In our second edition of Guide Speak we visit Alaska West on the Kanektok. The Kanektok is many a fly fisherman’s mecca, or summit, so to speak. It’s also a place that makes coming up with new fishing oriented words and phrases quite easy due to the intense focus on fishing and lodge life. With…
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Alaska West
Indicate or Not to Indicate, that is the Question.
Regardless of how you feel about strike indicators, there is no doubt that a strike indicator will help a new fly fisher catch more fish by visually learning current speed, reading seams, and gauging the depth of the water. However, if you’re not careful, the strike indicator can develop into a crutch for a new…
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Deep Thoughts on Landing Nets
Landing nets just don’t get the deep thoughts and contemplation that may be given to other parts of a fisher person’s arsenal. That’s unfortunate since you are using that net to either catch and release or catch and harvest fish, and both of those activities should be done with the utmost care and forethought. If…
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Guide Corner: Ben West, Alaska West Head Guide
Unfortunately, I have only known Ben since the spring of 2019 when I came back to Alaska West as Operations Manager. It had been 7 years since I left Alaska West and for the most part, the crew was entirely new to me, but something about the attitude of this staff made it seem as…
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Timeless Tip: Remove a Wind Knot in your Leader
It’s inevitable. If you do any sort of casting your leader or tippet will eventually fall victim to a wind knot that will weaken your line. If you’ve ever lost a fish because your leader snapped at a wind knot, we know the feeling. Now, if you’re lucky enough to find a wind knot near…
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Gear Review: Tornado Anchor
It’s been a while since we have seen much innovation or thought go into new anchoring systems for small freshwater craft. We are talking primarily about jet boats under 20’, drift boats, rafts and catarafts. Well, now there is the Tornado Anchor and it’s a pretty interesting take on an anchor. First off, this anchor…
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3 Simple Tips to Improve your Double Spey Cast
The Double Spey cast is a nice, fluid, and fundamental Spey casting technique. It is also one of the most popular casts in the Spey cast arsenal. Here are a few tips to help with correct anchor placement and effectively loading the rod. Tip 1: Place the connection between the head and the tip in front of you. – While…
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Advanced Bead Fishing for Trout: Matching Bead to Hook Size
With it being mega rainbow season here in Alaska, specifically at Rapids Camp Lodge on the Naknek River, this is the second post this week on advanced bead fishing tips. You can find the post on advanced bead fishing for rainbow trout about matching the egg-hatch here. Both of these posts are courtesy of Rapids…
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Guide’s Corner: Hawkeye at Alaska West
Army Veteran and former Professional Rodeo Cowboy, Phil “Hawkeye” Hawkins, has been leading Alaska West clients on phenomenal outdoor fishing experiences as a Guide and Set-Up Lead for the last nine seasons. This Veteran is a lover of all things fishing, outdoors, and dogs. During the offseason here at Alaska West, Hawkeye also serves as…
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Fly Tying: Flesh & Bone
To start off I’d like to tell you of an early experience in my Alaska sportfishing career that might help you make a bit of sense out of the fly recipe below. This was the early 90’s and I had only been in Alaska a couple of years at that point and also just out…
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