Tip #10, executed to perfection. Photo: Cameron Miller Planning on swinging flies for king salmon this summer, maybe on the Kanektok or the Dean? Here are some tips that may help. Cast across and slightly downstream. You certainly need to read the water you’re fishing and adjust accordingly, but in general if you’re fishing a…
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Alaska West
Greg Thomas on Fresh Fish
Photo: Greg Thomas Greg Thomas is one of the premier writers in fly fishing. He puts out quality stuff only, as evidenced by his definitive Flyfisher’s Guides to the western states, his publication Tight Lines, his magazine work and his freelance pieces in publications like, say, the New York Times. Greg is now the managing editor…
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Rainbow Trout Fishing – Mend Less.
It’s summer, so I have to eat. Photo: Cameron Miller There are trout streams out there where highly educated trout demand perfect presentation. Long, light tippets are key. Pure, drag-free drift is essential, and if your fourth mend falls 3 inches left of where it should have, that fish is not going to eat. The…
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Alaska Native Crafts from Quinhagak
The real stuff. Photo: Cameron Miller Alaska West is located just up the Kanektok River from the Yupik Eskimo village of Quinhagak. We’re really lucky to have good friends in the village. It’s a unique community, and we’re all there for fundamentally the same reason – incredible, consistent returns of salmon to the Kanektok each…
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Family Fishing in Alaska Part Six – What We Learned
Spending some quality time. Today we conclude our series from Bryan Whiting on his family’s trips to Alaska West. Bryan has made 3 fishing trips to Alaska with his family, and was gracious enough to write a 6-part series for us on the trips. Thanks so much, Brian! This last chapter is focused on what…
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Family Fishing in Alaska Part Five – What We Learned
Jason Whiting, bombin’ the two-hander. Photo: Cameron Miller Today we hear from Bryan Whiting on what he and his family learned on their trips to Alaska West in 2004, 2006 and 2008. Today’s post is all about strategies for the trip – we’ll have a follow-up post on what they learned about the fishing. As…
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It’s Really Pretty on the Kanektok
The Kanektok River, where we operate Alaska West, is not the land of jagged peaks, glaciers and Sitka spruce. Our Alaska is vast, lush and a pretty beautiful place to spend a week. All photos by Cameron Miller
Family Fishing in Alaska Part Four – When and Where to Go
Mom found some nice rainbows… We continue our series from Bryan Whiting on his family’s fishing trips to Alaska West, with his thoughts on making your decision of when and where to go. — When can I go? If your boss, your spouse, your work or circumstance determines when you can go, don’t be concerned because…
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Chum Salmon
Big Andy and some chum-flavored Kanektok Chrome. What would you say if we told you that there are a whole bunch of salmon in the Kanektok that are chrome bright and tackle-busting strong, peel off line, jump high, crush flies and even like poppers every now and then? You’d say you’re in, right? Now what…
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Brightsides
Photo: Cameron Miller Every once in a while at Alaska West, we catch a fish that’s so exceptional – maybe in size, maybe in shape, maybe in coloration – that we name it. We’d like you to meet a fish named Brightsides. The name fits, don’t you agree? More On Alaskan Rainbows Bead Fishing For…
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