Last week we gave you a glimpse into the very non-traditional world of using bullet weights with your steelhead and salmon flies. Today, more details! Next time you’re at the vise setting strategy for the ultimate Alaska West or BC West fly program, consider tying a bunch of flies without any weight. Tying on plastic…
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Search Results for: big fish
Keep Him Out of the Mangroves
If you’re fighting a bonefish and he swims towards the mangroves, you should probably pull hard in the other direction to try to keep him out. Yes, you might pull the hook or straighten the hook or pop your leader – but if he swims through the mangroves connected to your fly line, your chances…
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Simms G4Z Waders Update
The granddaddy of waders is getting an update. Simms has been making their G4 waders with a zipper for a few years now. Zippered waders get a lot of flack from folks who haven’t tried them, but those of us who have spent time in them tend to agree that the zipper is the way…
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Two Million Pageviews
Every once in a while we come across some metric related to our web site that knocks our socks off. Today was one of those days. You see, our real business is running fishing lodges. A few years back we started posting content on our site that we thought would be interesting and helpful to…
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The Kanektok Slam – Congratulations Dean Foster!
A couple of weeks ago at Alaska West, our new friend and angler Dean Foster pulled off a Kanektok Slam. Congratulations, Dean – that’s a big deal. What’s a Kanektok Slam? Here’s the story. Our rivers at Alaska West have incredibly varied fishing in general, and that variety peaks in late July and early August….
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The High Sun Game Plan
Yes, we have sun in Alaska. Sometimes, a whole lotta sun, and that can make for a very cool day of fishing if you’re ready for it. A primer: During later-season king weeks, the river is often dropping and clearing—a big reason you’ll wail on kings and chum in the mornings as the foggy marine…
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A Gagatron Going Richter?
From chokers to chumblers, crittery schnittles to chinkus flinkus and disc drags set to Stun Mode, the guidespeak at our lodges has become a venerable Northern dialect that’s invaded the Pacific Northwest and points East. Special note: if you’re new to all this gobbledygook, this glossary might help. The unique descriptions of giant fish and…
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The Art of Alaska West Guide Jim Palmersheim
Most of our past and current Alaska West guests know Jim Palmersheim as a super-mellow, very friendly, mega-fishy guy who’s not above handing you a hot, riverine cup of French-pressed espresso mid-swing. All true. What you might not know—probably because Jim’s far too humble to talk about himself—is that he’s a world-class pastel artist when…
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Fact: Kings Aren’t Always as Deep as You Think.
We’re lucky enough to fish with a ton of born dredgers in our camps each season — excellent sticks from NorCal, Oregon, Washington, B.C. and beyond — who know how to get a fly deep and keep it there. What tends to blow their minds, however, is that our fish aren’t always as deep as…
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Depthfinding: The Real Beauty of the New Skagit Intermediate Heads
We’re absolutely loving the new Tom Larimer-designed Airflo Skagit Intermediate Heads for a lot of reasons and here’s how we’re using them to get deeper (hint: it’s might not be exactly how you think). The obvious: The head itself does cut the surface tension to get down a little—a big reason the lines fish so…
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