Last week we kicked off our master class on advanced bead fishing for rainbow trout with a great post on matching the egg-hatch courtesy of Rapids Camp Lodge guide, Alaska West alum, and certified bead ninja, Rob Rymph. Today, Rob is back with some great advice for choosing the appropriate hook size for the bead…
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Alaska West
How To Fix a Twisted Running Line – Video from OPST
We love mono running lines on our spey and switch rods. However, regardless of your casting ability, or even the type of running line you prefer, some amount of line twist is inevitable. Unlike traditional over head fly casting, the rotational nature of spey casting across multiple planes can cause a great deal of twist,…
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Taking Video to Correct Casting Faults
When it comes to improving your cast, there’s no substitute for practice. Lots of practice. However, without a second set of eyes, it can be difficult to gain an honest image of your own cast on which to improve upon, making ‘practice’ wildly inefficient, often leading to more frustration than improvement. For this reason, we…
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Timeless Tips: Casting Heavy Rigs and Tips – 5 Tips
Whether its heavily weighted flies, split shot ridden nymph rigs, or ‘dredger style’ sink tips, there’s nothing delicate about fly fishing in Western Alaska. We may take the ‘chuck and duck’ a little too literally at times, but we love it! Nonetheless, no matter where you are fishing, if you are planning on fishing heavy…
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Kanektok King Tugs – Video
There’s no doubt that one of the most alluring things about swinging flies is the constant anticipation of that electrifying grab while under tension. After all, as they say, the tug is the drug right? Well, if the tug is the drug, then a tug from a king salmon is the most illicit kind.. Don’t…
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Jerry French’s Steelhead Sculpin – Fly Tying Video
A while back we shared a great fly tying video put together by our pals at North 40 Fly Shop on the Summer Sculpin, a great sculpin pattern for trout designed by anadramous authority and Alaska West alum, Jerry French. Well, they did it again, this time with a more steelhead worthy version of the…
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Timeless Tips: Landing Fish Without a Net – 6 Tips
The ability to ‘tail’ a fish, that is, the ability to land fish safely and effectively without a net is a skill every angler should posses. After all, we’ve all been on a trip where the net didn’t make it into the back of the pickup. Regardless, the old adage reigns true; if you want to catch…
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Tailing Silvers
When most anglers think of tailing fish, the first thing that comes to mind is likely skinny water tropical species – Bonefish, permit, redfish, etc. Right? Well, what if we told you that at Alaska West, under the right circumstances, we’re fortunate to witness big, bright, silver salmon exhibiting the same behavior.. During periods of…
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Simms DOWNStream Jacket
Fall is officially upon us. The temperature is beginning to drop quickly in our neck of the woods, and if it hasn’t near your home waters yet, we’re willing to bet it won’t me long. For many anglers, the cool temps of fall and winter bring some of the most enjoyable days on the water….
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Nice Fish, Bo!
While flipping through photos from our summer season, we couldn’t help but shed light on this specimen of a trout caught on foot by our good friend, and long time Deneki guest, Bo Brines. Bo has been joining us for years at Andros South. We finally convinced him to spend a week with us at…
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