Like it or not, no Alaska fly box is complete without a selection of egg patterns. Rainbow trout throughout Western Alaska rely heavily on salmon eggs throughout the back half of our season and those who choose not to imitate this natural occurrence are ignoring one of the most important food sources for Alaskan trout…
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Deneki Blog
The Kanektok Slam – Congrats Steve!
A while back, we told you about our new friends and Deneki guests, Rob Johnson and Jeremy Libby, who nabbed the first two Alaskan Grand Slams of our 2018 season on consecutive days alongside Alaska West guide, Caleb Hanna. In case you’re unaware, that’s all five species of Pacific salmon, all caught on a fly,…
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Popper Fishing for Silvers – Tie Direct
It’s silver season in our neck of the woods, and when it comes to fly fishing for silver salmon, there’s no way we like targeting them more than on the surface! To elicit top-water coho takes, the majority of our guides prefer foam, deer hair, or hard-bodied poppers over more traditional ‘pollywog’ or skater style…
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Now, That’s a Dolly
At Alaska West, we’re lucky to experience a run of anadramous (sea-run) dolly varden that’s nothing shy of remarkable. Towards the back half of our season, they undergo a stunning change in appearance from the bright silver garb of their time at sea to their fall spawning colors of fluorescent orange, red, yellow, and green….
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Timeless Tips: Quicker Rig/Fly Changes – 9 Options
Time spent rigging is time spent not fishing, and some of you have asked for quicker ways to switch between different rigs, flies, and tactics. So, today we’ve compiled a few simple tips to help you change your rig quicker and easier to get your fly back in the water. Enjoy! 9 Tips for Quicker Rig…
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Poor Man’s Rain Pants
While digging through photos from the weeks past we were recently reminded of a commonly (and regretfully) forgotten item at our lodges; rain pants! We always encourage our guests to pack quality rain gear when traveling to our lodges, both in Alaska and the Bahamas. By that we mean both a rain jacket and a pair of…
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Alaska West Mini Gallery – Dean Tsandes Edition
We’ve said it many, many times before, but we consider ourselves extremely fortunate to fish with a lot of really great/really fishy people in a lot of really great/really fishy places over the course of a year. One of those people is Dean Tsandes; a two-time Alaska West guest, aspiring fly fishing guide, and proud…
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Guide Poll: Favorite Sunglasses Lens Color
A couple weeks ago we kicked off the first installment of our “Guide Poll” series of posts where our team of professional fly fishing guides weigh in to answer common questions asked by you, our readers! Today, we’re continuing the series with answers to a question we receive all the time from our guests in preparation…
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Nice Fish, Chuck!
Those who have been tuning into our blog/newsletter over the last couple years might recognize the name, Chuck Keller. Why? Because back in 2017 Chuck managed to land one of the largest bonefish we saw all season at Andros South! Well, Chuck must be holding his mouth right because just last week he joined us…
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Timeless Tips: How to Break Your Fly Rod – 10 Simple Options
Most fly rod manufacturers these days offer lifetime warranties, and we say you should do whatever you can to take advantage of such generous offers. Paying repair fees is awesome, ruining your fishing day is super cool, and having to wait for your rod to be repaired is the most fun you’ll have this side…
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