We fish a lot of tube flies at our lodges in Alaska and British Columbia. Tubes offer a number of advantages over flies tied on traditional hooks, but perhaps their biggest disadvantage is their inability to be stored in a traditional fly box. When it comes to housing a season’s worth of tube flies, most…
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Archives for April 2018
Chase Down that Fish of a Lifetime
Big bonefish, we’re talking fish-of-a-lifetime ‘big,’ can run far.. Really far. After all, their ability to take hundreds of yards of backing is a huge part of what makes the opportunity to tussle with one so rewarding. Unfortunately, when it comes to fighting big fish the fact remains; the farther they run, the more difficult…
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How to Avoid Twist in Your Fly Line – Video
Whether you fish freshwater or saltwater, warm water or cold water, single or double handed rods, or all of the above, fly line twist happens to everybody. But, believe it or not, it can be easily fixed! We recently stumbled upon a great video put together by our friends at RIO on how to avoid…
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The Coho Clouser – Tying Instructions
When asked about our favorite flies for silver salmon, many of our guests are surprised to hear that one of the most popular patterns amongst our guide staff at Alaska West is not a ‘typical’ Alaska-born coho pattern such as a hareball leech or dolly llama, but rather a plain ol’ pink and white Clouser…
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Elements of Great Fly Fishing Photos
Without question, photography has become an integral part of the fly fishing culture and we’re really lucky to have worked with a bunch of truly great outdoor photographers over the years. Those who have been following our blog for the past few years may have noticed many of our photos credited to Gregory Houska. Greg…
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How to Repair Split Jungle Cock Nails
When it comes to fly tying materials, particularly in the world of salmon and steelhead flies, its safe to say there’s no feather more prized than jungle cock. Due to their stunning contrast of color and natural durable enamel-like coating, jungle cock eyes (or ‘nails’) have been sought after by fly tyers for over a hundred…
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Stick It to the Taxman
It’s tax season, and what better way to cope than by sticking it to the Taxman himself. Due to their tendency to collect a portion of tropical angler’s hard-earned, sharks have been appropriately dubbed ‘the Taxman’ by the angling community. Those who have fished on South Andros know the Taxman well. With populations of lemon…
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