We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again – well organized gear catches more fish. How so? Simple – Time spent looking for gear on the water is time spent not catching fish. When it comes to organizing flies, we generally subscribe to the ‘mothership’ approach – large, inexpensive, simple boxes able to hold…
Read More
Archives for July 2017
Alaska Trout Fishing – The Mouse/Sculpin Punch
During a large part of our summer, we’re fortunate to be able to target trout using one of our favorite means of all time – with mouse patterns. When its good, its great, and can make for some fast-paced, highly visual fun, at times selecting some pretty quality fish. That said, it doesn’t select all…
Read More
Keep ‘Em Wet with Slow Motion Release Shots (Video)
Photography has become a big part of the fly fishing culture over the years, and we’d be lying if we said we didn’t understand the importance of capturing the moment with that special fish. That said, we also believe that fish destined to be released should always be treated with the utmost respect, held close…
Read More
Weekly Fish Stories – That Fish
We’re back today with another edition of our ‘Weekly Fish Stories,’ where guides and guests from our lodges share a brief snapshot of memorable moment on the water. Today, our own Jason Whiting shares a quick story from a day of trout fishing with a fishy father-son duo, Ted and Dean Tsandes, at Alaska West….
Read More
Timeless Tips: Chum Salmon – Fly Fishing Techniques
Our annual chum salmon run is in full force, which is why today we present you with a great post from our pal, Brian Niska, on some tactics and gear advice when fishing for chum salmon on the Kanektok River as part of our ‘timeless tip tuesday’ series of posts. Who’s Brian? He’s a much better spey…
Read More
The Bunny Snaelda – Update
Last month we brought to you step by step tying instructions for the ‘Bunny Snaelda,’ a new variation of a popular Atlantic salmon pattern (the Franc N Snaelda) that we’ve seen do really well on our king salmon here at Alaska West. Well, our pal Stuart Foxall recently put it to the test on our…
Read More
Spey Rods for King Salmon – Our Favorites
Spey fishing for king salmon is not for the light hearted. It puts rods, reels, lines, knots, and mental toughness to the test. It’s not uncommon for one (or more) of the aforementioned to break, and more often than not, its the latter. However, today we’re not talking about broken hearts, we’re talking about rods…..
Read More
Spey Fishing – Pulsing the Swing (Video)
The “tug” might be the “drug,” but most anglers would agree that a tug that stays attached is ideal. Unfortunately, when swinging flies for salmon and steelhead, that’s not always the case. Quick strikes, followed by an unanswered swing, are common when spey fishing, and can be frustrating at the very least. So what do…
Read More
Last Minute Availability at BC West
This just in – We just had a last minute cancellation at BC West for one angler the week of July 29th – August 5th. That’s prime-time in our neck of the woods, and we want you to join us! If you’re a single angler, and are interested in fishing one of the greatest steelhead rivers…
Read More
Timeless Tip Tuesday: Rainbow Trout Lies
We asked our Deneki Expert Panel a question a little while back about trout lies – no, not the tall tales that trout spin about the size of the anglers who almost caught them, the places in the river where trout like to live. A later post will give a number of bits of wisdom…
Read More