Summer is short in Western Alaska – our season at Alaska West ends at the end of August. Here’s the quick story of what it’s like at the end of our season, told in pictures and captions. More on August at Alaska West 5 Reasons We Love the Late Season When to Go Trout Fishing…
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Alaska West
Art by Ed Novinsky
Ed Novinsky has been part of the family at Alaska West for years. It means a lot to spend time with folks who truly appreciate the places we love – and Ed pretty much pegs the Appreciation Meter at Alaska West. Mike Duffy met Ed while guiding at Alaska West, and we’re going to leave…
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Why It’s OK to Fish from the Boat Too
At Alaska West, we love working our way down gravel bars on foot, catching king salmon on spey rods. But there are lots of fun, really effective ways to fly fish for kings from a boat too… Thanks to Bill and Corinne Lenahan for another great photo! More Ways to Catch Kings Kings Under Indicators…
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Alaska West Video – Worth Three Minutes!
This year at Alaska West we hosted two guests who were radically enthusiastic, super fun and positive, and great anglers too. Tracy Moore and Matt Thompson joined us during the last week of July, and they put together a great, less-than-3-minute video showing some of the fun they had on the water. We think it’s…
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Go Thunderdoming.
Super high, early season water in Western Alaska can mean our king salmon are less likely to hold on the gravel bars. That was the case in early 2012 and, though huge water years are not too common season-to-season, those who set foot on the tundra with an open mind can make some seriously fishy…
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The Power of Positivity
Adam Kryder was a fantastic addition to our guide staff at Alaska West this year. He noticed something pretty profound about angling and attitudes and was kind enough to write it up for us. Thanks, Adam! The Power of Positivity Guiding at Alaska West has given me a great gift. As a guide I am…
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Making Loops on Sinktips
A second installation in our sinktip strategies novella, here’s a looping method that began as what Alaska West guide Jeff Hickman dubbed a ‘bush fix,’ and has since become one of the two main ways we’re custom building on-the-river sinktips to suit the current conditions. First off, get yourself about 40 feet of Rio’s T-whatever….
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Art.
They’re just such cool looking fish. They’re colored up like this during July and August at Alaska West. More on Dolly-Char Slideshow Wildest Fish Ever 4 Reasons to Chase Them
Skagit Casting – Keep Your Hands Close
When you’re making spey casts in the Skagit style, try to keep your hands as close to your body as possible! Ed Ward, long-time guide at Alaska West and one of the fathers of Skagit-style spey casting, has been called “the man who can spey cast inside a phone booth”. That’s a bit of an…
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Pacific Salmon Feeding in Fresh Water?
Pacific salmon don’t feed in fresh water – everybody knows that, right? Wrong. Brian Morrison, fisheries biologist and author of several recent posts on fish lifecycles in Western Alaska, is back today to tell us about some recent research findings that prove conventional wisdom wrong. Read on. Salmon Feeding in Fresh Water? Many anglers have…
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