When you and a buddy swing flies together through a piece of water, it really makes sense to fish as a team! Working together you’ll learn more about how the fish want the fly presented in a particular piece of water, and you’ll probably increase your catch rate too. Here are some basic principles to…
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Tips
Backhand!
Since you’re probably starting to think about that upcoming bonefishing trip, you’re going to get in some casting practice, right? Seeing this super cool Louis Cahill photo reminded us that Bruce Chard thinks that presenting your fly on your backcast is one of the most important casts in flats fishing. Don’t forget to practice your…
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Rotate Your Rod – Shooting Line
Last week we passed on a tip related to making longer spey casts with shooting heads – holding your loops in your top hand. For those of you who like to huck, we’re following that up today with another tidbit that helps with easier casts at longer distances. This one comes from the world of…
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Pinch Loops in Your Top Hand
Your fearless editor spent last week fishing two-handed rods for steelhead and chinook salmon at BC West on the Dean River. We had a stellar group of folks at the lodge, including Michael White, Simms and Idylwilde rep for the Southern Rockies. Whitey gave up another nice spey casting tip during the week, and we…
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Cast, Step, Swing
We’re back with more steelhead fishing nuggets from Scott Baker-McGarva at BC West. This post contains the words “Jerry Wintle” and “Dean River” and that means that if you like steelhead, you should read it and learn! Cast, Step, Swing – Like Jerry Many, many moons ago, on my first trip to the legendary Dean…
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Leaders for Steelhead and Salmon
We’ve got some more insight today from the banks of the Dean River. Scott Baker-McGarva, head guide at BC West, dropped us some great points on leaders. That thing that holds your fly on may be worthy of a little more thought! Leader Considerations for Anadromous Fish Sometimes it’s shocking how much emphasis is placed…
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You’ve Hooked a Train…Now What?
We think today’s post is pretty timely – a lot of our guests at BC West have been getting spooled lately! When you hook up on the Dean and your fish takes off towards the ocean, it definitely takes some luck to get that fish to the beach. That being said, certain tactics can help….
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Rub Your Fly in the Sand
So you’re out on some beautiful bonefish flat. You’ve thrown on a new leader designed perfectly for the flats. You’ve picked a fabulous bonefish fly. You’ve tied it on with a non-slip mono loop. You’re not done yet! Reach down onto the flat, grab a little handful of sand from the bottom, and rub your…
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Try Some Rubber Tape!
At Alaska West and BC West, lots of our anglers fish spey rods. Most of the time we’re spey casting, we’re using Skagit-style heads. Skagit heads require running line between the head and the backing, and for easy casting and line handling, lots of folks prefer using mono running lines. One problem with mono running…
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Leader Length and Bonefishing
One of the cool things about running fishing lodges is that we get to fish in some amazing places with expert anglers who know those fisheries like the backs of their hands. Another cool thing, though, is that between hosted trips, press trips, schools and more, we also get to fish with expert anglers in…
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