We actually don’t see that many bears at Alaska West. Seriously, our camp is located 6 miles from the mouth of a 90-mile river. The best fishing for the bears is further upriver on the spawning beds, where they’ve got easy access to an easy meal. But…there are some side channels and smaller pieces of…
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Search Results for: big fish
Get It Down!
We’ve been beating the drum lately about the fact that flies that imitate salmon parts work really well when targeting rainbow trout in Western Alaska. We’ve also mentioned that dead drifts aren’t that important, but getting your fly down is. In the process of going through the 1,273,489 pictures from our summer season at Alaska…
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Abel Pliers
After quite a few years of hearing good things about Abel’s fly fishing pliers at our lodges, we decided to buy a pair and try them out. We liked them a lot. Abel’s pliers aren’t cheap. We got the least-expensive option – Model #2, the smaller size, in black. They’ll cost you $130. You can…
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Andros Island
Andros Island is the largest island in The Bahamas. It’s also the most sparsely populated and, not coincidentally, the island with the best bonefishing. Andros is really a collection of islands. It’s split down the middle by three large waterways called Bights – the North Bight, the Middle Bight and the South Bight. The main…
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Why We Like Flesh Flies
We fish a lot of flesh flies for rainbows at Alaska West. Here are 5 reasons why. There’s always a flesh hatch. Our rivers get jammed with salmon biomass every summer, and when the salmon die, their flesh winds up in the river. It sticks around for a long time. Flesh hangs up on snags…
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Why They Call ‘Em Leopards
One of the coolest features about the amazing rainbow trout that we chase at Alaska West is their spotting. Patterns and coloration vary wildly, but it’s the massive number of spots that have earned these fish the ‘leopard rainbow’ nickname. We’ll take it. More on Alaska West Rainbow Trout Mike Mercer Caught One When to…
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Nalca
There are some weird plants in Southern Chile! One that’s particularly memorable is the Nalca or Giant Rhubarb. The Nalca grows in dense rain forest areas. With its impressive broad leaves and long stems it makes for a great makeshift umbrella or parasol. In the spring, the young stalks can be eaten raw, and they’re not as…
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IFTD Gear – Sage, Rio, Redington, Tibor
…and the gear reports from IFTD continue! This afternoon’s update covers the highlights of what we’ve seen so far from Sage, Rio, Redington and Tibor. Sage 589-4 Xi3 Sage is making the kick-butt Xi3 in a 5 weight. The 8 foot 9 inch length helps it feel really light in your hand. This rod would…
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IFTD Gear – Ross and Ross Worldwide
Here on day 1 at the International Fly Tackle Dealer show, we just got a walkthrough of the new products from Ross and Ross Worldwide. There’s some cool stuff here – have a look. Rx Rods The new Rx rods are now the top end of Ross’s reel line. They’re faster and lighter than Ross’s…
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Sage 99 Review
Last summer, Sage introduced their ’99 Series’ rods – purpose-built nymphing sticks from 4 to 9 weight, and all 9 feet, 9 inches long. We cast them at the big industry trade show last year and thought they felt fine, but after a shoulder shrug and a grumble that “the world doesn’t really need dedicated…
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