When talking to folks about fly fishing in Alaska, inevitably we get asked the question, “what’s the best time to go fishing in Alaska?” Unlike other fisheries the ‘best time’ to go fishing in Alaska is extremely dependent on your own interests and goals. Our Alaskan seasons are extremely diverse – There is no ‘best time’ per…
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Alaska West
How to Avoid Twist in Your Fly Line – Video
Whether you fish freshwater or saltwater, warm water or cold water, single or double handed rods, or all of the above, fly line twist happens to everybody. But, believe it or not, it can be easily fixed! We recently stumbled upon a great video put together by our friends at RIO on how to avoid…
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The Coho Clouser – Tying Instructions
When asked about our favorite flies for silver salmon, many of our guests are surprised to hear that one of the most popular patterns amongst our guide staff at Alaska West is not a ‘typical’ Alaska-born coho pattern such as a hareball leech or dolly llama, but rather a plain ol’ pink and white Clouser…
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Elements of Great Fly Fishing Photos
Without question, photography has become an integral part of the fly fishing culture and we’re really lucky to have worked with a bunch of truly great outdoor photographers over the years. Those who have been following our blog for the past few years may have noticed many of our photos credited to Gregory Houska. Greg…
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How to Repair Split Jungle Cock Nails
When it comes to fly tying materials, particularly in the world of salmon and steelhead flies, its safe to say there’s no feather more prized than jungle cock. Due to their stunning contrast of color and natural durable enamel-like coating, jungle cock eyes (or ‘nails’) have been sought after by fly tyers for over a hundred…
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Loon Outdoors UV Infiniti Light
The introduction of UV curable adhesives has allowed anglers to accomplish tasks in seconds that once took hours. From fly tying cements and head finishes, to wader and gear repair, to knot and tackle coatings, there has been a massive introduction of UV curable adhesives over the past several years. However, despite the variety of UV adhesives…
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How to Tie Trevor Covich’s Guide Fly for Steelhead – Video
guide fly /ɡīd – flī/ noun. An artificial imitation designed to catch maximum numbers of fish with minimum effort or production time. Typically comprised of inexpensive, durable, and/or readily available materials. Guide flies are a crucial part of a fishing guide’s arsenal. The ability to turn out a day’s worth of flies in an evening allows…
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Timeless Tips: Popper Fishing for Silvers – The Retrieve
When the massive run of silver salmon come pushing past our camp each year at Alaska West (that’s late July through August in our neck of the woods), one of our favorite ways to target them is with poppers. That’s right, the same type of poppers you may have chucked near the lily pads on your…
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Fishpond’s Five Mantras to Pack By
As you might expect, operating fly fishing lodges in several different countries allows us to travel a decent amount to, well, fishing lodges. It also allows us to work with hundreds of anglers each year, many of whom are extremely well traveled themselves. When it comes to travel, if there’s anything we’ve learned along the…
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Timeless Tips: 9 Questions About King Salmon You Were Afraid to Ask
Today we’re coming at you with another addition of a series of posts addressing some basic questions on the topics we cover most. We’ve already covered some of the basic questions involving Alaskan trout, bonefish, and even spey fishing. Now its time to address the biggest and baddest of them all, the king salmon. 9…
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