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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Alaska West
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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What’s Your Favorite Fly Tying Thread?
We’re less than a month away from the opening day of our summer seasons in Alaska and British Columbia. That means we’re spending a lot of time at the vise these days to fill our boxes for another great season, and we hope you are too! Needless to say, we’ve got fly tying on the…
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Timeless Tips: Swinging for Kings – The Broadside Presentation
We love swinging flies for anadramous fish, and we do a lot of it at our lodges in Alaska and British Columbia. However, swinging flies effectively often takes more than simply casting across the river and letting your line swing on through.. After all, it’s how your fly swims, not your line, that matters most. With…
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Is Your Hook Sharp Enough?
It goes without saying; sharp hooks catch more fish than dull hooks. Not only do they allow for better penetration into the hard mouths of tough fish, sticky-sharp hooks also allow for a greater margin of error for poor hook-sets as well. Regardless, we find many anglers still regularly fish hooks that are not nearly…
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New Fly Tying Shanks from Aqua Flies
If you’ve been following along on our blog/newsletter or have spent any time with us at our lodges in Alaska or British Columbia, you know we love fishing stinger/trailer hook style fly patterns for everything from king salmon, to steelhead, to resident trout and char. For years, the majority of stinger style ‘shank’ flies constructed…
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Timeless Tips: Skagit Casting – Keep Your Hands Close
When you’re making spey casts in the Skagit style, try to keep your hands as close to your body as possible! Ed Ward, long-time guide at Alaska West and one of the fathers of Skagit-style spey casting, has been called “the man who can spey cast inside a phone booth”. That’s a bit of an…
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Costa Sunrise Silver Mirror Lenses – Review
Whether scanning the flats for bonefish, permit, or tarpon, or creeping along the bank of a gin-clear side channel in hopes of spotting a wild trout, when it comes to sight-fishing; polarized sunglasses are a must. That being said, while most anglers today are well aware of the advantage of polarized lenses for reducing glare…
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