We talk a lot about spey fishing here on our blog. That’s because it’s one of our favorite ways to fish moving water for species like salmon, steelhead, or even trout. When we refer to ‘spey fishing,’ the vast majority of the time we’re referring to skagit-style spey casting. That’s the preferred method for most…
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Alaska West
Top 5 Reasons to Shop at Your Local Fly Shop this Holiday Season
Last week we shared some of our favorite fly fishing gift ideas for this holiday season. And while we might of shared a bunch of online links to those ideas, we still believe in supporting local fly shops, and encourage other anglers to do the same whenever possible. There’s no question the internet has made…
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Share Your Fishing Stories
Have you joined us at one of our lodges? Do you have a particularly great fishing story? If so, we want to hear it! We’re fortunate to witness a lot of unbelievable fishing stories through the eyes of our guests. Unfortunately, we’re not able to put all of them in words. That’s why we love…
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Spey Casting – How to Snake Roll (Video)
From first timers to seasoned pros, we do a lot of spey casting instruction at our lodges in Alaska and British Columbia with folks of all levels of experience with a two handed rod. For those just getting started in skagit style spey casting (the style we use most on our rivers), we tend to…
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2017 Fly Fishing Gift Ideas
Looking for some holiday gift ideas for that fly fisherman/woman on your list? Better yet, are you a fly fisher-person who has been accused of being ‘difficult to buy for?’ Not to worry, today we present you with 10 great gift ideas sure to please the fly fishing enthusiast in your life. 2017 Fly Fishing…
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Top 3 Reasons to Clean Your Tying Desk
Love tying flies? We do too. And if you’re anything like us, that means there’s a good chance that you’re tying space is a mess. Sound about right? We thought so. Fret not, no matter how cluttered your tying space is, we’d be willing to bet we’ve seen worse. Trust us, the images of tying…
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A Better Look at Fish-Friendly Photography
‘Catch and release’ has become a cornerstone of the fly fishing culture. Not only has it helped conserve fisheries all around the world, the very notion of ‘catch and release’ has inspired a desire in multiple generations of anglers to preserve their own fisheries – which is a really good thing. That said, despite our…
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Tying Different Color Heads
Last week we shared some fly tying tips from Stuart Foxall on how to finish your flies with tidier looking heads. Today, Stu’s back with a quick tip on how to class up those same heads with some color. Tying Different Color Heads So now we know how to tie neater, cleaner looking heads. But…
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Fishpond Boulder Briefcase
We run fishing lodges. And while we’re fortunate to spend more days staring at the water than the average human, for the majority of our guests getting away from the office for a fishing trip can be a challenge. Truth be told, with lodges in three different countries, like many of our guests we do…
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Greg Houska’s ‘Kriller’ at the Fly Fishing Shop
A while back we told you that our friends at Aqua Flies had begun producing a commercial version of the ‘Kriller‘ – a salmon/steelhead fly developed by Alaska West guide, Greg Houska, that certainly proved itself last season on our Kanektok king, chum, and silver salmon populations. We’re happy to report that the good folks…
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