with Lohrey’s background in construction and their confidence in guiding fishing trips, it got Lohrey to thinking: what if they just cut out the middleman? 

Lohrey and Ring began fleshing out the nuances of starting a business and looking around for possible investors, eventually landing an investor who already owned a lodge in Pelican but had the desire to expand the fishing scene in their small town. With their dreams and the money to make them happen, they finally put pen to paper and purchased an undeveloped parcel filled with tall evergreens and overlooking the Lisianski Inlet. 

The rest is history.  Now, to work in an angle on a floatplane.

Thanks for the link, Brig.