The Little Ku On the Southern Shore of Kukaklek Lake, moments from Rapids Camp Lodge, in the Northeastern section of the Katmai National Park, lies a creek legendary to backcountry Alaskan trout fishermen. Loaded with big Kukaklek leopard rainbows, this piece of water can wreck a trout fisherman for life. Totaling about 10 miles of…
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Rapids Camp
Untwisting Your Fly Line
There’s nothing more disheartening than attempting to make your shot at a tailing bonefish or permit only to find the tangled coils of a twisted fly line bunched up against your stripping guide. Regardless of your skill level, type of fly line, or whether you fish in fresh or salt water, fly line twist is…
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5 Ways to Control the Speed of Your Swing
When swinging for anadramous species like king salmon or steelhead, more often than not, the slower the swing the better. As long as it is moving just enough to suggest life in your fly, odds are you are in the game. However, from time to time, increasing the speed of your swing can be just…
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Battle Creek
Battle Creek in the Katmai National Park is a favorite destination of Rapids Camp Lodge. Just a 20 minute float-plane ride through some of the most stunning back country the park has to offer, and nestled in a long steep-rimmed valley lies Battle Creek. Flowing from east to west, from Battle Lake into Narrow Cove…
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19 Reasons to Fish a Mouse Fly
It’s no secret how much we love fishing mouse patterns for big Alaskan rainbow trout. We do a lot of it and, as odd as it may sound, it is our most productive method for catching trout on the surface. With a conveyor belt of salmon flesh and eggs throughout an already short growing season,…
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5 Tips for Casting Heavy Rigs and Flies
With only a few short months away until we start our season in Alaska, we couldn’t help but think about chucking big gaudy flies and rigs to the plethora of species that call our river home. Whether it is heavily weighted flies, split shot ridden nymph rigs, or ‘dredger style’ sink tips, there is nothing…
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Retrieving the Mouse Fly
Mousing for trout in western Alaska is about as cool as it gets. We’re not talking about strapping on the headlamp for night time browns or waiting for a “mouse hatch” every seven years (although they both sound awesome as well!), we’re talking about chucking big gnarly mammal imitations day in and day out to…
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Adam Jackson’s King Rigs
Adam Jackson is a long-time guide at Rapids Camp Lodge, our fly-out operation on the Naknek River in Alaska. Want to know how Adam rigs up when he’s chasing the biggest and baddest of the salmon species? Read on! Make sure you read through the Commentary section – there’s a lot of meat in there….
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Dan Herrig’s Halibut Rig
Fly fishing for halibut? Really? Yep, at Rapids Camp Lodge we have access to some really unusual fisheries, including spots where we consistently catch halibut on fly rods. Here’s how our head guide Dan Herrig rigs up when he’s chasing giant flatfish. The Summary Sage 1480 Xi3 – an 8 foot 14 weight Galvan T-14…
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Three Random Alaska Fly Fishing Tips
Want to catch more fish in Alaska? Here are three ways you can. Three Alaska Fishing Tips Cover more water. In the remote areas of our great state, fish tend to be pretty aggressive. Most anglers would be better served by covering more water. Make a couple of quality casts into a piece of water…
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