We’re back again with part 4 of our blog series on better backcast presentations. Whether you’re stalking the flats or banging the banks, the ability to deliver the fly effectively on the backcast is a extremely valuable tool in nearly all avenues of fly fishing. Today we’re covering another one of the most common faults…
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Tips
Timeless Tips: Swinging for Kings – The Broadside Presentation
We love swinging flies for anadramous fish, and we do a lot of it at our lodges in Alaska and British Columbia. However, swinging flies effectively often takes more than simply casting across the river and letting your line swing on through.. After all, it’s how your fly swims, not your line, that matters most. With…
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Is Your Hook Sharp Enough?
It goes without saying; sharp hooks catch more fish than dull hooks. Not only do they allow for better penetration into the hard mouths of tough fish, sticky-sharp hooks also allow for a greater margin of error for poor hook-sets as well. Regardless, we find many anglers still regularly fish hooks that are not nearly…
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Better Backcast Presentations – Part 3: Haul Big
Today we continue on with our third installment of our Better Backcast Presentations series of posts where we cover some helpful tips and tricks for making more effective presentations, that’s right, on the backcast! Last week we talked about the importance of staying square while presenting the fly on the backcast. Before that, we touched…
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Timeless Tips: Skagit Casting – Keep Your Hands Close
When you’re making spey casts in the Skagit style, try to keep your hands as close to your body as possible! Ed Ward, long-time guide at Alaska West and one of the fathers of Skagit-style spey casting, has been called “the man who can spey cast inside a phone booth”. That’s a bit of an…
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How to Rig for Bonefish – Hatch Video Series
Our friends at Hatch Outdoors recently launched their how-to video series featuring tips and tricks from some of the most recognized guides and anglers in the industry. A couple weeks ago we shared their inaugural video on how to rig for tarpon. Last week, they also released great video on how to rig for permit…
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Better Backcast Presentations – Part 2: Stay Square
We recently kicked off our series of posts dedicated to improving one of the most important casts on the flats; the ability to present the fly on the backcast. Last week we touched on bracing; a useful technique to add power to your backstroke when casting into heavy winds with big rods and/or wind-resistant flies….
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Timeless Tips: 6 Tips for Landing Big Fish
A while back we ran a post on the top 5 mistakes made fighting big fish, where we highlighted some of the most common mistakes we see at our lodges in Alaska and British Columbia when fighting big fish like steelhead and salmon. However, fighting fish well does not always put the fish in the net. In…
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Better Backcast Presentations – Part 1: Bracing
Presenting the fly on your backcast is one of the most important casts on the flats. Not only does it allow you to make effective casts without the need for the guide to adjust the boat, its also a great option for presenting the fly under one of the most difficult casting scenarios; casting with…
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Timeless Tips: 5 Ways to Catch More Rainbow Trout
Catching rainbow trout at Alaska West is not all that difficult – in fact it’s easy to catch ‘some.’ That being said, great anglers catch more, and great anglers catch the bigger ones. Here are 5 ways you can make yourself into a ‘greater’ trout angler in our part of the world. Mend less. Our…
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