Jason Koertge has caught a lot of fish on swung flies. Besides having landed 52% of the kings and steelhead that have swum into Oregon since 2003, Jason has also chased kings with us on the Kanektok and the Dean as well. Needless to say, he’s learned a lot in the process, and in particular…
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Alaska West
AquaTalon Swing Hooks
Our good friends from Aqua Flies have teemed up once again with our pal and Alaska West alum, Jerry French, to bring the latest in hook design with their new AquaTalon Swing Hooks designed specifically for swinging flies for salmon, steelhead, trout, or anything for that matter. Although he needs no introduction, Jerry is arguably…
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Old Head Cement for Tougher Flies
A couple months back, our pal and world renowned fly tyer, Stuart Foxall, showed us a clever way to repair split jungle cock nails using old, overly tacky, and otherwise unusable head cement/varnish. Stu recently showed us another use for that old tacky cement/varnish.. Adding durability to your flies! Old cement/varnish in which the solvent…
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River Etiquette
Fly fishing is a fraternity, and the level of camaraderie that can develop between two complete strangers upon learning that each prefers to fish with a fly rod never ceases to impress us. We see it every single week at our lodges and we’re sure you’ve experienced it on your home waters too. However, sometimes…
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The Stain Remover – Tying Instructions
A while back our pal, Daniel Cope, gave us a great fly tying step by step on his go-to pattern for coastal steelhead; the Steelhead Phantam. For those who don’t know Daniel, he’s one heck of a fly tyer. He’s also a frequenter of our humble little blog, so naturally we were honored when he…
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Better Backcast Presentations – Part 5: Forgotten Fundamentals
Today is our fifth and final post of our tip series on better backcast presentations. So far we’ve touched on techniques for increasing strength and power to the backstroke, the importance of staying square to track straight towards your target, how exaggerating your haul can help bend the rod the necessary amount on the backcast,…
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We Have Water
This just in.. Fish need water. That’s a really good thing, because we have a lot of it this year at Alaska West! For several years now, we’ve been experiencing lower than average water conditions throughout our king season at Alaska West. Does that mean bad fishing? Trust us, it definitely doesn’t! However, when it…
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Timeless Tips: Spey Fishing – Finish Your Swing with Some Action
Here’s a scenario that most two handed anglers can relate to; You’ve made a nice cast to the opposite bank, kicked over a big mend, and stepped down the run setting up your swing to perfection. Your fly tracks through the gut of the run at that magical speed at what you’re confident is the…
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Fly Tying Step by Steps – Roundup
Way back in 2014 we started putting together detailed fly tying step by steps on how to tie some of our favorite fly patterns for salmon, steelhead, trout, bonefish, and more. We’ve accumulated quite a few since then, so we thought it was time to put together an updated roundup of all of our step…
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Better Backcast Presentations – Part 4: Trajectory
We’re back again with part 4 of our blog series on better backcast presentations. Whether you’re stalking the flats or banging the banks, the ability to deliver the fly effectively on the backcast is a extremely valuable tool in nearly all avenues of fly fishing. Today we’re covering another one of the most common faults…
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