A couple weeks back we put together a step by step on how to tie the Colburn Special, a traditional hairwing pattern for salmon and steelhead. Traditional salmon flies are no less productive than they were 100 years ago, and more and more anglers these days are finding the joy in not only tying, but…
Read More
Alaska West
Hopeful News for Kanektok King Salmon
As many of you are well aware, sport fishing for king salmon on the Kanektok River (home to our Alaska West operation) has been closed for the past two seasons due to low escapement numbers. However, last season we were excited to report that according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, commercial harvests…
Read More
The Shot-Gun: Split Shot Alternative
Every once in a while, a product comes around that changes the way we think about fly fishing tackle. The ‘Shot-Gun’ is one of those products. The Shot-Gun is a fishing sinker device that replaces the use of conventional split shot. We were really impressed when we first saw it in action, and after spending…
Read More
Tying Traditional Hairwings – The Colburn Special
A few of you have asked us to put together some step by step tying posts for some more ‘classic’ fly patterns for salmon and steelhead. So, today we present you with a classic hair wing style pattern called the Colburn Special. Enjoy! The Colburn Special – Tying Instructions Originally designed for Atlantic salmon (by…
Read More
Mending – Lift, Don’t Flip
It’s often said that a good drift is more important than a good cast. While we would certainly agree, that’s not to say getting a proper drift of your fly is always easy. Proper mending is an art in itself and today Alaska West guide, Jason Whiting, is back with a great tip on making…
Read More
Fight Dirty – Down and Dirty
Just a reminder that when fighting big fish, we really like the down and dirty approach – pulling hard, with the rod tip low and to the side, thus bending the rod deep into the butt section. Click on almost any part of the previous sentence for a visual of what we mean. We find…
Read More
Micro Mends for Tucked-In Trout
Last week Alaska West guide, Jason Whiting, presented us with a great technique for targeting hard to reach trout with streamers by using a series of micro mends to provide action to your fly. It’s a super deadly technique, and if you didn’t get a chance to read it, we suggest you check it out,…
Read More
Three Good Articles
We’re really humbled that so many of you stop by our blog each morning for a little dose of fly fishing. We like to start our day off the same way, and we’d feel a bit selfish if we didn’t share a few articles each month, from other websites, that we really liked. That’s why every…
Read More
Salmon Recipe from Ben West
At our Alaskan lodges, we tend to eat a lot of salmon (shocking, we know). Not only do we serve it a bunch of different ways for dinner, but our guests also have the option of a shore lunch – where your guide prepares a fresh salmon you caught that very morning. Those of you that…
Read More
Updated Fly Fishing Reference Pages
Looking for an article on a particular topic? You might be able to find it in our fishing ‘reference pages,’ where we categorize all our posts on popular topics for your convenience. We’ve just undergone a massive update to our reference pages, adding a whole bunch of recent articles, and we invite you to check…
Read More