For anglers learning the basics of swinging flies for steelhead and salmon, the simplest way to think about presentation is to watch the head of the fly line during the swing and make adjustments. We’re taught that, for example, you can speed up your fly by mending in a downstream belly – meaning that the…
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Tips
Hang Your Fly on the Stripping Guide
Here’s a handy little tip for those of you who like swinging flies with shooting heads – using single or double-handed rods. The setup: a few times during your typical fishing day, you’re going to need to mess with your leader or fly in the middle of a run. Maybe you snag a little stick….
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Getting on the Same Page as Your Guide
When you’re new to the flats, spotting bonefish is hard – which is why we’ve passed on some handy tips on the topic in the past. Tips aside, it takes many hours on the water to become great at locating fish under all weather and visibility conditions. This is where a great guide standing high…
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Swinging Flies for Dolly Varden
If you have spent much time fishing in Alaska, odds are you have seen your share of Dolly flats. During the second half of our season at Alaska West, we see an impressive push of Dolly Varden. Once the season’s first wave of salmon begin dropping eggs, these Dollies as well as rainbow trout congregate…
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Fighting Bonefish in the Mangroves
You spotted your bonefish, made a beautiful cast despite the wind, retrieved your fly at just the right pace to get the follow, and the fish took the fly. You even fought the urge to trout set, and instead strip set the fly making a solid connection. Fish on! Although you did everything right, your…
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Three Random Fishing Tips
Today’s post is…just what it says. Three Random Fishing Tips Try swinging your bead for dollies. Eggs don’t swing in real life, but for some reason dolly varden can be attracted to egg patterns tearing across the current. The next time you’re on a dolly flat, try a combination of dead drift and swung presentations…
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Put the Wood to ‘Em
We’ve harped on this before, but when fighting big anadramous fish it’s crucial to keep the pressure on all the way throughout the fight. This means bending the rod all the way down to the butt section as this is where the strength of the rod is. At Alaska West we see many fish come unbuttoned due to…
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13 Ways to Avoid Sunburn
Skin cancer is bad. Getting sunburn increases your chances of getting skin cancer. Here are… 13 Ways to Avoid Sunburn Wear a wide brimmed hat. They keep the sun off your neck and ears. Wear a long sleeved shirt. It’s the easiest way to keep the sun off your arms, and there are plenty of options…
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3 Things to Look for in Your Andros Bonefish Fly
OK, you’re going to chase Andros Island bonefish over the next 6 months, and you’re trying to decide which flies to bring along. We’ve written quite a few posts on the topic of bonefish flies, but today we’ll keep it simple. South Andros Bonefish Flies – Three Things to Look For No weedguard. Here’s an…
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Cleaning Fly Lines
Jordan Sly is part of the Deneki team that splits time between Alaska and Andros – helping to provide quality and consistency between our operations, and a familiar face to our guests that never hurts! Here’s a very timely post from Jordan on cleaning fly lines. Clean Lines Changing over my fly lines on my…
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