Today we address one of the most common mistakes we see made on the river; setting the hook in the wrong direction. When fishing in moving water, the direction in which your rod tip moves when lifting the rod to set the hook can be the difference between a fish that makes it to the…
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Rapids Camp
Best Fly Lines for Trout Spey – North 40 Video
Last week we shared a video from our friends over at North 40 Fly Shop featuring George Cook on the particulars of choosing a proper spey rod for trout. If you missed it, be sure to give it a watch by clicking right here. A few days ago, they released another great from their latest…
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Timeless Tips: Fly Fishing for Fussy Silver Salmon
At Alaska West, we have the pleasure of closing out our season with truly prolific runs of silver salmon. Silvers get under the skin of many of our guests due to their strength, acrobatics, and willingness to grab a fly. However, contrary to popular belief, there are times when silver salmon are reluctant to eat…
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Guide Poll: Favorite Way to Target Rainbow Trout
One thing we love about our native Alaskan rainbows (aside from their size, beauty, and aggressive nature, of course) is that we get to target them using a bunch of wild techniques that you might not otherwise get to try in other parts of the world. From skating rodent imitations, to stripping ridiculously large streamers,…
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How to Choose the Right Spey Rod for Trout – Video
Over the last ten years or so, the notion of ‘trout spey’ has become one of the fastest growing sectors of fly fishing. We love targeting trout on swung flies with small spey/switch rods and we do a decent amount of it at both of our lodges in Alaska. Nonetheless, with more trout-appropriate spey rods…
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Timeless tips: 5 Advantages of High Water
Over the past few seasons, mild winters and reasonably dry summers have made for some low water conditions on our home river at Alaska West. However, this year we’ve been experiencing significantly higher water levels of late, and we really dig it! Due to a few substantial rain (and even hail) storms, we’ve seen a couple…
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Rigging Beads for Trout – Mind Your Peg
Like it or not, no Alaska fly box is complete without a selection of egg patterns. Rainbow trout throughout Western Alaska rely heavily on salmon eggs throughout the back half of our season and those who choose not to imitate this natural occurrence are ignoring one of the most important food sources for Alaskan trout…
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Timeless Tips: Quicker Rig/Fly Changes – 9 Options
Time spent rigging is time spent not fishing, and some of you have asked for quicker ways to switch between different rigs, flies, and tactics. So, today we’ve compiled a few simple tips to help you change your rig quicker and easier to get your fly back in the water. Enjoy! 9 Tips for Quicker Rig…
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Guide Poll: Favorite Sunglasses Lens Color
A couple weeks ago we kicked off the first installment of our “Guide Poll” series of posts where our team of professional fly fishing guides weigh in to answer common questions asked by you, our readers! Today, we’re continuing the series with answers to a question we receive all the time from our guests in preparation…
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Timeless Tips: How to Break Your Fly Rod – 10 Simple Options
Most fly rod manufacturers these days offer lifetime warranties, and we say you should do whatever you can to take advantage of such generous offers. Paying repair fees is awesome, ruining your fishing day is super cool, and having to wait for your rod to be repaired is the most fun you’ll have this side…
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