guide fly /ɡīd – flī/ noun. An artificial imitation designed to catch maximum numbers of fish with minimum effort or production time. Typically comprised of inexpensive, durable, and/or readily available materials. Guide flies are a crucial part of a fishing guide’s arsenal. The ability to turn out a day’s worth of flies in an evening allows…
Read More
Tips
Timeless Tips: Popper Fishing for Silvers – The Retrieve
When the massive run of silver salmon come pushing past our camp each year at Alaska West (that’s late July through August in our neck of the woods), one of our favorite ways to target them is with poppers. That’s right, the same type of poppers you may have chucked near the lily pads on your…
Read More
Rinse Your Gear
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; when it comes to fly fishing gear, salt is the enemy. Saltwater can wreak havoc on rods, reels, fly lines, flies, wading boots, zippers, and virtually anything else it comes in contact with. A common misconception amongst anglers is that gear designed specifically for the salt…
Read More
Fishpond’s Five Mantras to Pack By
As you might expect, operating fly fishing lodges in several different countries allows us to travel a decent amount to, well, fishing lodges. It also allows us to work with hundreds of anglers each year, many of whom are extremely well traveled themselves. When it comes to travel, if there’s anything we’ve learned along the…
Read More
Second Chance? Retrieve Slower!
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.. Advice that is as pertinent to bonefishing as it is to, well, life. When fly fishing for bonefish, many anglers are quick to give up upon the first refusal of their fly, often missing out on a second or even third shot at the same fish….
Read More
Timeless Tips: 9 Questions About King Salmon You Were Afraid to Ask
Today we’re coming at you with another addition of a series of posts addressing some basic questions on the topics we cover most. We’ve already covered some of the basic questions involving Alaskan trout, bonefish, and even spey fishing. Now its time to address the biggest and baddest of them all, the king salmon. 9…
Read More
Setting the Hook: Strip Long, Not Hard
One the biggest hurdles most anglers encounter when making the jump from freshwater to saltwater fly fishing is how to set the hook. A strip-set gets the job done on the flats. Raising the rod in ‘trout-like’ fashion doesn’t. If you’re not quite sure what we’re talking about, not to worry, check out this post…
Read More
Timeless Tips: 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 (while still maintaining a broadside presentation of your fly) the better. As long as it is moving just enough to suggest life in your fly, odds are you are in the game. With that said, from time…
Read More
How to Make a Single Hand Spey Cast – Video
Contrary to popular belief, spey casting is not limited to double handed rods or swinging flies for anadramous fish like salmon and steelhead. In fact, single-hand spey casting is an extremely valuable tool that allows for fishable casts under conditions that a traditional overhead, or even roll cast, wouldn’t otherwise allow, regardless what you fish…
Read More
Keep Bad Casts from Becoming Blown Shots
Bad casts are inevitable on the flats. Sure, they might occur more (or less) often for some, but make no mistake, everybody blows shots. With that said, not all bad casts result in blown shots. In fact, a mark of a great angler is the ability to turn a poor cast into an effective presentation….
Read More