At Alaska West and BC West, we do a lot fishing with spey rods. There are a bunch of reasons that we like spey fishing – line control, less fatigue, the pure enjoyment of making a good cast, and the ability to cover a lot of water. Spey rods let you cover more water because…
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Rapids Camp
How To Set Up a Trout Spey Outfit – Video
Trout spey has been growing increasingly popular of late, and for good reason, its super fun! We do a lot of it at our Rapids Camp and Alaska West operations, and fish with more and more anglers each year who are interested in sticking trout on two handers. However, over the last five or so…
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Advanced Bead Fishing for Trout: Matching Bead to Hook Size
Last week we kicked off our master class on advanced bead fishing for rainbow trout with a great post on matching the egg-hatch courtesy of Rapids Camp Lodge guide, Alaska West alum, and certified bead ninja, Rob Rymph. Today, Rob is back with some great advice for choosing the appropriate hook size for the bead…
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How To Fix a Twisted Running Line – Video from OPST
We love mono running lines on our spey and switch rods. However, regardless of your casting ability, or even the type of running line you prefer, some amount of line twist is inevitable. Unlike traditional over head fly casting, the rotational nature of spey casting across multiple planes can cause a great deal of twist,…
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Advanced Bead Fishing for Trout: Matching the Hatch
Salmon eggs make up a huge portion of the diet for our Alaskan rainbow trout, which is why bead fishing is arguably one of the most effective means of targeting trout with a fly rod in our neck of the woods. However, contrary to popular belief, fishing beads for trout can be extremely technical, going…
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Timeless Tips: Casting Heavy Rigs and Tips – 5 Tips
Whether its heavily weighted flies, split shot ridden nymph rigs, or ‘dredger style’ sink tips, there’s nothing delicate about fly fishing in Western Alaska. We may take the ‘chuck and duck’ a little too literally at times, but we love it! Nonetheless, no matter where you are fishing, if you are planning on fishing heavy…
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Swinging for Trout – Naknek Style
The Naknek River is regarded by many anglers as one of the most prolific fisheries for trophy rainbow trout in the world. Feisty, native, resident rainbows exceeding thirty inches aren’t uncommon on the Nak, which is why we’re really lucky to call it our home water at our Rapids Camp Lodge operation. In fact, just…
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Timeless Tips: Landing Fish Without a Net – 6 Tips
The ability to ‘tail’ a fish, that is, the ability to land fish safely and effectively without a net is a skill every angler should posses. After all, we’ve all been on a trip where the net didn’t make it into the back of the pickup. Regardless, the old adage reigns true; if you want to catch…
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Simms DOWNStream Jacket
Fall is officially upon us. The temperature is beginning to drop quickly in our neck of the woods, and if it hasn’t near your home waters yet, we’re willing to bet it won’t me long. For many anglers, the cool temps of fall and winter bring some of the most enjoyable days on the water….
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Timeless Tips: Streamer Fishing for Trout – 5 Techniques
The first official day of fall is only a few short days away, and for many of us, that means streamer season. Fall spawning trout (brook and brown trout) are most territorial during this time, rainbow trout are on the prowl for large food items to fatten up for the long winter ahead, and as always, the…
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