Soft Hackles are a forgotten and underrated fly pattern in Alaska. They shouldn’t be. Soft hackles are divided into two categories; Buzz flies, which are tied with palmered hackle to represent an insect in motion, or winged flies, where the hackles are often a throat then a collar with wings set to imitate an insect…
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Fly Tying
Selecting Flies for Andros
Today’s post comes from Rapid’s Camp Lodge Guide and Andros South Lodge Bonefish School Instructor, Jeremy Inman. Jeremy’s extensive experience as a Saltwater Guide in Hawai’i and overall fishy instincts brings us some tips on filling your fly box with the right flies for bonefish on Andros. Enjoy! It’s no secret that the Gotcha fly…
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Fly Tying: Tools You Need
Today’s post is from Mike Brown. Mike is the owner of Mossy’s Fly Shop in Anchorage, Alaska. A lifelong Alaskan with a passion for family, fly fishing, and fly tying. In today’s fly tying world, materials and tools are changing and advancing constantly. You see all kinds of ads telling you about how great this…
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Fly Tying: Sculpin Toad
Kevin Foley’s philosophy on fly tying involves the use of natural and synthetic materials to create the illusion of life. As a scientist, having received his Master of Science in Fisheries, he believes that observation and time on the water is as important as time spent behind the vise, and that incorporating aspects of fish biology…
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Know Your Knots
Featured photo credit Heather Hodson In fly fishing especially, it pays to know your knots. Knots are quite often overlooked in the grand scheme of things. All the attention is paid to the perfect flies, the sleek fly rod, the fancy reel, and the smooth fly line, and the leader… What about the knot? It’s…
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Deneki Custom Fly Series: Rapids Camp Smolt
There is a fish phenomenon that happens during the first part of the season at Rapids Camp Lodge during the month of June. The “smolt bust” is where predatory Rainbow Trout swim around the rapids section of the Naknek River and target smolt to eat. You can tell it’s a bust from the smolt and…
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Deneki Custom Fly Series: Andros South Shrimp
We recently commissioned Solitude Fly Company to help create a series of flies specific to our fisheries at each of our lodges, Alaska West Lodge, Andros South Lodge, and Rapids Camp Lodge. Each fly was developed with careful consideration, a plethora of experience, and a lot of testing for approval. Our first featured fly is…
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Tribute to Robert “Bob” Veverka
Sadly, on January 3, 2021, the fly fishing community has lost one of the most prolific designers and fly tyers. Bob Veverka, was a creative, strategic, and innovative fly tyer. With two of the most coveted books in the fly tying world, Spey Flies: How to Tie Them and Innovative Saltwater Flies, Bob left a…
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Fly Tying: Silvernator
Baby, it’s cold outside and with winter upon us for a lot of fly anglers, not only is it ski season but it’s also fly tying season. The Silvernator by Brian Silvey is one fly that you need to add to your fly box and lots of them. The Slivernator is a relatively quick fly…
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Aquatic Insects in Alaska
The saying is, ‘everything is bigger in Alaska’. This also includes bugs. For example, the giant water bug (lethocerus americanus) found in Southeastern Alaska can grow up to 2.5 inches in length. That’s a big bug. From the Arctic tundra to the Southeastern panhandle, aquatic insects exist throughout Alaskan waters and play a large role in the ecosystem. As fly anglers, it’s prudent…
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