Here’s a scenario that most two handed anglers can relate to; You’ve made a nice cast to the opposite bank, kicked over a big mend, and stepped down the run setting up your swing to perfection. Your fly tracks through the gut of the run at that magical speed at what you’re confident is the…
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Tips
The Finer Points of Tying Blood Knots from Hatch Outdoors
When it comes to tying leaders or attaching tippet, the blood knot is one of the most widely used knots in fly fishing. That being said, we find many anglers (even experienced ones) are intimidated by the blood knot, and to that we say; don’t be! Like any skill worth learning, knot tying takes practice…
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Fly Tying Step by Steps – Roundup
Way back in 2014 we started putting together detailed fly tying step by steps on how to tie some of our favorite fly patterns for salmon, steelhead, trout, bonefish, and more. We’ve accumulated quite a few since then, so we thought it was time to put together an updated roundup of all of our step…
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Better Backcast Presentations – Part 4: Trajectory
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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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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