For the majority of our guests at Alaska West, the first few weeks of our season is all about two things -swinging flies for big bright king salmon and/or chucking big mouse and sculpin imitations for hungry rainbow trout. However, during the first part of our season, an often overlooked species on our river are…
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Rapids Camp
Morrish Mouse – Tying Instructions
We’re fast approaching one of our favorite times of year, mouse season! Chucking rodent patterns for voracious rainbow trout is one of our favorite past times, and we’re lucky to do a fair amount of it at our lodges. In preparation of the upcoming season, today we present you with a great step by step, courtesy…
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Spey TV Episode 9: Single Spey with Simon Gawesworth
Our pal George Cook is back with another edition of Spey TV, this time accompanied by Simon Gawesworth to talk about the finer points of one of the most traditional, yet arguably most difficult spey casts to master, the single spey. For those looking to dial in their single spey, we think you’d be hard…
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Nymphing for Trout – The Trigger Finger
Whether bouncing a bead-head pheasant tail down your local tailwater or dredging a flesh fly in western Alaska, dead drifting sub-surface flies, or ‘nymphing,’ requires the ability to detect extremely subtle takes that are not always visual. For many anglers, various types of strike indicators are a huge help in detecting when a fish has taken…
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Always Have Confidence in Your Fly
Today we present you with a tip, one that holds true in all avenues of fly fishing, that we think separates successful anglers from, well, not so successful anglers. No matter what you’re fishing for, whether your drifting, stripping, swinging, skating, or popping flies, in either freshwater or saltwater, always have confidence in the fly you’re fishing….
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Rainbow Trout Flies – Our Favorites at Rapids Camp Lodge
A couple weeks back we presented you with a list of some of our favorite flies for our resident rainbow trout population at Alaska West. However, in case you weren’t already aware, that’s not the only lodge we operate in Alaska! We also run a fantastic fly-out operation called Rapids Camp Lodge, situated on one the world’s…
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Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener
We fillet a lot of salmon at our Alaskan lodges each summer, and the key to filleting fish well (and safely we must add) is a good sharp knife. For that reason, most of our guides never hit the water without some sort of sharpener, to ensure their knife is good and sharp at all times. In…
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Timeless Tip Tuesday: King Season Mantra – Stand Your Ground
Whether it’s a choker king fresh from the Dean Channel or that gagger Alaskan Chinook melting away yards of your backing, one thing’s for certain: This is no time for a Junior Varsity track meet. When that mega-king blasts off into hyperdrive—and make no mistake, it will— there’s always the temptation to chase it down, so remember…
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Stay in Control – Incorporate Weight Into Your Streamers
We all love fishing for trout with surface flies, and in our neck of the woods, there’s nothing quite like watching a trout inhale a rodent.. However, at the end of the day, its arguable that the most effective way to chase these big Alaskan bad boys over the course of a season is to…
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Which Hand Do You Reel With?
It’s poll time again here on the Deneki blog, and we want to hear from you! The proper hand to reel with is an age old debate, and from our experience, one that many serious anglers are passionate about. We’ve witnessed everything from healthy discussions to full out arguments on the topic over the years, which is why…
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