Today we interrupt your scheduled Deneki programming to give a much deserved congrats to our pal and Alaska West regular, Jack Overly. Jack has been joining us during our king season since 2013 where he, like many of our guests, first caught the spey bug. He’s been swinging flies with us ever since, hooking gobs…
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Alaska West
Fishpond Headgate Tippet Holders
Last week we told you about Maxima’s Sharktooth Line Management System; one of our favorite ways to tame unruly leader and tippet material. However, with five species of salmon, trout, dolly varden/char, and grayling roaming around our waters (sometimes all at the same time), we tend to carry a whole bunch of different leader and/or…
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Alaska West Video by Magnus Jepson
Our good friend and long time Deneki guest, Magnus Jepson, recently joined us this summer during the height of our king season at Alaska West. He put together a fantastic video from his trip full of big fish, spey rods, drone footage, and overall camp shenanigans from our humble abode on the Kanektok River, and…
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Timeless Tips: Mousing for Rainbow Trout
One of the most fun and unique ways to target rainbow trout in Western Alaska is by ‘mousing.’ Small voles and other rodents often find themselves in the river, intentionally or not, and our bigger predatory rainbows are always on the lookout for a meal that’s even more filling than their usual diet of salmon…
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Fly Tying Tip: Scruff Your Dubbing
We just finished up a great couple weeks at Alaska West with our good friend, professional fly designer/tyer, and Deneki blog contributor, Stuart Foxall. As you might expect, he showed us a few things, and today we thought we’d share one of those things with you. As a commercial fly tyer, speed is critical to…
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Maxima Sharktooth Line Management System
Whether we’re swinging flies for salmon and steelhead or skating mouse patterns for resident rainbow trout, when it comes to leader material plain ol’ Maxima Ultragreen has become a staple at our lodges in Alaska and British Columbia. Why? It’s super strong, abrasion resistant, relatively stiff for nylon monofilament, and pretty inexpensive compared to most…
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Nice Fish, Kathy!
We love coming at you daily with the latest tips, tricks, gear, news, and stories in fly fishing. However, sometimes we like to take a day to simply admire what most of us are really after.. Really. Big. Fish! Long time Deneki guest and envy-inducing fish magnet, Kathy Whiting, joined us last week to swing…
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Timeless Tips: Caring for Fly Lines
Contrary to popular belief, the fly line is arguably the most essential part of any fly rod setup. One can spend top dollar for the most elite rod and reel on the market, but their performance rests largely on the quality of the fly line it is paired with. We go to extreme lengths to…
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Ed Ward on the Perry Poke – OPST Video
When it comes to skagit-style spey casting, we think its safe to say that the Perry Poke is one of the most versatile casts an angler can have in his/her repertoire. That being said, its actually one of the least used casts we tend to see from guests at our lodges. Therefore, when Alaska West…
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Puffy Vests – An Alaskan Guide Staple
If you’re like us and spend a lot of time on the water, arguably the most critical pieces of ‘gear’ to take into consideration are the clothes on your back. Proper layering is key to staying safe and comfortable amongst the elements and perhaps no other place on Earth is this more true than in…
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