We’re excited to have our good friend and world-renowned fly tyer, Stuart Foxall, in house this week at Alaska West. That means evenings in our ‘lounge-tent’ have been transformed from a casual social hour to a fly tying masterclass, and in no way is that a complaint. Stu recently shared a great tip with us…
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YETI Tundra Coolers – We’re on the Bandwagon
YETI Coolers need no introduction. In fact, its safe to say that YETI has deservedly become one of the most recognizable brands in the outdoor industry. That being said, we’ll be the first to admit that when they first started gaining popularity, the idea of a several hundred dollar cooler seemed a bit over the…
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Mend to Fix
Mend: /mend/ verb. To repair (something that is broken or damaged). Synonyms: repair, fix. When fishing moving water, whether swinging flies for steelhead and salmon or dead drifting nymphs and/or dries for trout, great mends catch more fish than great casts. After all, a proper mend can create a effective presentation, and effective presentations (not casts) are…
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Mono vs. Fluoro from Hatch Outdoors
Our friends from Hatch Outdoors are back with some more great tips in video form on tying custom leaders for the salt. In their most recent edition of their video series, Bruce Chard covers the pros and cons of mono (nylon) versus fluorocarbon leader material and how they can be best used together when tying…
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Timeless Tips: 5 Ways to Catch More King Salmon
We’re currently in the midst of our king salmon season at Alaska West and BC West. These are not your normal king fisheries – we’re swinging flies for hot chrome fish just a few miles for the salt, and that really turns our crank! Needless to say, we’ve got kings on the brain so we thought we’d pass…
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Our New Ride
We just kicked off our season at BC West, our humble abode on the Dean River, and those who have joined us in the past might notice something a little different from the photo above.. Same great staff.. Same great views.. Same epic steelhead and chinook water.. One fresh new ride. That’s right, we got…
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Bush Rigging Broken Wading Boot Laces
There’s nothing quite like yanking on the laces of your wading boots in anticipation of a full day on the water when.. Snap! They finally give way. Broken laces are a bummer, but whether or not you’ve got a spare pair of laces in your boat bag, they don’t have to sour your day. Take…
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The Finer Points of Finer Points – How to Sharpen Hooks
A while back we told you about our favorite method for testing whether the hook on your fly is sharp enough or whether it’s in desperate need of a touch-up. After all, it doesn’t take much to dull a sharp hook, which is why we think a simple hook file is one of the most…
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Opening Day at Alaska West
We just kicked off our season at Alaska West and we’re happy to report that our first run of king salmon have arrived! Despite higher-than-average water conditions, our opening day yielded steady action, with some healthy adult kings landed, and more than a few heartbreakers lost. We’re going to be on-site all season long and…
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Timeless Tips: Talking Salmon to a Steelheader
Jason Koertge has caught a lot of fish on swung flies. Besides having landed 52% of the kings and steelhead that have swum into Oregon since 2003, Jason has also chased kings with us on the Kanektok and the Dean as well. Needless to say, he’s learned a lot in the process, and in particular…
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