We see a lot of broken fly rods over the course of a season. Although we’d love to dish out stories of huge, rod buckling fish, the majority of the time rods are broken getting in and out of a boat, sticking them in a ceiling fan, or other less glamorous ways. Safely storing your rods…
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Tips
Stuart Foxall on Better Dubbing Balls
We recently ran a post asking you what topics you’d like to see more of. More posts on fly tying was a common request and guess what – we listened! In fact, we reached out to Stuart Foxall, world class fly designer and Deneki host for some state of the art tying content. Part of Loop Tackle’s development…
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Set With the Swing
When swinging flies for salmon and steelhead, we find setting the hook to the side (as opposed to straight up) will result in more fish to the net. We often use the phrase ‘set towards the bank,’ however we realize this can be confusing when fishing anywhere other than a big long gravel bar. The…
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A Lesson from Ol’ Chumley
The chum salmon are in at Alaska West and that can only mean one thing – it’s rod breaking season! While we certainly witness our share of broken rods throughout the season, we tend to see more rods break while targeting chums than any other species. Why? Because chums are some of the scrappiest fish we’ve ever…
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Swinging for Chums
With a current closure on king salmon at Alaska West, we’ve been targeting more species on the swing than ever this season. We love fishing with a two handed rod and the opportunities available are endless on our river. We have a hefty run of strong, chrome bright, sea-lice toting chum salmon throughout the majority…
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Mousing for Trout – Try a Strip Set
On our Alaskan rivers, targeting big leopard rainbows with gaudy rodent imitations is not only visually appealing, but also very productive at certain times of the year. Takes can be ferocious and often unexpected. However, one of the most common faults when mousing for trout is setting the hook too early. It’s important to…
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Be Nice to Non-Targets
OK, OK we get it – when you’re swinging flies for steelhead and you can’t keep the pink salmon off, it’s sometimes a little bit annoying. When you’re targeting big rainbow trout and a bunch of little dollies keep climbing on, your rig might get a little screwed up every now and again. But still –…
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3 Ways to Cast Further
Casting a long ways is not anywhere close to the most important skill in fly fishing. We’d actually tell you that casting too far is one of the leading causes of not catching fish…but that’s a topic for another day! Bombing long casts is fun, and every once in a while, you need to cast…
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Stomp Your Foot on the Deck
Today’s fishing tip comes from the world of tarpon fishing – uber-angler Andy Mill in particular is known for using the technique when fighting tarpon. It’s applicable to other types of fishing as well though, especially when you’re fishing out of skiff for other explosive fish. Warning: it’s one of those ideas that make your…
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Fly Casting – Creep vs. Drift
Warning: this is a semi-detailed post on correcting a common fly casting fault. If you’re not into the detailed mechanics of fly casting, click here for some big fish photos instead! Fly casting is an art that will never be perfected, only improved upon. It’s part of what makes the sport great! Nonetheless, there are…
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