“Bright day, bright fly. Dark day, dark fly.” right? More on that later. The PNW Munker is just that, Bright. With a wide profile and well-balanced fly, this fly is very effective for Steelhead and Pacific Salmon. Tie Instructions and photos by Alex Belonga. If you’d like to see more of Alex’s flies or want…
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Alaska West
The Benefits of Joining a Fly Fishing Club
For decades fly fishing has been an excuse for adventurous people to liberate themselves from daily routine into nature and find peace and connection at a slower pace. To grasp fly fishing requires one to develop a profound understanding and appreciation of the natural environment, the seasons, the river, and its habitants. One of the…
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Time to Get Chummy
In Alaska, all Salmon are on a spectrum of appreciation. Some are more appreciated than others. Of course, you have your King Salmon and Silver Salmon leading that list, followed by Sockeye Salmon, Chum Salmon, and Pink Salmon. Aggressive, tenacious, and will pull and tug with the best of them, Chum salmon is, bar none,…
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Deneki Outdoors Wishes You a Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is all about being thankful. No matter your situation or the challenges you currently face, it is essential to find things to be grateful for and embrace. Thankfulness is the ability to both give and receive. Especially that turkey, you’re about to cleave. Thank you for letting us be a part of your fly…
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Fly Tying: Turkey Trot Gobble
There is no trot. There is no gobble. What we do have is the Turkey Trot Gobble Fly. There is no material list because we don’t know everything about it. There are no instructions, quite frankly because we’re not sure how we did it. All we know is it looks like a turkey, a pretty…
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Deneki Chronicles: Get the Right Line for Your Spey Rod!
At Alaska West we spend a lot of time chasing anadromous fish with two-handed rods. We see this situation all the time: Angler arrives in camp with new spey rod. Angler sets it up with the line that his or her buddy/mentor/favorite author/shop guy/rep/mother-in-law said would work well. Angler fishes it for a while and…
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Alaska West King Salmon
What can we say…we like King Salmon, especially on the Fly with a Spey rod. Hard to find, hard to get to take a fly, hard to fight, hard to land. Many anglers tout King Salmon as one of the most desired game fish in the fly fishing world. Who are we to argue? At…
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Sockeye Will Take a Fly
The biggest myth about salmon fishing in Alaska is Sockeye (Red) Salmon won’t take a fly. Sockeye will take a fly, and when they do, it is one heck of a rodeo. Everyone knows about Coho (Silver) Salmon in Alaska. They are aggressive, you can get them from stripping flies, or creating wakes with a…
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West to West Rainbows
Alaska West Lodge veteran guide and all-around good guy Ben “Big Country” West is big on fly fishing. He works hard and fishes even harder. Ben truly appreciates trout, and according to him, this past season was one of the best seasons for Leopard Rainbow Trout at Alaska West. Based on these pictures from this…
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Deneki Chronicles: 5 Ways to Control the Speed of Your Swing
When swinging for anadramous species like king salmon or steelhead, more often than not, the slower the swing the better. As long as it is moving just enough to suggest life in your fly, odds are you are in the game. However, from time to time, increasing the speed of your swing can be just…
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