Tom Larimer just got back from hosting a week at BC West on the Dean River. Since spey rods and travel were at the top of his mind, he put together some tips for us those two topics. Thanks Tom. Spey Rods and Bazuka Tubes Traveling with two-handed rods and fishing gear from the “Lower…
Read More
Search Results for: gear for alaska
Simms Harbor Shoes – Why We Like Them
WARNING: This is not a very technical review. Simms launched their line of Gore-Tex footwear this year, and we’ve been spending a lot of time since wandering around fishy places in their Harbor Shoes. Are they revolutionary, containing some incredible new fishing technology not present in shoes made by ‘actual shoe companies’? Nope. We like…
Read More
Andros South Fishing Report – March 2011
March at Andros South is typically one of the nicest weather months of the season and this year was no exception. The season has been wonderful so far with very few bad weather days since we began back in late October. Our temps in March were between 75 and 85 degrees every day with winds varying from…
Read More
Tube Flies – Introduction
Today we’re starting a little mini-series of posts featuring Eric Neufeld, in video format, talking about tube flies and how to rig them. Who’s Eric Neufeld? He’s an alumnus of Alaska West, and he’s the the Pacific Northwest rep for Idylwilde, Simms and Ross, and he’s a smart dude who likes futzing around with his fly…
Read More
Landing Nets
Thanks to loyal reader Kevin Kelly for getting in touch with an excellent question. Kevin didn’t recognize the landing nets that he’s seen in a lot of our pictures from Alaska West, so he asked about them, and we put together this post about them. Got any questions we can answer for you about our…
Read More
Chum Salmon – Fly Fishing Techniques
Last week, Brian Niska told us a bit about chum salmon and the Kanektok River. Today, he continues with some tactics and gear advice. Who’s Brian? He’s a much better spey caster than you are. He loves teaching people how to cast and fish flies for anadromous fish. He runs a fly shop and guide…
Read More
Team Carhartt
Our team at Alaska West wears a lot of high-tech outerwear. You can’t throw a rock around our camp without hitting some Gore-Tex or a chunk of new-school soft shell. But the folks on our camp staff – the crew that works really, really hard to give our guests a great home for the week…
Read More
Top 5 Mistakes Fighting Big Fish
At Alaska West and BC West we see a lot of big fish fought by our guests – we’re talking steelhead and king salmon here. Sometimes our anglers do a great job fighting the big ones. Other times…not so much. Fight hard, fight smart, and get it over fast! Top 5 Mistakes Made Fighting Big…
Read More
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…
Read More
Getting In and Out of a Jet Boat
It seems pretty simple, but bad things can happen when people get in and out of boats carelessly! What’s the most common cause of broken rods at Alaska West? Anglers losing their balance on the way into a boat, resulting in errant boots impacting rods. By far. What’s the most common cause of (thankfully minor)…
Read More