Over the course of a year, we’re fortunate to fish with a lot of great anglers, many of whom hail from all over the world. Therefore, we get to witness a whole multitude of tips and techniques used for other species, that we might not have seen otherwise, and thus incorporate them into our own fishing! Fly…
Read More
Alaska West
Rigging Stinger Hooks – The Twisted Hitch
Today we present you with some rigging wizardry courtesy of Alaska West guide, Jerry French. You may recognize Jerry’s name as part of the original brain trust behind the Intruder. However, intruder style patterns are hardly the only flies Jerry fishes.. In fact, he’d be the first to tell you that great anglers evolve, constantly…
Read More
The Chrome Slam
We’re really lucky to witness prolific runs of all five species of pacific salmon throughout our season at Alaska West. That means that each year some of our guests (particularly those joining us from mid/late July to early August) get a shot at the ol’ grand slam; All five species of pacific salmon, all on the fly,…
Read More
Bring on the Mayhem
Silver mayhem that is! Over the last couple weeks we’ve started to see the first signs of our annual run of silver salmon at both our Rapids Camp Lodge and Alaska West operations. From here on out, each day brings more and more fish into our systems, and it won’t be long until our rivers are…
Read More
50 Shades of Grayling
Today we present you with a pretty cool photo of what we think is one of the most under appreciated, yet most stunning fish in Alaska, the Arctic grayling. If you thought grayling were nothing more than a drab gray fish with a big dorsal fin, think again! It’s been a while since we showed…
Read More
The King Sling Loop
Bad knots are a bummer.. But even a knot tied to perfection is often still the weakest link of any setup. That’s why successful anglers are usually pretty particular about the knots they use. We’re asked all the time what our ‘knot of choice’ is for particular rigging situations, and one question we hear often is…
Read More
Nice Fish, Dan!
Our new friends Dan and Mercedes Auer recently decided to stop by our humble abode for some late-season king action. On the last day of their trip, Dan tied into this beauty.. Just as chrome as the first fish of the season. Wow. Great Work, Dan! More on King Salmon Spey Fishing for King Salmon…
Read More
Mirco Flesh for Trout – Tying Instructions
Trout in our neck of the woods may behave a bit different than trout found in other areas of the world – Gorging on large meals like mice, sculpins, and salmon parts, as opposed to insects. However, the fact remains.. They’re still trout! That means that even though our trout love big, gaudy, nearly comical…
Read More
Swinging Flies – Don’t Block Your Hook Set
In any avenue of fly fishing, one thing that separates successful anglers from not-so-successful anglers is complete, undivided, fully engaged, focus whenever your fly is in the water. Many fish are lost (or perhaps never hooked at all) from anglers who’s minds were wandering or whom were not expecting a fish to eat the fly in…
Read More
Loop Opti Megaloop Reel
Over the course of the year, we see a lot of quality fly fishing gear put to the test in some of the most demanding conditions possible. That means we often get a first hand look at which gear is up to the challenge, and which gear is, well, not so much. How can we tell when a…
Read More