The introduction of UV curable adhesives has allowed anglers to accomplish tasks in seconds that once took hours. From fly tying cements and head finishes, to wader and gear repair, to knot and tackle coatings, there has been a massive introduction of UV curable adhesives over the past several years. However, despite the variety of UV adhesives…
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Gear
Fishpond’s Five Mantras to Pack By
As you might expect, operating fly fishing lodges in several different countries allows us to travel a decent amount to, well, fishing lodges. It also allows us to work with hundreds of anglers each year, many of whom are extremely well traveled themselves. When it comes to travel, if there’s anything we’ve learned along the…
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Custom Dyed Arctic Fox from Waters West
If you’ve ever tuned in for some of our step by step fly tying posts, odds are you’ve noticed we love tying with Arctic fox. Arctic fox (particularly the tail) is an incredible material. It’s easy to handle, extremely durable, and offers incredible movement in the water. Plus, unlike many natural materials, it also holds color…
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Nate Karnes Fly Fishing Art & Apparel
Last summer at Alaska West, a decal toted by one of our guests caught our eye – a rainbow trout, in the shape of a pig. Brilliant. The level of excitement that brought to your humble editor shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who understands his affinity (some would say obsession) with big, gluttonous,…
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Plan D Articulated Fly Boxes – New and Improved
Way back in 2016 we told you about the first release of Plan D Articulated Fly Boxes – fly boxes designed specifically to house articulated and ‘stinger-style’ flies (something we use a lot of at our lodges). Plan D’s innovative ‘eye-hook’ and slotted foam design was the best solution to taming free-swinging articulated patterns we’d…
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Simms G3 Guide Tactical Jacket – Review
Simms recently released their latest wading jacket, the G3 Guide Tactical, as their newest edition to their highly popular G3 Guide series. We were fortunate to receive an early release of the G3 Guide Tactical this past summer and after ample time to put it through the ringer, we’re happy to report that we think…
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Timeless Tips: DIY Sunglasses Retainers
Call them what you want – retainers, chums, croakies, whatever – but that simple strap on the back of your sunglasses is invaluable in making sure your shades don’t end up in the drink. Whether you’re sporting some gas-station budget shades or a pair of 250 dollar Costas, the fact is, losing your sunglasses stinks….
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Simms Dry Creek Backpack – Review
We pride ourselves on having an expansive network of insanely fishy individuals who spend the majority of their life on, or around, the water. When not guiding at our lodges, many of our guides spend the off-season guiding in other areas of the country, or traveling to fish other areas of the world on their…
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Steam Your Flies Back to Life
In our opinion, there’s no such thing as too many flies. In fact, your fearless editor has a reputation for carrying far more flies on the water than could ever be fished in a day, a week, or even an entire season for that matter. Just ask anyone who has pawed through his boat bag…
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OPST Shank Chuck Tool – Why We Like It
We a tie a lot of trailer-hook style flies on both tubes and shanks at our lodges in Alaska and British Columbia. That’s mostly because salmon, steelhead, and even trout in our neck of the woods typically prefer big flies, and a trailer hook allows us to fish large profile flies with fish-friendly sized hooks….
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