Have you ever had a run of losing fish in the “hang down?” If you’ve been fly fishing for a little bit you have probably felt the surprise of a fish grab on the hang-down part of your swing. You’d think hooking a fish on the hang down would be easy, but in actuality, it…
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Rapids Camp
Fly Tying: Larimer’s ES Loop Leech
The beauty behind the Larimer ES Loop Leech is its simplicity with the materials. This super wiggly, swimmy pattern is effective for salmon, steelhead, and trout. The best part of this particular fly is the combination of colors you can tie it in. One of our favorite color combinations is a Chartreuse head and Black…
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Deneki Chronicles: Trout Fishing in High “Off-Colored” Water
In this Episode of Deneki Chronicles, we explore the idea of fishing in high water. For the most part, a blown-out river is not a good thing for any fly angler. But we’re here to tell you, that it is not the end of the world. Have a read. Whether early-season run-off or late season…
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Fly-out Fly Fishing: A Target Rich Environment
If you’re asking yourself, “where have I heard the phrase A Target Rich Environment?” It’s from Top Gun. The 1986 cult classic movie finally has a second rendition coming out soon, and it got us thinking about buzzin’ the towers of all the fly-out locations at Rapids Camp Lodge in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Bristol Bay,…
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Guide’s Corner: Rapids Camp Lodge Guide -Mike Petersen
Born in Minnesota, then raised in Montana, Mike Petersen made a home in Alaska thirteen years ago. Mike got into the outdoor industry as an avid angler and hunter by answering a craigslist ad for a moose packer at a lodge. This lodge also had guided fishing on the docket—Mike Guides for eight months in…
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New to Spey Casting? Learn this: Loops vs. Coils- Managing Running Line.
For many of us, Spey casting is all about casting, but it is so much more than that. Like a good operating machine or a smooth golf swing, there are so many parts to consider. One thing many first-time Spey or two-handed fly rod users don’t fully consider or understand is the importance of line…
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Fly Tying: Flies to Tie for Alaska Fish
The 2022 Alaska fly fishing season is coming upon us, and it’s never too early to start tying flies. If you search our blog, we have a plethora of flies for Salmon and Trout, and they all catch fish, or we wouldn’t feature them. Below is a curated list of flies you should start tying…
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Donate to a Good Causes, Maybe Win a Fly Fishing Adventure of a Lifetime.
Today is National Shakespeare Day. A day for Shakesperean fans of the writer to celebrate his literary works and contributions of hundreds of words to the English language. Poetic, ain’t it? We are not sure if the word ‘raffle’ is one of his contributions, but for the sake of argument, we’ll say it might be….
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Earth Day 2022
The Earth is what we all have in common. Wendell Berry, novelist Happy Earth Day to you. Apparently, a good planet is hard to find. Just ask NASA, Elon, and Jeff. By now, you should know all the little things you can do to take care of our planet. If you don’t contact us, we’ll…
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“I want To Bring Only One Fly Rod to Fish Alaska. What should I bring?”
During the summer, Alaska is a hotbed of fly anglers. Many are new to Alaska and have only fished with a five-weight in spring creeks and tailwaters of many incredible streams and rivers in the lower Forty-Eight. One question we get a lot about coming to Alaska for fly fishing is, “if I were only…
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