Brian Niska, as you may now, is the owner of Whistler Fly Fishing, a spey rod designer, and one of our crack team of guest spey instructors at Alaska West and BC West. He also takes some great photos. We’ve got Brian to thank for today’s mini-gallery about swinging flies for chum salmon at Alaska…
Read More
Alaska West
On Point
Michael White, locked and loaded. More on Bonefishing Free Bonefishing 101 Download All About Bonefishing Intro to Andros South
King Salmon Spey Rod Roundup
Today we wrap up our mini-series of posts about spey rods designed for king salmon. We started the series back on July 4th, with a post introducing the concepts surrounding spey rods purpose-built for kings. Based on our testing at BC West during the first week of our 2012 season, we ran reviews of 4…
Read More
A Gagatron Going Richter?
From chokers to chumblers, crittery schnittles to chinkus flinkus and disc drags set to Stun Mode, the guidespeak at our lodges has become a venerable Northern dialect that’s invaded the Pacific Northwest and points East. Special note: if you’re new to all this gobbledygook, this glossary might help. The unique descriptions of giant fish and…
Read More
Alaska West Fishing Report: July 27 – August 3
The last week in July at Alaska West can be put into two words- “good fishing”. The salmon spawn has reached its peak and anglers looking for Leopard Rainbows don’t have to look any further than side channels choked with pairs of mating Chums. The guests in our 7th week of the 2012 season found that with a…
Read More
Father Son Fun
We’ve said it before – one of the most gratifying parts of being in this business is that we get to take families fishing together. Long time guest and friend Fraser Heston brought his son Jack up to Alaska West during kings this year. They had a great time and we had a great time…
Read More
The Art of Alaska West Guide Jim Palmersheim
Most of our past and current Alaska West guests know Jim Palmersheim as a super-mellow, very friendly, mega-fishy guy who’s not above handing you a hot, riverine cup of French-pressed espresso mid-swing. All true. What you might not know—probably because Jim’s far too humble to talk about himself—is that he’s a world-class pastel artist when…
Read More
Fact: Kings Aren’t Always as Deep as You Think.
We’re lucky enough to fish with a ton of born dredgers in our camps each season — excellent sticks from NorCal, Oregon, Washington, B.C. and beyond — who know how to get a fly deep and keep it there. What tends to blow their minds, however, is that our fish aren’t always as deep as…
Read More
Alaska West Fishing Report: July 20 – 27
Week 6 is a special time at Alaska West. The salmon have begun to spawn, the Silvers have made their appearance in the river, and old friends have returned to explore waters new to both us and them. This year’s Week 6 was full of fun and excitement. The last few days of King Salmon season fell within…
Read More
Depthfinding: The Real Beauty of the New Skagit Intermediate Heads
We’re absolutely loving the new Tom Larimer-designed Airflo Skagit Intermediate Heads for a lot of reasons and here’s how we’re using them to get deeper (hint: it’s might not be exactly how you think). The obvious: The head itself does cut the surface tension to get down a little—a big reason the lines fish so…
Read More